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

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

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

Section III – Number of franchised and company-owned Rita’s Italian Ice 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 Rita’s Italian Ice franchise opportunity

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

• 2023 average, median, highest, and lowest gross sales for the top tier, middle tier, and bottom tier of the 487 Rita’s Italian Ice shops that were continuously operating during at least the 2023 season and reported gross sales for the 2023 season

• 2023 product percentages (i.e., sales mix) for Italian ice, gelati, custard, Blendini/concrete, milkshakes, gelati blenders (formerly known as Mistos), ice blenders (formerly known as frozen beverages), and miscellaneous items, as a percentage of total systemwide sales

Section VI – Key ratios, comparables, computations, and analyses for the Rita’s Italian Ice franchise opportunity (exclusive content for Platinum subscribers)

Section I – Rita’s Italian Ice Franchise Costs

• Initial Franchise Fee:  $35,000
• Lease Deposit:  $0 to $12,500
• Leasehold Improvements:  $103,000 to $399,664
• Equipment:  $104,744 to $188,257
• Permits and Licenses:  $1,239 to $17,578
• Signage:  $5,500 to $26,123
• Insurance:  $200 to $3,920
• Initial Order:  $8,000 to $17,500
• Minimum New Shop Marketing Expenditure:  $12,000
• Training:  $50 to $5,000
• Architect and Attorney Fees:  $3,500 to $21,450
• Additional Funds (3 months):  $20,000 to $30,000
• Total Estimated Rita’s Italian Ice Franchise Costs:  $293,233 to $768,992

Section II – Rita’s Italian Ice’s Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, and Marketing Fee

• Initial Franchise Fee:  $10,000 to $35,000
• Royalty:  6.5% of estimated sales on Rita’s Mix Items and/or 6.5% of Gross Sales on Menu Items that are Non-Mix Items or Non-Mix Items charged as an additional fee
• Advertising Contribution:  3.0% of estimated sales on Rita’s Mix Items and 3.0% of Gross Sales on Menu Items that are Non-Mix Items or Non-Mix Items charged as an additional fee
• Minimum Local Advertising Expenditure:  currently, 2.0% of Gross Sales (but 3.0% ceiling)
• Advertising Cooperative Program:  not to exceed the Minimum Local Advertising Expenditure

Section III – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Rita’s Italian Ice Outlets

Franchised

2021

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  532
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  537
• Net Change:  +5

2022

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  537
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  528
• Net Change:  -9

2023

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  528
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  546
• Net Change:  +18

Company-Owned

2021

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

2022

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

2023

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  1
• Net Change:  +1

Section IV – News Updates on the Rita’s Italian Ice Franchise

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Average Revenues and/or Profits) for the Rita’s Italian Ice Franchise (Item 19, 2024 FDD)

• This Item 19 presents information about the financial performance of certain Shops that operated at a minimum during the period starting March 1, 2023 and ending September 30, 2023 (the “2023 Season”).

Part 1 – Reported Gross Sales for 2023 Calendar Year for 2023 Sample

• Except as noted below, Part 1 reflects reported Gross Sales data for Shops Systemwide that were continuously operating during at least the 2023 Season and reported Gross Sales for the 2023 Season. Rita’s Franchise Agreements require all Shops operating under the System to operate for the entire Season.

• Shops that are Seasonal are only required to operate for the Season, and Shops that are Year Around must operate the entire year. Shops that are Seasonal are permitted, at their option, (i) to open before the Season starts and (ii) to close after the Season ends.

• The reported Gross Sales data in Part 1 includes Gross Sales for both Seasonal and Year Around Shops. There were 75 Year Around Shops and 412 Seasonal Shops in the 2023 Sample operating during the 2022 calendar year.

• Some Shops that are Seasonal (i) are located in resort towns/cities and operated for less than the 2023 Season, and (ii) operated for longer than the 2023 Season (in some cases, the entire 2023 calendar year). The data reflects the Gross Sales for the entire period that each Shop operated in 2023.

• Gross Sales for each Shop includes any sales through Mobile Units and/or Satellites operating under such Shop’s Franchise Agreement. Many System franchisees actively pursue Third-Party Delivery Services, Catering Activities, and Mobile Events at a location other than the Shop. The reported Gross Sales data in Part 1 includes Third-Party Delivery Services, Catering Activities, and Mobile Events for Shops that engage in those opportunities. Franchisees who do not pursue these opportunities may be negatively affected and have less Gross Sales.

• The figures reflected in Part 1 (i) reflect 487 Shops that reported Gross Sales during the 2023 Season (the “2023 Sample”), and (ii) do not include 7 Shops (excluded from the Sample) that operated for the 2023 Season but closed at some point in 2023 or were terminated at some point in 2023 (because such Shops were generally in winddown mode and/or operating with a reduced staff and a product offering limited to their remaining inventory).

• Of the 2023 Sample, (a) 10 Shops in the 2023 Sample reported sales through a Satellite, (b) 42 Shops in the 2023 Sample reported sales through one or more Mobile Units, (c) 1 Shop in the 2023 Sample reported sales through both a Satellite and one or more Mobile Units, and (d) 34 Shops in the 2023 Sample had a drive thru.

• Part 1 divides the 2023 Sample into three categories (Top Tier, Middle Tier, and Bottom Tier), based on their Gross Sales as compared with the sales for the 487 total Shops considered in arriving at these figures. Each average represents the average Gross Sales for Shops within each Tier. High sales and low sales represent the Shops within each Tier that attained the highest and lowest Gross Sales.

Top Tier

• Number of Shops in Tier:  162
• Highest Gross Sales for Tier:  $1,080,334
• Lowest Gross Sales for Tier:  $389,590
• Average Gross Sales for Tier:  $511,673
• Number of Shops in Tier That Obtained or Exceeded Average Gross Sales for Such Tier:  60 (37% of Top Tier and 12.3% of the 2023 Sample)
• Median Gross Sales for Tier:  $486,086

Middle Tier

• Number of Shops in Tier:  162
• Highest Gross Sales for Tier:  $386,654
• Lowest Gross Sales for Tier:  $278,275
• Average Gross Sales for Tier:  $326,701
• Number of Shops in Tier That Obtained or Exceeded Average Gross Sales for Such Tier:  82 (50.6% of Middle Tier and 16.8% of the 2023 Sample)
• Median Gross Sales for Tier:  $327,786

Bottom Tier

• Number of Shops in Tier:  163
• Highest Gross Sales for Tier:  $277,786
• Lowest Gross Sales for Tier:  $15,660
• Average Gross Sales for Tier:  $208,593
• Number of Shops in Tier That Obtained or Exceeded Average Gross Sales for Such Tier:  88 (54% of Bottom Tier and 18.1% of the 2023 Sample)
• Median Gross Sales for Tier:  $213,894

Part 2 – Mix of Menu Items Sold Systemwide in 2023

• Part 2 reflects the mix of menu items sold systemwide during the 2023 calendar year. The figures in the table below reflect the sales of each menu item as a percentage of total systemwide sales during the 2023 calendar year.

• Note that all products sold through Third-Party Delivery Services are included under the “Miscellaneous” category.

• Italian Ice:  25.7%
• Gelati:  25.3%
• Custard:  19.6%
• Blendini/Concrete:  6.5%
• Milkshakes:  3.8%
• Gelati Blenders (formerly known as Mistos):  3.3%
• Ice Blenders (formerly known as Frozen Beverages):  1.3%
• Miscellaneous:  14.5%
• Total:  100.0%

• Rita’s and its affiliates do not own any Shops and, therefore, the financial performance representation is not based on any company or affiliate-owned Shops.

• The financial performance representation figures do not reflect the cost of goods, operating expenses, or other costs or expenses (i.e., rent) that must be deducted from the Gross Sales figures to obtain potential net income or profit. You should conduct an independent investigation of the costs and expenses you will incur in opening and operating a Shop.

• Many of the Shops included in this data have been open and operating for years. These franchisees have achieved their level of sales after spending many years building customer goodwill at a particular location. A newly-opened business should not be expected to achieve sales volume (or maintain expenses) similar to those of an established business.

• The sales results for a Shop are affected by a number of factors including but not limited to:

• whether the Shop has a Satellite and/or engages in Third-Party Delivery Services, Mobile Events, and/or Catering;
• weather conditions in the market;
• the physical location of the Shop;
• local demographics (including daytime and residential population and income levels);
• site characteristics (i.e., visibility, traffic count, ease of ingress and egress, parking availability);
• seating;
• the offering of online ordering and/or curbside service;
• the presence of a walk-up window and/or drive thru;
• seasonality (particularly in colder climates);
• local competition;
• brand and product awareness in the market;
• the number of Shops in the market;
• the presence of a Cooperative in the market;
• your local advertising and promotion spending; and
• your individual marketing efforts.

• Sales may also be affected by other factors such as the length of the seasons, unusual weather events, and road construction affecting traffic patterns.

• Sales may also be affected by the strength of and public reception to the Rita’s brand in the market, the length of time the Rita’s brand has been in the market, the overall brand marketing within the market (which is determined by the number of Shops in the media market and whether there is a Cooperative in the media market), the flavors you offer, the overall public familiarity with Italian ice in the market, and the overall public desire for Italian ice and custard in the market.

• Rita’s does not make any promises or representations of any kind that you will achieve any particular results or level of sales or profitability or even achieve break-even results in any particular year of operation.

Section VI – Rita’s Italian Ice Franchise Ratios, Comparables, Computations, and Analyses (Exclusive Content for Platinum Subscribers) ⬇️