CML Franchise vs Nothing Bundt Cakes

Nothing Bundt Cakes is the stronger play, and it boils down to TAM and budget. With 643 franchised units against CML’s 65, you’re looking at a near-10x larger installed base that can convert into software seats today—no waiting on unit growth to materialize. Their AUV edges higher too ($1.48M vs. $1.23M), so operators are running more revenue through the same POS, scheduling, and back-office stack, which translates directly into willingness to pay for automation. That 6% royalty and 5% ad fund signals a franchisor that’s already extracting significant value from its network, meaning they’ll actively push technology that protects unit-level margins and drives consistency. The franchisor-controlled procurement model is actually an accelerator here: you sell corporate once, and the stack gets mandated system-wide—no death-by-a-thousand-demos across loose, multi-supplier operators.

CML’s 35% unit growth is eye-catching, and approved-supplier procurement gives you more open terrain to land and expand one unit at a time. But you’re chasing a tiny base with a lower AUV and a royalty structure that suggests franchisees are keeping more cash for themselves—likely smaller teams, leaner ops, less urgency to buy. Unless you are a new vendor that absolutely needs a loose procurement model to get any foot in the door, the tradeoff of scale and centralized buying power is not worth sacrificing.

The meaningful tradeoff is terrain versus TAM. CML lets you sell bottom-up; Nothing Bundt Cakes forces you to sell top-down but rewards you with a 10x larger, richer, mandate-ready footprint right now.

Verdict: Nothing Bundt Cakes dominates on TAM, budget, and centralized buying motion—sell there.