Alsies Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Alsies is a mobile dessert franchise selling gourmet ice cream from branded ice cream trucks. Franchisees run truck routes, managing inventory, events, and sales within a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Alsies franchise requires a total initial investment of $129K – $190K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $329K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $129K – $190K
- 9th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $329K
- Company-owned only1 truck1st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 5
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $129K – $190K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $329K/year (company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 41/100 (higher is better).
- FLAGRevenue data based on only 1 truck. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Alsies Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- CEO
- Travis Kososki
- CEO experience
- 4 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 11312 US 15-501 N., STE 107 #212, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27517
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group PLLC
- Unaudited
Overview
About
- CEO
- Travis Kososki
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 76% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Rent, Utilities, and Leasehold Improvements | $400 | $2K | |
| Market Introduction Program | $5K | $7K | |
| Initial Technology Fee | $2K | $2K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment | $1K | $4K | |
| Computer Systems | $400 | $800 | |
| Insurance | $400 | $2K | |
| Alsies Truck | $20K | $55K | |
| Alsies Truck Fit-Out | $40K | $42K | |
| Alsies Truck Delivery | $0 | $3K | |
| Office Expenses | $200 | $500 | |
| Initial Merchandise Package | $1K | $1K | |
| Product Inventory | $3K | $6K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $200 | $1K | |
| Travel, Lodging and Meals for Initial Training | $500 | $2K | |
| Alsies Pushcart | $2K | $3K | |
| Additional Working Capital (for first 3 months) | $3K | $10K | |
| Development Fee (Multi-Unit)not refundable | $89K | $89K | |
| Cost of First Alsies Franchised Business (Multi-Unit) | $79K | $140K | |
| Total initial investment | $297K | $419K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $129K – $190K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $10K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 47.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $2K |
| Training fee | $400 |
| Transfer fee | $0 |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $6K |
| Total fee load | 47.0% of rev |
At 47.0% total fee load, roughly $155K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 73% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single truck - not a system average
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$49K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
30%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Alsies unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
30%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Alsies units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$527K
on $2.6M purchase
Total debt
$2.1M
SBA $1.3M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single truck - not a system average
- Avg gross sales
- $329K
- Per unit, per year
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- company owned performance
- Sample size
- 1 truck
- vs category median 20 · small
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $329K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.1x. Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 47.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 8/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 1 truck — treat as directional only.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Alsies Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 12
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $176K
- Median loan
- $176K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (1 loan) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Micro-franchise system with undisclosed growth, unverified financial claims, and franchisor going concern issues presents elevated operational and financial risk despite reasonable unit economics.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
No audited financials on file
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 5 units system-wide with unknown/stagnant growth trajectory raises scalability and sustainability concerns
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status = FALSE indicates potential financial distress or structural viability issues at franchisor level
- 03MEDNo Item 19 (financial performance representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify the $133,406 avg net income claim
- 04MINORExtremely small franchisee base (5 units) limits ability to validate claims and suggests difficulty recruiting/retaining operators
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($128,550–$189,600) combined with unknown unit growth creates payback risk in underdeveloped system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 47.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 125,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | North Carolina |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | NC |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 3 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 15 hrs
- Training location
- Chapel Hill, NC (or other designated location); Technology Training is virtual
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Alsies · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Alsies franchise?
The total investment to open a Alsies franchise ranges from $129K – $190K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Alsies franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Alsies FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $329K. Important context: Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance; Based on a single truck - not a system average. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Alsies FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Alsies FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Alsies's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Alsies (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Alsies franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Alsies has 5 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 5 company-owned units.
Is Alsies a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Alsies as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 41 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.