LOVE WHAT YOU DO
What to Expect
Franchising can help you turn your passions into exciting opportunities and allow you to go into business for yourself, but not by yourself.
LEARN. LAUGH. COOK.
Why Now?
There has never been a better time to make your entrepreneurial dreams come true! Life is too short to not do something you love. Taste Buds Kitchen is an innovative concept in the multi-billion dollar children & family entertainment industry.
Let’s Get Cooking
2024 Franchise Summit
Every year we gather together as a TBK family to celebrate our success. It’s a great time to strategize, connect and get ready for the year ahead!
CULINARY ENTERTAINMENT
What is Taste Buds Kitchen?
Taste Buds Kitchen has taken the country by storm with a refreshingly simple concept. We provide culinary entertainment to kids, families and adults in a fun, beautiful and state-of-the art Kitchen Studio. Kids ages 2 to teen love our hands-on cooking classes, camps, birthday parties and field trips. Adults love our byob date night cooking classes, birthday parties, bachelorettes, showers and corporate events. Our innovative programs are as entertaining as they are educational! We always strive to engage and delight our guests.
Kids Programs
- Summer & Holiday Camps
- Birthday Parties
- Family Classes
- Series Classes
Adult Programs
- Adult Classes & Date Night
- Corporate Events
- Private Parties
Create New Culinary Experiences
Why Franchise with Taste Buds Kitchen?
Unique Concept
Everything from adult cooking classes to corporate events, kids summer camps, birthday parties and more for ages 2-99.
Facility Appeal
Stylish and upscale venues that cater to all ages.
Great Unit Level Economics
Focus on profitability and operational efficiency.
Experienced Leadership
Executive team boast significant expertise in childcare, enrichment, and corporate sectors.
Comprehensive Training and Support
Including site selection, construction, marketing, operations, and more!
Lower Infrastructure Costs
No gas lines which typically avoids commercial ventilation.
Not a Restaurant
We don’t sell food; we sell experiences.
Delicious Menus
We make everything from scratch from pasta to sushi, to everyone’s favorite cupcakes.
CELEBRATING 17 YEARS IN BUSINESS
Hear our Story
It all started with a cupcake… and a big dream! Working on Wall Street, Jessi was looking for a way to combine her passions for food, family and fun. It was a hit and Taste Buds Kitchen was born.
DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT…
Hear from our Franchise Owners!
A love of food, families and fun is a must along with a strong comfort in the kitchen and a desire to deliver exceptional quality with an equally exceptional client experience.
LOCAL & NATIONAL
Rave Reviews
Link Gallery
Interested in becoming a Franchise Owner?
So you’re interested in a Taste Buds Kitchen franchise? That’s great! Thanks for taking this important step in your research. A benefit of franchising with Taste Buds Kitchen is that we’ve established a great brand with a strong infrastructure. We have a passion for quality and innovation with systems over 15 years in development. We’ll share our playbook with you and train and support you all along the way. Our model is simple, but not easy. Don’t let that scare you, nothing worth having comes easy!
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CULINARY ENTERTAINMENT IS AN EXCITING AND GROWING INDUSTRY IN THE US MARKET.
- Summer Camps are a $4 billion industry.
- Cooking Classes are a $2 billion industry.
- American households spend an average of $290 per month on entertainment.
- Three in four Americans are interested in participating in healthy eating or cooking classes.
- A 2023 survey shows 94% of Americans expressed a preference for receiving experiential gifts rather than physical ones.
- Cooking-related programs for kids have the potential to improve children’s diet quality as research has shown that cooking involvement is associated with more positive food choices.
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OUR FRANCHISE OWNERS COME FROM A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS
Who we want for franchise partners?
We award franchises based on qualifications that are near and dear to us at Taste Buds Kitchen. We’re looking for engaged franchisees who share our dedication to over-the-top customer service, a love of all things culinary entertainment and who want to follow the system. You will also need to be able to make a fairly significant investment, so you’ll need to have liquidity of $150,000+ and a net worth of $500,000+. Experience in franchising or a background in the culinary field are not required to join the TBK family.
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Training & Support
We make it easy for you to open and operate your Taste Buds Kitchen providing initial and ongoing training and support.
- Help finding a location and negotiating your lease
- Complete kitchen design, development and construction support services
- Beautiful website that offers full integration with our online booking system
- TBK Pantry and TBK University with comprehensive operations manual and on-demand support
- Pre-opening training at our headquarters in Maryland for up to three members of your team
- Marketing support and guidance including paid advertisements, grassroots outreach, social media, public relations, and promotional materials
- Development of new initiatives to keep Taste Buds Kitchen at the top of it’s game
- Encouragement throughout the life of your Kitchen with monthly newsletters and individual coaching to reach your goals
- The opportunity to join a group of like-minded franchise owners who will share their key learnings and successes with you
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EXPANDING ACROSS THE UNITED STATE & CANADA
Target Markets
We are looking to open Kitchens in highly populated areas with many families and children across the United States and Canada. Each Kitchen enjoys a protected territory which will generally consist of: (i) a population of approximately 100,000 people or a (4) mile radius; and (ii) an average household income of at least $100,000. If you have a great market with lots of families who have discretionary funds to spend on themselves and their children, that’s a great place to start. Interested in an international location? While focusing in North America, we will consider international expansion with franchisees with a proven track-record of operating businesses in their market.
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LET’S GET COOKING
Opening Timeline
The average opening timeline is 10-12 months so your Kitchen could be open by this time next year!
Site Selection
Finding a great 2,000 square foot location for your Taste Buds Kitchen is a collaboration between you, Taste Buds Kitchen and a broker. Working together we all benefit from the combination of different expertise and knowledge.
Design & Construction
Our Real Estate and Development team will help coordinate the comprehensive services necessary to design and build your Taste Buds Kitchen, including space planning, design, construction documents, help the bid process and support during construction.
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Startup Costs
The start-up investment for a Taste Buds Kitchen development for one Kitchen is shown below. The range depends on a number of things, including the city in which you live. Per-square-foot construction in New York City is vastly different from per-square-foot construction in St. Louis, Missouri. Outside of the franchise fee which is paid to Taste Buds Kitchen, the majority of the remaining of the expenses are paid to your local vendors over the course of your opening preparation. We work with you to keep your investment as low as possible.
TYPE OF EXPENDITURE AMOUNT Initial Franchise Fee $49,500 Technology Set-up Fee
$13,000 Site Selection Management
$0 – $8,000 Lease and Utility Security Deposits $3,000 – $10,000 Blue Prints, Architecture & Design $28,500 – $36,000 Leasehold Improvements
$200,000 – $260,000 Furniture, Equipment, Appliances & Utensils $37,000 – $42,000 Grand Opening Marketing $10,000 Signage & Visual Branding
$11,000 – $14,000 Computer and Software
$4,500 – $6,000 Business Licenses and Permits $0 – $1,000 Travel & living expenses while training
$1,000 – $3,000 Professional Fees
$5,000 – $9,000 Insurance
$1,500 – $2,500 Initial Inventory and Supplies $6,500 – $11,000 Background Checks/Certifications $700 – $1,800 Additional Funds – 3 Months $25,000 – $40,000 TOTAL $396,200 – $516,800
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Federal Trade Commission and state franchise sales regulations do not allow franchisors to provide profit projections. However, if you become a qualified candidate, we would be happy to share our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
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Our current Initial Franchise Fee is $49,500. Royalty fee is 8% of gross sales or a required minimum of $125 per week, whichever amount is greater. Brand Fund fee is 1.5% of gross sales.
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No. A love of food, families and fun is a must along with a strong comfort in the kitchen but official chef and education training are not required. We’ll teach you and your team what you need to know and after that, practice makes perfect.
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All-in start-up costs range from about $396,200 to $516,800 depending on a number of things, including the size and condition of your location. A complete breakdown of these estimated costs is included in Item 7 in our FDD and reprinted above in the Startup Costs section.
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No, you will be responsible for financing. We would be happy to introduce you to lenders and financing brokers who are familiar with our business.
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Each location is different, but the most time-consuming steps tend to be site selection, lease negotiation, build-out (including permitting) requirements, and training. However, we anticipate it will take approximately 4 to 6 months from signing your lease to opening day at your Taste Buds Kitchen.
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Yes. Certain qualified candidates may have the right to develop multiple Taste Buds Kitchen franchises under a Multi- Unit Developer Agreement.
THIS WEBSITE AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL, OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, A FRANCHISE. THIS FRANCHISE IS OFFERED ONLY BY OUR DELIVERY OF A FRANCHISE DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT TO YOU IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION’S RULE ON FRANCHISING AND VARIOUS STATE AND PROVINCIAL/TERRITORIAL FRANCHISE SALES LAWS. FRANCHISE OFFERINGS CANNOT BE MADE BY US, OR ON OUR BEHALF, IN ANY STATE UNLESS WE ARE REGISTERED, EXEMPT OR OTHERWISE QUALIFIED TO OFFER FRANCHISES IN THAT STATE. THE COMMUNICATIONS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE NOT DIRECTED TOWARDS RESIDENTS OF ANY STATE WHERE WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY AUTHORIZED TO SELL FRANCHISES AND WE WILL NOT SELL FRANCHISES IN THOSE STATES OR TO RESIDENTS OF THOSE STATES UNTIL WE ARE AUTHORIZED. THE FOLLOWING STATES HAVE REGISTRATION LAWS THAT REGULATE THE OFFER AND SALE OF FRANCHISES: CA, HI, IN, IL, MD, MI, MN, NY, ND, RI, SD, VA, WA AND WI. IF YOU RESIDE IN ONE OF THESE STATES, YOU MAY HAVE CERTAIN RIGHTS UNDER APPLICABLE FRANCHISE LAWS.
FOR THE STATE OF NEW YORK: THIS ADVERTISEMENT IS NOT AN OFFERING. AN OFFERING CAN BE MADE ONLY BY A PROSPECTUS FILED FIRST WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. SUCH FILING DOES NOT CONSTITUTE APPROVAL BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW. FOR THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: MINN. REG # 9974; TASTE BUDS KITCHEN INTERNATIONAL, LLC., 800D ABRUZZI DRIVE, CHESTER, MARYLAND 21619.