Initial fee: Total fee is $35,000, of which $22,000 is due upon signing the franchise agreement and the remaining $13,000 is due three weeks prior to your opening.

We offer a 15% discount off the $35,000 initial franchise fee for honorably-discharged veterans of the United States Armed Forces who control at least 50% of the bakery at the time of signing their Franchise Agreement.

A new laptop computer is included with the $35,000 fee.

Average total cost to open a Great Harvest bakery is $250,466. (See details)

Capital requirements of applicants: $70,000-$75,000 in liquid, unencumbered cash (cash and securities, not including retirement accounts). Applicants should have additional resources and/or the ability to borrow or acquire the balance that will be needed to open the bakery.

Average time from signing a franchise agreement to opening your doors is about 12 months. Securing a location can be the biggest variable to this time period.

Start-up & initial training support include:

• Site selection assistance
• Lease negotiation assistance
• Layout and design assistance
• Equipment search assistance
• A Training and Development Specialist will walk you through the details of getting your bakery open
• "Dillon Learning Week," a five-day overview of operating a successful bakery
• "Bread Week," , five days of hands-on, one-one-one training on how to bake phenomenal products
• "Sandwich School & Host Training," you will complete three days of hands-on training in Dillon, MT and three days in an existing bakery of our choice.
• Team of opening trainers
• Pre-opening marketing assistance
• 30 day post-opening visit
• 4 month post-opening visit
• 12 month post-opening visit

We recommend 1,800 to 2,500 square feet for your bakery.

Initially, your franchise agreement will contain a defined "Search Area" which is the smaller of approximately 100,000 people or a ten-mile maximum radius where you will be able to search for a location. Once you sign a lease, we'll define your territory.

Territory contains approximately 300,000 people or a ten-mile radius, whichever is smaller.

Term of the franchise agreement is ten years.

Royalty: The monthly royalty rate you pay decreases over time, if you are in compliance with your Franchise Agreement and renew it at the end of your term. The rate starts at 7% of your gross sales for the first five years, then can fall to 6% for the next five years and 5% after renewal. The final drop to 4% may occur at fifteen years if you meet the criteria outlined in your Franchise Agreement. The oldest Great Harvest bakeries have royalty rates below 4%.