CoreLife Eatery vs Papa Murphy's

Papa Murphy’s is the stronger opportunity right now, and it’s not close. The total addressable market is an order of magnitude larger—1,014 units versus 49—with 965 franchised locations that each represent a discrete software buying center. Even with both brands shrinking, Papa Murphy’s -3.6% unit decline is less than half the rate of CoreLife’s -7.7% bleed, meaning you’re selling into a network that isn’t evaporating as fast. The investment range tells the budget story: Papa Murphy’s franchisees open at $450K–$693K versus CoreLife’s $790K–$1.04M, leaving more post-opening cash for technology that automates labor and drives ticket growth. A lower ad fund (2% vs 3.5%) also frees operator dollars that can be redirected toward POS or marketing automation stack upgrades you’re selling.

The meaningful tradeoff is deal size versus deal volume. CoreLife’s higher AUV and premium build-out suggest a single-unit operator might cut a larger initial software check, but with only 24 franchised doors and an overdue FDD—a glaring red flag for stalled franchise development—you’re hunting in a graveyard. Papa Murphy’s gives you a current FDD, a 2026 filing that signals active franchising, and a massive installed base of franchisees who are running a take-and-bake model where online ordering and scheduling efficiency directly move the needle. That’s terrain where your stack demonstrably pays for itself, and you can land-and-expand across a 965-unit map instead of praying for a handful of conversions.

Verdict: Papa Murphy’s wins on TAM, timing, and terrain—sell where the units are, not where they used to be.