FranchiseVerdict
Baskin-Robbins logo
FV-00251·STRONGExcellent91

Baskin-Robbins

Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & DessertsFranchising since 1948Website
Investment
$307K – $623K
73rd pct Ice Cream & D…
Avg revenue
$533K
25th pct Ice Cream & D…
Royalty
5.9%
25th pct Ice Cream & D…
Units
976
98th pct Ice Cream & D…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $307K – $623K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.9% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $533K/year (median $521K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 211 loans (below the industry average).
  • 19 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Baskin-Robbins Franchising LLC
Parent company
Inspire Brands, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
Three Glenlake Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30328
Auditor
KPMG LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.6B
vs $1.6B 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 Baskin-Robbins unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $532,682
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: $307K–$623K
Working capital
$
Item 7 didn't break this out — defaulted to ~10% of annual revenue

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

8%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$38K
EBITDA margin
7.1%
Total invested
$480K
Payback
152 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate ice cream retail locations focusing on scooped ice cream, frozen treats, and beverage sales. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, staff scheduling, customer service, equipment maintenance, and local marketing while adhering to Baskin-Robbins' operational standards and product specifications.

CEO
Paul Brown
Founded
1946
FDD year
2025
States available
41

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$307K – $623K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$0 – $30K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
5.9%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
5.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
10.9%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$533K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$521K
Item 19 type
Historical
Sample size
844 units
vs category median 18 · large
Range (low → high)
$12K$2.3M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank25th
vs Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & Desserts peers
Investment cost rank73th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank25th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank98th
vs Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & Desserts peers
Risk score rank17th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
976
Opened
33
Last reporting year
Closed
35
Turnover rate
3.6%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
5.0%
Net growth (yr3)
-0.2%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-2.5%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
976-2
Franchised units
2024
978
Franchised units
2025
1,001
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 16 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
Registered · 16 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
211
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

51
Risk · 0-100
STRONG51 / 100

Baskin-Robbins presents high risk due to system contraction, extensive litigation history, missing profitability data, and unprotected territories in a mature, declining ice cream category.

Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-0.2% YoY) indicates system contraction despite mature brand recognition
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosure prevents ROI validation; with $307k-$622k investment and $532k avg revenue, actual profitability is opaque
  3. 03HIGH18 active/recent litigation cases including franchisor-initiated breach of contract claims against franchisees signal operational/relationship tensions
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct cannibalization risk and competitive pressure within same market
  5. 05MINOR5.9% royalty on $532k avg revenue = ~$31k annual royalty obligation with unknown net income makes breakeven analysis impossible
  6. 06MINOR20-year term locks capital into declining system with no performance guarantees

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
19
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Georgia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
30 hrs
On-the-job training
80 hrs
POS system
Simphony POS
Operating tech stack

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

78 numbers

Locked
(213) 576-••••
Suite
CA
(415) 972-••••
One Sansome Street, Suite
CA
(256) 881-••••
AL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Baskin-Robbins · FDD (2025) PDF

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