Cold Stone Creamery
Food & Beverage · Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts
- Active units
- 952
- Avg unit volume
- $620k
- Royalty
- 6.0%
Franchised, year-end 2023
of weekly Net Sales
About Cold Stone Creamery
Cold Stone Creamery offers the Ultimate Ice Cream Experience with a wide range of delicious and customizable treats. Whether you're craving a classic sundae or want to create your own unique creation, Cold Stone has you covered. Their ice cream is made fresh in every store, churned from the finest ingredients and mixed with your choice of candy, cakes, fruits, or nuts on a frozen granite stone. The result is the best tasting, made-to-order ice cream you've ever had. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions, Cold Stone has options for you too. They offer gluten-free, lactose-free, and low-fat options, as well as providing information on nut and egg allergies and kosher certification on their Ice Cream FAQ page. In addition to their signature ice cream, Cold Stone also offers a variety of other treats such as ice cream cupcakes, pies, shakes, and smoothies. You can even purchase pre-packed family packs or order a custom cake for special occasions. Experience the joy of Cold Stone Creamery and indulge in the ultimate ice cream treat today.
Key terms
- Franchise fee
$27k
- Subsequent traditional restaurant
Initial Franchise Fee reduced to $15,000 for your second and each subsequent traditional restaurant
- Brand fund
3.0% of Net Sales
- Footprint
500 – 1,200 sq ft
- Veteran discount
20.0% off franchise fee — 20% discount for Eligible Military and 501(c)(3)
Brand Percentile Rankings
Rankings compare brands in the same operating year. Fee and investment figures come from the FDD.
Growth
- Total locations952
Franchised units open at year-end
- New openings49
Gross new units opened during the calendar year
- 1-year unit growth rate4.8%
Net unit growth versus prior year
- 3-year unit CAGR3.5%
Compound annual growth rate of unit count over the trailing 3 years
- Unit growth ratio49.0×
Cumulative opens / closures through year-end
Unit economics
- Annual unit volume (Median)$620k
Listed as Average Gross Sales for all franchised outlets.
- Annual unit volume (25th percentile)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- Annual unit volume (75th percentile)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- 1-year Median AUV growth rate—
Year-over-year change in median AUV
- Store-level EBITDA Margin—
Median unit-level EBITDA / AUV
Investment profile
- Estimated initial investment$475k
Midpoint of estimated initial investment range
↓ Lower is better - Time to open8 months
Midpoint of average time from agreement to opening
↓ Lower is better - Royalty rate6.0%
Percent of net sales paid to the franchisor
↓ Lower is better - Sales-to-investment ratio1.3×
Median AUV / estimated initial investment midpoint
- Cash-on-cash returns—
Median unit-level EBITDA / estimated initial investment midpoint. Steady-state estimate; year 1 returns will be lower as the unit ramps to median volumes.
Franchisee healthLocked
- Unit closure ratio
- Transfer vs. closure ratio
- Percent multi-unit franchisees
- Litigation rate
- EBITDA multiple on sales & transfers
Create your free Glidepath account to access full brand information.
Location footprint
Showing 720 of 896 mapped locations
Sources
Financial and operating figures are sourced from the brand's Franchise Disclosure Documents. Brand percentile rankings are based on comparisons to other brands that include the same metrics in their Franchise Disclosure Documents.