Always Ice Cream
Bottom line
- Total investment $249K – $600K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $667K/year (median $656K). Estimated payback in 2.6 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 53/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Always Ice Cream unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
17%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Always Ice Cream units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$534K
on $2.7M purchase
Total debt
$2.1M
SBA $1.3M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate ice cream retail locations, managing daily customer service, inventory, point-of-sale operations, and staffing. Operations likely include product preparation, seasonal marketing, and local promotional activities within an assigned protected territory.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
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)
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage ice cream franchise with minimal unit count, unclear growth data, and unverified financial claims presents moderate-to-cautionary risk despite no litigation and protected territory.
Score breakdown · what drove the 53 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 5 units operating with unknown growth trajectory suggests early-stage system with unproven scalability
- 02MINORWide investment range ($248,625–$600,000) indicates inconsistent unit economics or undefined build-out standards
- 03MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations (Avg Revenue/Net Income appear to be estimates, not verified FDD disclosures)
- 04MINOR6% royalty on $666,902 average revenue yields only ~$40,000 annually — thin franchisor margins may limit support infrastructure
- 05MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years), creating renewal uncertainty and reducing franchisee equity accumulation
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
1 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Always Ice Cream · FDD (2025) PDF