RKP Ventures

Boutique Management Consultants, tailored to retail brands looking to scale profitably.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

We're seeing very similar trends across multiple different concepts. Traffic down with partial offset from higher avg ticket. Most publicly traded companies in Q2 reported positive same-store-sales from avg ticket growth (price) with traffic down. Looks like you're doing just fine!

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

Q2’26 Pubco QSR & Fast Casual SSS

16 of 26 brands posted positive comps

Notable Positive Comps
Noodles & Co +10.3%
Cava +9.0%
Burger King +8.5%
Starbucks +8.1%
Taco Bell +7.0%

Notable Negative Comps
Papa John’s −8.3%
Wingstop −7.5%
Wendy’s −7.0%
Sweetgreen −6.2%
Popeyes −5.2%

Coffee category avg +4.7%
Pizza category avg −4.1%

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

In Q3'25, publicly traded quick service and fast casual restaurants saw continued mixed results with 13 of the 23 below brands posting positive comps.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

In Q2'25, publicly traded quick service and fast casual restaurants saw continued mixed results with 12 of the 24 core brands we track posting negative comps.

Full year 2025 outlook remains mixed with continued softness from lower income guests.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

It's been another mixed quarter of results for publicly traded quick service and fast casual restaurants across Canada and the US.

Here's a look at same-store-sales over the last 4 quarters for some of the largest players.

Cava and Taco Bell had a very strong Q1 2025, despite on going macro headwinds.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

This is tricky - we run into the same issues.

What we usually do is charge a one-time fee for clean-up/initial data model build (typically in Powery Query) with founder alignment on KPIs and then charge an on-going retainer for reporting/analysis.

It’s so hard to offer a template solution.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@brett_finance The adoption of FP&A across SMBs and unlocking value for founders who traditionally have never thought to hire for said function.

5 to 10 years back there was way less adoption. Your Bookkeeper was your finance department.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@brett_finance @WileyStrahan Similar to SAAS grid.

Hard to beat excel for SMBs.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@brett_finance Less is more.

Early on in my career I would make the most complex models.

Now I keep things simple stupid and the output is pretty much the same as before.

My rule of thumb is I want any of my execs to be able to open any of my models and be able to follow along.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@secret_FPA_guy Started out of school in GEs 2 year financial management rotation program (FMP). Was the corner stone to now a very great finance career

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@RestaurantWill Net income of $125k or EBITDA?

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@brianbeers We’re starting to see more and more roll-ups pop up.

Similar to the likes of Dental Corp.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@FranchiseBob PDF a PowerPoint - makes scrolling on phone much easier and much more clean.

Be mindful of small font.

Let me know if you need some examples!

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@SameStoreGuy More predictable revenue as well.

It’s a space that’s going to get a lot more attention over the next years.

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

Currently the head of finance for a Canadian non-restaurant franchise. Prior to that I was in finance for a Canadian publicly traded fast-food chain.

Going from restaurants to non-restaurants is night and day...for a few reasons.

- Non-restaurants have much more predictable revenue streams (Example: gyms have a monthly membership vs. McDonalds where they only have same day transactions) this will result in higher valuations which mean larger exits

- Majority of non-restaurants have data on all their customers so it makes measuring customer frequency & LTV 10x easier. In restaurants a good chunk of transactions are still done via in-store/drive-thru where 1:1 customer data doesn't exist. Understanding your customers frequency & LTV can set you apart. That's why the best performing QSR brands push you to their apps - they want a 1:1 relationship with their customers

- In terms of the space, I think it picks up in popularity over the next few years but if you want to invest you got to make sure it's with the right brand paired with A+ real-estate.

- Ultimately, not having to deal with food costs, having more predictable revenue streams, and having data on 99% of your customers make for better cash-on-cash returns vs. restaurants

- There will still be pain points like labor but the ROI and your time and effort to me seem much greater than a restaurant franchise

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@jaq_neco Nice job!

Is traffic up by 15% to 20% as well or is it a combination of higher spend + traffic vs 2022?

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@McFranchisee @QSRguy @jbmp51 @krispykreme Makes sense!

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@isi_elite Totally agree!

[RKP Ventures @rkpventures]

@FranchiseMnA I think the second can be just as impressive if you're able to 5x to 10x a family business and then exit it with generational wealth