FranchiseVerdict
ANDY'S FROZEN CUSTARD logo
FV-00138·STRONGExcellent86

Andy's Frozen Custard

Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & DessertsFranchising since 2004Website
Investment
$1.1M – $2.9M
100th pct Ice Cream & D…
Avg revenue
$1.4M
56th pct Ice Cream & D…
Royalty
6.0%
27th pct Ice Cream & D…
Units
147
75th pct Ice Cream & D…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $1.1M – $2.9M including a $32K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.4M/year. Estimated payback in 3.1 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 22/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 3 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 4590% CAGR over 3 years with 147 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Andy's Frozen Custard Franchising, LLC
Parent company
Andy’s Frozen Custard Holdings, LLC
Incorporated in
Missouri
HQ
211 E. Water Street, Springfield, Missouri 65806
Auditor
The Whitlock Co.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$5.2M
vs $6.2M prior year

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 ANDY'S FROZEN CUSTARD unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,438,961
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $1.1M–$2.9M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $1K–$80K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

8%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$155K
EBITDA margin
10.8%
Total invested
$2.1M
Payback
160 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 ANDY'S FROZEN CUSTARD units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$1.1M

on $5.4M purchase

Total debt

$4.3M

SBA $2.7M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate quick-service frozen custard shops focused on premium ice cream products, seasonal menu items, and drive-through service. Day-to-day operations include managing 15-30 staff members across shifts, maintaining strict food quality and temperature controls, managing inventory of dairy and mix-ins, and executing marketing in protected territories. Success depends on operational consistency, customer service excellence, and seasonal traffic management typical of the QSR dessert category.

CEO
Andy Kuntz
Founded
2003
FDD year
2024
States available
15

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$1.1M – $2.9M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$1K – $80K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$32K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.3%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.3%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
3.1 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.4M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Gross Sales and certain expenses
Sample size
123 units
vs category median 18 · large
Range (low → high)
$541K$3.0M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
9 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank56th
vs Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & Desserts peers
Investment cost rank100th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank27th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank75th
vs Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & Desserts peers
Risk score rank0th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
147
Opened
15
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
58
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
61%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+20.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+45.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
89+21
Franchised units
2023
74
Franchised units
2024
61
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 17 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Available · 17 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
3
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

22
Risk · 0-100
STRONG22 / 100

Andy's Frozen Custard presents a strong fundamental opportunity with healthy unit growth, profitability, and no litigation, but the substantial capital requirement and opaque royalty tiers warrant careful financial modeling and franchisee validation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 22 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORHigh initial investment range ($1.1M-$2.9M) requires strong financial reserves and creates extended payback period
  2. 02MINORTiered royalty structure (6% to 4%) lacks transparency—unclear at what unit count thresholds apply and actual franchisee economics
  3. 03MINORRapid 20.3% YoY growth may strain support infrastructure, training quality, and supply chain consistency

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Specific location with an exclusive area
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Not allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Missouri

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
224 hrs

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

47 numbers

Locked
(415) 972-••••
One Sansome Street, Suite
CA
(573) 447-••••
MO
(619) 525-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

ANDY'S FROZEN CUSTARD · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above