Franchise opportunities compared
Panda Express vs Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe
Reviewed figures from each brand's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), side by side. Each figure carries its FDD year and page. This is not a ranking or recommendation, and the two FDDs may cover different years and location groups.
Before you compare
- Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
- Item 19 figures cover the location groups each FDD names (Panda Express: 7, Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe: 16). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure | PEPanda Express |  Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $514,500 – $3,275,500 TOTAL estimated initial investment: $514,500 - $3,275,500 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 29 | $646,000 – $1,112,750 Total initial investment for one Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe — low estimate 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 15 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $25,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 21 | $35,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 11 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $8.00 FEES. F EE 1 A MOUNT W HEN P AYABLE R EMARKS Royalty Each Royalty Period you pay us — 8% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 22 | 6% Royalty percentage of gross sales 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | Not available No reviewed brand or advertising fund fee | 3% Advertising fee percentage of gross sales — 3% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | Not available No reviewed outlet counts | 35 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 39 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | Not available Only one year reported | +6 Calculated: 29 at end of 2023 → 35 at end of 2025 |
| Outlet exits (Item 20) | Not available No complete exit records for a year | Not available No complete exit records for a year |
| Franchising since (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | 2008 From a verified franchisor listing |
| Franchisor founded (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | Not available Not in reviewed records |
| Performance (Item 19) | ||
| Financial performance (Item 19), by location group | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Totalcaptivevenues $286,558,411 other Total Total Gross Sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 82 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Casinocaptivevenues $3,018,116 other Casino Maximum Gross Sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 82 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Hospitalcaptivevenues $624,396 other Hospital Average Gross Sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 82 +4 more groups in the full report | Franchised (8 locations) — other measures — Quartile2 of31full-yearfranchises $1,456,404 other Quartile2 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 36 Franchised (31 locations) — other measures and revenue $1,447,902 other Table1 Average · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 36 Franchised (27 locations) — other measures and revenue $1,435,041 other Table2 Average · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 36 +13 more groups in the full report |
Item 19 groups are shown separately and never combined. Revenue or sales figures are not profit. Net outlet change and turnover are Franopolis calculations from the disclosed counts; turnover is a count-based rate, not a measure of owner earnings.