Canva
Mandatoryent processing, and sales report generation. The current POS System includes a laptop computer, printer, Toast Flex and Toast Handheld hardware, cash drawer, iPad, and Quickbooks, Canva, Sling and Mic
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Cork & Candles Scent Bar
Personal servicesSoftware purchasing at Cork & Candles Scent Bar is controlled at the HQ level by Founder and CEO David Straub and Founder and VP Kenny Straub. The system currently mandates a specific retail and operational tech stack including Toast POS and Sling for scheduling. With only 4 total units (1 franchised, 3 company-owned), the addressable market is extremely small, making this a niche target for vendors.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
4
1 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2026
Royalty
7%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$50K
per unit
Investment range
$284K–$378K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Franchisor controlled
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing
Ongoing fee load
What the operator pays every month
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
9%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
4 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
QuickBooks
Mandatorygement, payment processing, and sales report generation. The current POS System includes a laptop computer, printer, Toast Flex and Toast Handheld hardware, cash drawer, iPad, and Quickbooks, Canva, S
Sling
Mandatorycessing, and sales report generation. The current POS System includes a laptop computer, printer, Toast Flex and Toast Handheld hardware, cash drawer, iPad, and Quickbooks, Canva, Sling and Microsoft
Toast
Mandatoryime tracking, gift card and loyalty program management, payment processing, and sales report generation. The current POS System includes a laptop computer, printer, Toast Flex and Toast Handheld hardw
Facebook
u must furnish us with a quarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. You may not use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, I
Instagram
rative advertising with other Cork and Candles Scent Bar franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn,
LinkedIn
erly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. You may not use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, blogs and
Twitter
nish us with a quarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. You may not use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
YouTube
th other Cork and Candles Scent Bar franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube or any other
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
24 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 6 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees to keep and maintain complete and accurate books and records of its transactions and business operations using the accounting procedures and chart of accounts specified by Franchisor.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
The POS System allows us to independently and remotely access all of your sales data, including your Gross Revenue, through the Internet.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Within thirty (30) days after the close of each calendar quarter and within ninety (90) days after the close of each fiscal year, Franchisee will furnish Franchisor a full and complete written statement of income and expense and a profit and loss statement for the operation of the Franchised Business during said…
How the franchisor buys
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
2350Item 8
During fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, our affiliate D&K Candles LLC derived $2,350 from required Franchisee purchases.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
From time to time, we may receive revenue, rebates, discounts or other material consideration from suppliers based on your required purchases of products, supplies or equipment.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
33Item 8
We estimate that your purchase or lease of products, supplies and services from approved suppliers (or those which meet our specifications) will represent approximately 55% of your costs to establish your Franchised Business and approximately 33% of your costs for ongoing operation.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
If you request that we approve a proposed item or supplier, we reserve the right to charge an Evaluation Fee equal to our actual costs of inspection and testing.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you would like us to consider another item or supplier, you must make such a request in writing to us and have the supplier give us samples of its product or service and such other information that we may require.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
assign, at our option, your telephone numbers, directory and internet listings, and social media and software accounts and the lease for the premises.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
conducts inspections of your Franchised Business, at the frequency and duration that we deem advisable.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
No site may be used for the location of the Franchised Business unless it is consented to in writing by the Franchisor.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall not establish any website or other listing on the Internet except as provided and specifically permitted herein.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
We require you to spend a minimum of $2,500 in grand opening advertising and promotional activities, including a grand opening event at your Cork and Candles Scent Bar, 30 days prior to and within 60 days following, the opening of your Franchised Business.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
Following your grand opening campaign, you are required to spend monthly at least $750 or 1% of your Gross Revenue, whichever is greater, on advertising for the Franchised Business in your Territory.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall accept and honor all loyalty cards, promotional coupons, or other System-wide offers, on a uniform basis, as accepted by other franchisees in the System.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all equipment, fixtures, inventory, supplies and services from our designated suppliers and contractors or in accordance with our specifications.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all equipment, fixtures, inventory, supplies and services from our designated suppliers and contractors or in accordance with our specifications.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
At Franchisor’s request, Franchisee must execute documents, including but not limited to, the Authorization attached as Attachment 3, that allow Franchisor to automatically take the Royalty Fee and Brand Fund Contribution due as well as other sums due Franchisor, from business bank accounts via electronic funds…
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
Conduct sales in accordance with Franchisor’s standards and specifications, which includes the implementation of any gift card and/or customer incentive or convenience programs, as Franchisor directs.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall designate and retain at all times a general manager (“General Manager”) to direct the operation and management of the Franchised Business premises.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase and use the point-of-sale system (“POS System”) we specify, and have the latest versions of hardware, software and computer platforms to operate the POS System.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
The POS System allows us to independently and remotely access all of your sales data, including your Gross Revenue, through the Internet.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to impose a reasonable fee for all additional training programs.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee’s failure to attend and/or complete mandatory additional training or failure to attend Franchisor’s national business meeting or annual convention is a default of this Agreement.
The filing answers no to 4 questions
- Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
Who buys here
The buyer at this brand
The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.
The franchisee/operator personally, or a small franchisor still owner-run. Wears every hat.
OwnerCEOPresidentPrincipal
- With 298 active personal services brands, I can't see which ones are growing or have the tech gaps my product fills, so I waste weeks chasing the wrong targets.A rep burning 10 hours/week on manual research at $50/hr loses $26,000/year. FranCloud's fit_scoring and corpus_search surface high-fit brands in seconds, reclaiming that time for selling.
- 68.6% of brands mandate no accounting system, meaning 93 brands are ripe for displacement, but I lack the unit-count and financial context to prioritize them.Focusing on the wrong 10 brands costs a rep 2+ deals per quarter. FranCloud's fit_scoring layers AUV and unit growth onto tech gaps, so reps chase only the 93 with real revenue potential.
- Even when I know which brands to target, I can't get reliable decision-maker contacts for the 277 brands with disclosed unit counts.SDRs spend 5+ hours/week hunting contacts. FranCloud's contact_enrichment delivers verified contacts in-line, saving 260 hours/year per rep and adding 15% more meetings.
The vendor opportunity at Cork & Candles Scent Bar
Cork & Candles Scent Bar is a personal services concept headquartered in Pennsylvania with a total footprint of just 4 units—3 company-owned and 1 franchised. For software vendors, this represents one of the smallest addressable markets in the franchise universe. There is no disclosed average unit volume (AUV) in the 2026 FDD, and year-over-year unit growth is not reported. The royalty rate stands at 7.0% on a standard 10-year initial term. Vendors should approach this as a micro-account where a single deal would cover the entire system, but the total contract value will be inherently limited by the unit count.
Who controls software purchasing
Purchasing authority sits squarely with the founders. The 2026 FDD lists David Straub as Founder and Chief Executive Officer and Kenny Straub as Founder and Vice President. In a system of this size, there is no layer of regional operators or franchisee committees to navigate. Any software pitch must win over one or both of these individuals. Our corpus maps no additional operators, meaning the HQ is the sole buying center. This centralization simplifies outreach but also means there is no secondary champion to cultivate if the founders are not interested.
Mandated and current tech stack
The FDD mandates a specific set of systems that vendors must either integrate with or displace. On the point-of-sale and payments side, Toast Flex by Toast, Inc. is mandated, covering both retail sales and payment processing. For workforce management, Sling is the mandated HR scheduling platform. Accounting runs on QuickBooks by Intuit Inc. The FDD also lists mandated inventory management systems and retail sales platforms without naming specific vendors beyond those already mentioned. A vendor selling adjacent tools—such as loyalty, marketing automation, or advanced analytics—would need to demonstrate a clear integration path with this existing stack, particularly Toast and QuickBooks.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD provides no extract, so the formal procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not disclosed. This lack of clarity means vendors should assume a closed, HQ-driven process until proven otherwise. On the renewal front, Item 17 outlines a 10-year successor term available to franchisees in good standing, provided they give six months' written notice, execute a general release, update to current trade dress, and pay a successor fee of 20% of the then-current initial franchise fee. The franchisor retains sole discretion to withdraw from a geographical area. With only one franchised unit, renewal-driven software evaluation cycles will be infrequent. The company-owned locations likely operate on internal capital expenditure cycles, but no details are disclosed.
How to read the Cork & Candles Scent Bar FDD
The full 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. Vendors should focus on Item 11 for the complete table of mandated technology and Item 17 for renewal conditions that might trigger a tech review. Item 1 confirms the two named executives. Because the system is so small, the FDD is the definitive map of the entire operation—there is no scattered operator base to survey independently. For a ranked target list that contextualizes Cork & Candles Scent Bar against higher-opportunity franchise systems, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Cork & Candles Scent Bar, answered from the filing
Founder and CEO David Straub and Founder and VP Kenny Straub are the named executives. As a micro-system, purchasing decisions almost certainly run directly through them.
The 2026 FDD mandates Toast Flex (POS/payment processing) by Toast, Inc., Sling for HR scheduling, QuickBooks by Intuit for accounting, plus inventory management and retail sales systems.
There are 4 total units: 3 company-owned and 1 franchised. This is a very early-stage franchise system with a minimal physical footprint.
The procurement model is not disclosed in the most recent FDD. Item 8 contains no extract, so designated or approved supplier requirements remain unclear.
The initial franchise term is 10 years. Renewal requires six months' written notice and a 20% successor fee. With only 1 franchised unit, contract windows are rare and unpredictable.
The 2026 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the full document in the embedded PDF viewer below for detailed Item 11 tech mandates and Item 17 renewal terms.
Source
Read the filing itself
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Cork & Candles Scent Bar files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
1 operators run 1 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit1
Top states by locations
| WI | 1 |
|---|
Ownership
The portfolio behind Cork & Candles Scent Bar
unknown of cork and candles.
Related Personal services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.