How Much Does a Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza Franchise Owner Make?

Officially, Item 19 reports Net Sales—not owner earnings. For the 2025 cohort, median Net Sales were $617,941 and average Net Sales were $687,539 across 947 domestic franchised stores operating for the complete 52-week measurement period.

Net Sales are revenue after the source-defined exclusions for sales tax and guest refunds. They do not show food cost, payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, required marketing, technology, interest, depreciation, taxes, owner salary, distributions, or retained cash. The Federal Trade Commission likewise cautions that gross-sales figures do not reveal actual costs or profits. See the FTC guide to evaluating franchise earnings claims.

Source: Papa Murphy’s International LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19, pages 54–58. The official franchise site also publishes the system average on its Papa Murphy’s average store sales page.

The range multiplies three transparent sales cases by three all-in operating-margin cases. The center uses the 2025 FDD median Net Sales of $617,941 and the 5.7129% net-income margin derived from the IRS 2022 corporate aggregate for Food Services and Drinking Places.

The conservative and upside revenue cases are 80% and 120% of the FDD median. That spread is an editorial sensitivity assumption, not an Item 19 distribution or probability forecast. The conservative and upside margins are three percentage points below and above the IRS benchmark, following the same transparent sensitivity logic. Calculations use full-precision inputs and are shown to the nearest $1,000.

• Revenue: $617,941 is official 2025 median Net Sales. The 80% and 120% cases are analytical spreads, not franchisor projections.
• Margin: 5.7129% is derived from aggregate IRS corporate data. The ±3 percentage-point band is a sensitivity assumption.
• Recurring fees: the IRS figure is treated as an all-in net-income benchmark, so the FDD royalty and marketing obligations are not subtracted a second time.
• Accounting treatment: interest and depreciation are embedded at the IRS aggregate level; normal manager compensation is assumed embedded. Financing principal, personal income taxes, and cash capital expenditures are not separately modeled.

The benchmark comes from the IRS Corporation Income Tax Returns Complete Report. The comparable industry frame is broad. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of NAICS 722513 Limited-Service Restaurants includes limited-service pizza and takeout establishments, but Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake format is not identical to the full category.

An owner who replaces a paid manager may receive a larger total economic benefit, but the increase is compensation for work—not passive business profit. Adding the May 2024 BLS median food-service-manager wage of $63,040 produces an estimated owner-operator benefit of about $76,000–$128,000.

The FDD requires the franchisee or approved operations personnel to oversee and manage day-to-day operation. Multi-unit owners must actively participate in management and operation of each store, and the franchisor may require Certified Managers. The official ownership-qualification page also notes that many franchise owners remain engaged in daily operations. See Papa Murphy’s official franchise-owner qualifications.

The largest disclosed recurring sales-based obligations total at least 12% of Net Sales. Item 6 specifies a 5% Royalty Fee, a 2% Brand Marketing Fee, and local or cooperative marketing of at least 5% of Net Sales or $2,000 per month, whichever is greater.

At the 2025 median Net Sales of $617,941, those three obligations or required expenditures equal approximately $74,153 annually before online-ordering charges, payment processing, bookkeeping, loyalty, point-of-sale support, network security, internet, insurance, occupancy, food, and payroll. This is a fee-burden illustration, not a separate deduction from the scenario results because the IRS margin is treated as all-in.

• Royalty Fee: 5% of weekly Net Sales under the standard schedule.
• Brand Marketing Fee: 2% of weekly Net Sales, separate from local marketing.
• Local and cooperative marketing: at least the greater of 5% of Net Sales or $2,000 monthly; the FDD says some cooperatives currently contribute up to 7.5% with approval.
• Technology and operating charges: include a $0.35 online-ordering fee per transaction and several monthly programs, support, security, and connectivity charges whose total depends on configuration and usage.

Source: Papa Murphy’s International LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 6, pages 19–27. Initial investment in Item 7 is not treated as an annual operating expense.

Confidence is limited because the same-brand FDD supplies strong sales evidence but no same-brand profit evidence. The estimated margin comes from a broad 2022 IRS corporate industry aggregate, not Papa Murphy’s franchised-store income statements.

The take-and-bake model may differ from conventional limited-service restaurants because stores do not require ovens or dine-in seating, according to the official U.S. Papa Murphy’s franchise website. That could alter labor, equipment, occupancy, utility, product, and customer-volume economics in ways the broad IRS category does not isolate.

Geography is another major uncertainty. The 2025 regional medians range from $474,752 in the East to $741,835 in the West, a difference of $267,083. Item 20 also shows 965 franchised outlets at the end of 2025, down from 1,001 at the start of the year, with four openings, 31 terminations, eight nonrenewals, and one reacquisition. Those system movements do not prove why individual outlets left, but they make franchisee-level verification material.

Sources: 2026 FDD Item 19, pages 54–58; Item 20, pages 58–66. The FTC explains why Item 20 turnover and conversations with current and former franchisees are important in its consumer franchise due-diligence guide.

Verify store-level costs, owner workload, and the exact comparability of the Item 19 cohort to the intended market. The estimate is most useful as a screening range and sensitivity framework, not as a substitute for actual franchisee income statements.

• Request the written substantiation supporting 2026 FDD Item 19 and ask Papa Murphy’s International LLC to reconcile the 384-of-947 percentage inconsistency.
• Ask franchised-store owners in the intended region for recent Net Sales, food cost, payroll, occupancy, local marketing, technology, repairs, manager compensation, and operating income.
• Separate owner salary, draws, distributions, retained earnings, depreciation, interest, debt principal, and capital expenditures in every financial statement reviewed.
• Determine whether the owner will perform general-manager duties, supervise approved operations personnel, or employ Certified Managers, and quantify the hours involved.
• Compare mature full-year outlets with the planned store format and market; do not treat the 947-store Item 19 cohort as evidence for a new store’s ramp-up period.
• Review Item 20 contacts for current and former franchisees, including operators in markets with similar labor, rent, traffic, and regional sales levels.