In this exclusive Franchise Chatter FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

Section I – Estimated initial investment (franchise costs) for a Cold Stone Creamery franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2024 FDD

Section II – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, and marketing fee for a Cold Stone Creamery franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2024 FDD

Section III – Number of franchised and company-owned Cold Stone Creamery outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2021, 2022, and 2023, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2024 FDD

Section IV – News updates on the Cold Stone Creamery franchise opportunity

Section V – Presentation and analysis of Cold Stone Creamery’s financial performance representations (average revenues and/or profits), based on Item 19 of the company’s 2024 FDD, including information on the:

• 2023 fiscal year gross sales for the top 20%, bottom 20%, and all 900 Cold Stone Creamery franchised stores located in the United States that were existing outlets that did not open for the first time during the past fiscal year

Section VI – Key ratios, comparables, computations, and analyses for the Cold Stone Creamery franchise opportunity (exclusive content for Platinum subscribers)

Section I – Cold Stone Creamery Franchise Costs

• Initial Franchise Fee:  $12,000 to $27,000
• Rent/Security Deposit for 3 Months:  $9,750 to $19,500
• Travel and Living Expenses (2 Persons) While Training, Not Including Salaries, if Any, for You and Your Employees:  $3,000 to $7,500
• Lease Review Fee:  $0 to $2,500
• Architectural Fees:  $8,000 to $21,000
• Leasehold Improvements:  $102,000 to $275,500
• Exterior Signage:  $10,500 to $16,000
• Equipment:  $129,000 to $205,000
• PCI Compliance Costs:  $150 to $1,300
• Opening Inventory:  $8,000
• Employee Uniforms:  $500 to $800
• Grand Opening Marketing Advertising:  $10,000
• Insurance Premiums:  $500 to $2,500
• Permits and Licenses:  $2,000 to $3,000
• Telephone and Utility Deposits and Hookups:  $250 to $1,000
• Computer Training and Food Safety Certification Course:  $100 to $250
• Miscellaneous:  $3,925
• Depository Account:  $3,000
• Additional Funds – 3-Month Initial Period:  $20,000
• Total Estimated Cold Stone Creamery Franchise Costs:  $322,675 to $627,775

Section II – Cold Stone Creamery’s Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, and Marketing Fee

• Initial Franchise Fee:  $15,000 to $27,000 for a traditional store; $10,000 to $20,000 for a non-traditional store
• Royalty Fee:  6% of Gross Sales
• Advertising Fees:  3% of weekly Gross Sales

Section III – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Cold Stone Creamery Outlets

Franchised

2021

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  879
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  889
• Net Change:  +10

2022

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  889
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  908
• Net Change:  +19

2023

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  908
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  952
• Net Change:  +44

Company-Owned

2021

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  3
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  5
• Net Change:  +2

2022

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  5
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  4
• Net Change:  -1

2023

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  4
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  1
• Net Change:  -3

Section IV – News Updates on the Cold Stone Creamery Franchise

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Average Revenues and/or Profits) for the Cold Stone Creamery Franchise (Item 19, 2024 FDD)

• The average gross sales amounts contained in the table below pertain to the historic performance of all Cold Stone Creamery franchised stores located in the United States that were existing outlets that did not open for the first time during the past fiscal year. The time period measured was December 1, 2022, through November 30, 2023.

All Franchised Outlets

• Number of Stores:  900
• Average Gross Sales:  $619,669
• Number of Stores That Met or Exceeded Average Gross Sales:  396
• Percentage of Stores That Met or Exceeded Average Gross Sales:  44%
• Median Gross Sales:  $592,426
• Number of Stores That Met or Exceeded Median Gross Sales:  450
• Percentage of Stores That Met or Exceeded Median Gross Sales:  50%

Top 20% of Franchised Outlets

• Number of Stores:  180
• Average Gross Sales:  $978,978
• Number of Stores That Met or Exceeded Average Gross Sales:  70
• Percentage of Stores That Met or Exceeded Average Gross Sales:  39%
• Median Gross Sales:  $919,181
• Number of Stores That Met or Exceeded Median Gross Sales:  90
• Percentage of Stores That Met or Exceeded Median Gross Sales:  50%

Bottom 20% of Franchised Outlets

• Number of Stores:  180
• Average Gross Sales:  $341,584
• Number of Stores That Met or Exceeded Average Gross Sales:  108
• Percentage of Stores That Met or Exceeded Average Gross Sales:  60%
• Median Gross Sales:  $355,645
• Number of Stores That Met or Exceeded Median Gross Sales:  90
• Percentage of Stores That Met or Exceeded Median Gross Sales:  50%

• As of November 30, 2023, there were 952 franchised stores open in the United States. Of these 952 outlets, 900 were franchised, existing locations that did not open for the first time during the past fiscal year, located in the United States (excluding locations in Guam), and were not temporarily closed as of fiscal year end.

• The information is based upon gross sales, which means the total revenue derived from the sales of goods and services less sales tax, discounts, allowances, and returns, of franchised stores.

• Some outlets have sold this amount. Your individual results may differ. There is no assurance that you’ll sell as much.

• The above tables and information were prepared from weekly sales reports provided to Cold Stone Creamery by franchisees. Cold Stone Creamery has not audited the information provided by the franchisees.

Section VI – Cold Stone Creamery Franchise Ratios, Comparables, Computations, and Analyses (Exclusive Content for Platinum Subscribers) ⬇️