Ice Cream and Dessert Franchise Costs (2026): 7 Brands + Seasonality

Dessert franchise costs depend on the format being offered: a traditional restaurant, a non-traditional location, or a mobile unit attached to an existing business. The comparison below uses five 2026 franchise disclosure documents (FDDs) and the franchise sites of Yogurtland and Dairy Queen. Each range stays attached to its format and source date.

What seven dessert franchises actually cost

The FDD rows use Item 7 for investment, Item 5 for the initial franchise fee, Item 6 for ongoing royalties and advertising, and Item 20 for outlets. Site-only rows are labeled separately.

Brand	Total investment (Item 7, by format)	Initial fee (Item 5)	Royalty + ad fee (Item 6, with basis)	Units (Item 20 total at last FY end)	Source, date
Cold Stone Creamery	Traditional $390,675-$680,775; non-traditional $255,700-$533,275	First traditional $27,000; subsequent $15,000; non-traditional $10,000-$20,000; eligible discounts below	6% of Gross Sales plus surcharge up to $10/week; advertising 3% of weekly Gross Sales	1,054 U.S.; 2025-11-30	FDD, 2026-03-27
Baskin-Robbins	Restaurant $307,400-$626,700; combo requires additional Dunkin costs	Standard $25,000; gas/convenience prorated; special distribution opportunity (SDO) 50% of standard, prorated; combo $10,000 plus Dunkin fee	Generally 5.9% royalty + 5% advertising, both of Gross Sales; regional and SDO exceptions below	2,186 U.S., including 1,219 combo outlets; 2025-12-28	FDD, 2026-03-26
Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt	Single store $179,564-$515,420; two stores $351,228-$1,022,670	Single $53,900; two purchased concurrently $99,900	Weekly royalty: greater of $125 or 6% of Gross Sales; marketing 2% of Gross Sales	296; 2025-12-31	FDD, 2026-04-10
Rita’s Italian Ice	Standard without drive-thru $315,233-$712,542; with drive-thru $456,858-$915,536; express $199,005-$558,504; satellite add-on $131,550-$318,500; mobile add-on $16,500-$180,000	Standard/express $35,000; satellite $15,000; mobile $5,000	6.5% royalty + 3% advertising on estimated sales of Rita’s-Mix Items and Gross Sales of Non-Mix Items, including upcharges; local advertising currently 2% of Gross Sales	578; 2025-09-30	FDD, 2026-01-30
Kona Ice	Mobile business $114,730-$228,601	$15,000	Annual royalty $3,000 (years 1-2), $4,000 (3-6), $5,000 (7-10); current brand fund $1,000/year per KEV or KEV 2.0 truck; optional charges below	1,933; 2025-12-31	FDD, 2026-04-20
Yogurtland	Traditional $293,000-$637,000; non-traditional $231,000-$402,000 (site figures)	$40,000 (site figure)	6% royalty + 2.5% marketing, both of Gross Sales (site figures)	Not stated	Per its franchise site, checked 2026-10-13
Dairy Queen	$1,510,100-$2,550,100 (site figure; format not specified in saved investment text)	$45,000 (site figure)	4% royalty + 5%-6% marketing; calculation basis not stated in saved site text	Not stated	Per its franchise site, read 2026-10-14

Format and fee notes. Rita’s satellite and mobile unit require a qualifying existing standard shop under Item 7. Those add-on estimates do not include opening the underlying shop. Cold Stone’s Item 7 totals exclude real estate costs, building construction and location rent except the initial security deposit. Baskin-Robbins does not give a separate complete combo investment total here; Item 7 directs readers to the Dunkin FDD for that portion’s build costs.

Cold Stone’s Item 5 discounts for eligible military applicants and qualifying nonprofits reduce the first traditional fee to $21,600, subsequent traditional fees to $12,000, and non-traditional fees to $8,000-$16,000. Its advertising fee can increase to 4% of weekly Gross Sales. Baskin-Robbins’ Item 5 examples for a 10-year term are $12,500 for gas/convenience and $6,250 for SDO. Its royalty is 1% of Gross Sales in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, and 0.5% in Hawaii and its defined Central States Territory. Advertising is 3.5% in Alaska/Hawaii and 2.5% in the Central States Territory or SDO locations. The territory covers designated areas of Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Tennessee, as defined in the FDD; incentive programs can also change fees.

Rita’s local advertising requirement has a 3% ceiling. Kona Ice charges another $1,000/year for smoothies if offered; additional equipment royalties currently range from $1,000 to $2,500/year, with another $200/year in brand fund contributions per piece of additional equipment. The table is a royalty and advertising comparison, not a list of every ongoing fee.

Site figures versus FDDs, checked 2026-10-13. Menchie’s cost page gives $161,846-$497,979, versus the FDD’s single-store $179,564-$515,420. Kona Ice’s numbers page gives $102,365-$226,841, versus the FDD’s $114,730-$228,601. Rita’s opportunity page gives $295,233-$915,536; the FDD’s standard-shop low end without a drive-thru is $315,233. These site figures are recorded separately; the table uses the FDDs. Cold Stone’s startup-costs page agrees with the two Item 7 format totals, but its broad franchise-fee ranges include discounts, rather than describing the ordinary first-store fee alone.

Yogurtland’s development criteria. Its franchise page, checked 2026-10-13, says: “We are looking for multi-unit developers.” This does not explicitly state that single-unit buyers are prohibited. Confirm the required development commitment before treating the per-location range as the entire commitment.

Price your dessert shop with the startup cost worksheet

Our free startup-cost worksheet follows the FDD's Item 7 rows, so you can swap a brand's estimates for your own quotes. Plus the due-diligence kit.

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The dessert franchise market, briefly

These are outlet counts from each FDD’s Item 20, not a market-size estimate. Each cell shows franchised + company-owned = total at fiscal year end. Baskin-Robbins prints its restaurant and combo trends separately, so both appear below. Its 2025 combined count is 2,186, also stated in Item 1.

Brand and disclosed scope	FY 2023 end	FY 2024 end	FY 2025 end	Last FY end; FDD date
Cold Stone Creamery, U.S.	952 + 1 = 953	992 + 2 = 994	1,052 + 2 = 1,054	2025-11-30; 2026-03-27
Baskin-Robbins restaurants, excluding combos	978 + 0 = 978	976 + 0 = 976	967 + 0 = 967	2025-12-28; 2026-03-26
Baskin-Robbins combo restaurants	1,283 + 0 = 1,283	1,269 + 0 = 1,269	1,219 + 0 = 1,219	2025-12-28; 2026-03-26
Menchie’s	295 + 1 = 296	294 + 1 = 295	295 + 1 = 296	2025-12-31; 2026-04-10
Rita’s Italian Ice	546 + 1 = 547	564 + 5 = 569	569 + 9 = 578	2025-09-30; 2026-01-30
Kona Ice	1,670 + 0 = 1,670	1,816 + 4 = 1,820	1,929 + 4 = 1,933	2025-12-31; 2026-04-20

Cold Stone, Rita’s and Kona Ice show higher ending totals across these three years. Menchie’s ends 2025 at its 2023 total. Both Baskin-Robbins categories show lower ending totals. Counts describe the disclosed systems; they do not establish a particular location’s operating results. Yogurtland and Dairy Queen are excluded from this trend table because the saved franchise pages do not state comparable counts.

For a cookie-brand comparison, see the dated review of whether Insomnia Cookies offers franchises.

Seasonality: what the FDDs actually say

The FDD language supports planning for weather and seasonality, without assigning a universal summer-sales percentage. These are complete sentences, with PDF line breaks removed.

Cold Stone Creamery, Item 1, March 27, 2026:

Most Cold Stone Creamery restaurants may be operated throughout the year; however, the restaurant market for the products offered by Cold Stone Creamery restaurants is seasonal, as consumption of ice cream, cakes, pies, smoothies, shakes, specialty beverages and other frozen dessert products is typically higher in the summer and lower in the winter.

Menchie’s, Item 1, April 10, 2026:

Because sales of frozen desserts generally increase in warmer weather, your sales may be seasonal.

Rita’s Italian Ice, Item 1, January 30, 2026:

The retail sale of Italian ice and frozen confections may experience sales levels that are sensitive to local weather conditions and temperature. Shops located in enclosed malls may be less affected by these conditions, but may still experience seasonal trends.

Kona Ice, Item 1, April 20, 2026:

Due to the nature of shaved ice, blended beverages, and ice cream related products, sales are seasonal with more business activity in the warm months and little to no sales in colder months.

Baskin-Robbins, March 26, 2026: Item 1 describes year-round service but does not contain a seasonality or weather sentence. Its Item 7 working-capital note says:

Restaurants opening in the cold weather months may be more likely to need working capital in the initial 3 month period because Restaurant sales are typically lower in the winter months.

For a proposed location, ask about the opening season, required operating calendar, equipment maintenance, and cash needed to cover scheduled expenses. Keep fixed annual fees, weekly minimums and percentage-based fees separate in that budget. A brand’s seasonality statement is a reason to investigate local conditions, not a numerical forecast for the proposed shop.

Formats: scoop shop, soft serve, frozen yogurt, mobile

Scoop shop and frozen-dessert display. Cold Stone and Baskin-Robbins have restaurant investment estimates in their FDDs. For equipment terminology, compare a soft-serve machine with a batch freezer, then review countertop gelato display cases and ice cream dipper wells. Use the franchisor’s equipment schedule to determine which categories apply to the proposed format.

Soft serve and frozen yogurt. Menchie’s and Yogurtland have separate investment entries above. The countertop soft-serve machine guide covers that equipment category; it does not replace either brand’s specifications or establish approval for a particular machine.

Italian ice and mobile. Rita’s publishes separate shop, satellite and mobile estimates. Kona Ice’s Item 1 describes a mobile business using a Kona Entertainment Vehicle (KEV), with additional equipment options for established franchisees. Compare those agreements and format requirements before comparing only their lowest investment figures. The food truck franchise guide provides a broader format comparison.

Independent or add-on dessert service. For equipment research outside a prescribed franchise package, see countertop mini-donut machines and commercial waffle makers for coffee shops. These are equipment references, not claims that a named franchise permits those menu additions.

Reading the numbers before you commit

Start with the exact format and the current disclosure document. Match each Item 7 row to the proposed location, identify exclusions, and replace estimates with local quotes where available. For an add-on unit, keep the existing business’s costs separate from the incremental unit estimate. For a multi-store agreement, review the full development commitment rather than a single-store figure.

Read the fee basis alongside the rate. Rita’s distinguishes estimated sales on mix-based items from Gross Sales on other items; Menchie’s has a weekly royalty minimum; Kona Ice uses an annual royalty schedule. Verify which optional charges, regional terms or incentive conditions apply to the agreement under review.

Use how to read an FDD for the document’s structure and the editorial methodology for source standards. The useful comparison is a dated, format-specific cost worksheet with the fee definitions attached.