Dessert & Ice Cream Franchise Opportunities
Dessert and ice cream franchises offer an appealing combination of lower investment costs, simpler operations, and strong brand loyalty. While some concepts face seasonal fluctuations, many have expanded their menus and formats to drive year-round revenue.
§ Drawn from 54 dessert & ice cream FDDs on file · latest filings
What 54 filings say
The category, read from the documents.
Not estimates — every figure below is aggregated from the disclosure documents themselves.
Total initial investment · distribution
Where 54 disclosed ranges land. Median $460,000.
The $300–500K band holds the median filing. The middle half of these brands sit between $342,000 and $644,000.
70%
disclose an Item 19
38 of 54 brands on file, against 73% across every brand in the database.
49
median U.S. unit count
Across the 54 brands that disclose an outlet count in their latest filing.
6%
median royalty
Across the 53 brands that state a single rate; the rest tie royalties to sales tiers or charge none.
+6%
median outlet change, 2025 to 2026
Across the 23 brands that filed in both years: 18 grew, 3 shrank.
Figures are drawn straight from each brand’s latest FDD. See our franchise industry reports for the trends behind these numbers.
Dessert & Ice Cream Franchise Brands
Showing 12 of 54 dessert & ice cream franchises with a published breakdown. Search all dessert & ice cream brands →
FDD 2025–2026
Total investment
$114K–$229K
U.S. units
1,933
Royalty
Varies (see Item 6)
Item 19
Not disclosed
FDD 2025–2026
Total investment
$297K–$385K
U.S. units
617
Royalty
Varies (see Item 6)
Item 19
Not disclosed
FDD 2025–2026
Total investment
$275K–$771K
U.S. units
1,651
Royalty
6%
Item 19
Disclosed
Past the table
Every number above has a page it comes from.
A Workspace opens the brand’s actual FDD next to its Clearly Report — every figure cited to the Item and page, questions answered from this filing only, and both years side by side when the brand has filed twice.
See a Workspace →