Baskin-Robbins Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $307K – $627K
- Disclosed sales
- $527K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 16.2%
- on 672 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Baskin-Robbins is an ice-cream franchise famous for its rotating 31 flavors, scoops, and ice-cream cakes. Franchisees run shops, including standalone, non-traditional, and Dunkin' combo locations, managing service and frozen-product sales.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Baskin-Robbins franchise requires a total initial investment of $307K – $627K, including a $6K – $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.9% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $527K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 16.2% charge-off rate across 672 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $307K – $627K
- 49th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $527K
- 5th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.9%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 967
- 92nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 16.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants median · 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 $307K – $627K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.9% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $527K/year (median $503K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 16.2% across 672 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHNegative: net -9 franchised outlets in the latest year (32 opened, 41 closed) (Item 20).
- TERMSNo protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Baskin-Robbins Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Dunkin' Brands, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 12 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Inspire Brands, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 12 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer, Inspire Brands
- Paul Brown
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- Three Glenlake Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30328
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $98.8M
- vs $93.3M prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 12
6 other brands on this site name Inspire Brands, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Portfolio: Inspire Brands
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Paul Brown
- Headquarters
- Georgia
- Founded
- 1946
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 41
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about typical for a quick-service restaurants franchise (near the category median).
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $25K | $25K | |
| Real Estate Development | $123K | $267K | |
| Equipment, Fixtures and Signs | $115K | $185K | |
| Restaurant Technology System | $15K | $30K | |
| Licenses, Permits, Fees and Deposits | $7K | $20K | |
| Opening Inventory | $5K | $8K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $10K | $28K | |
| Uniforms | $400 | $800 | |
| Insurance | $4K | $8K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $1K | $15K | |
| Marketing Start-Up Fee | $3K | $6K | |
| Additional Funds for First 3 Months of Operation | $0 | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $307K | $623K |
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
- $307K – $627K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $6K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.9%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 0.1%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.9% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $8K |
| Total fee load | 0.1% of rev |
A 0.1% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 46% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Baskin-Robbins until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$482K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Baskin-Robbins unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $527K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $503K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical AUV by quartile
- Sample size
- 814 outlets
- vs category median 19 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $16K→$2.3MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 79 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $264K→$833K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 781 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 $527K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.1x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 0.1% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (-1.1% 3-year CAGR) with 967 units.
Multi-unit rate
Only 5% 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 medians
How Baskin-Robbins Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 967
- Opened
- 32
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 41
- Terminated
- 12
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.2%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -1.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 12
- Not renewed
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 4.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 96.5%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 1.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 45 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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
2,213 current owners across 45 states; 10 former (terminated, transferred or not renewed) listed separately.
- CA 407
- NY 282
- IL 245
- TX 180
- FL 111
- MD 83
- NJ 67
- GA 62
- TN 57
- VA 52
- MI 45
- NC 45
- +33 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 672
- Loan volume
- $131.5M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 16.2%
- on 672 loans · rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 83.9%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 10.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 173
- Defaults
- 82
- Typical loan rate
- 7.2%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 21.5%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 5,108
- 4.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 8%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 47% went to startups / new businesses, 53% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 21.5% vs 25.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 14% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Baskin-Robbins charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Baskin-Robbins franchisees
Showing 3 of 173 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Baskin-Robbins from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 9.4%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 76%
- Avg interest rate
- 7.21%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $125K
- Lender concentration
- 8.1%
- Job velocity
- 4.8 per $100K
- Startup risk premium
- -18.8pp
- NAICS benchmark
- 15.7%
- NAICS 722211
- Jobs supported
- 5,108
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 8% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 45 | $8.0M | 14.0% |
| 2 | Readycap Lending, LLC | 43 | $12.7M | 19.0% |
| 3 | Comerica Bank | 42 | $9.9M | 52.4% |
| 4 | U.S. Bank, National Association | 29 | $4.3M | 20.0% |
| 5 | Bank of Hope | 24 | $4.4M | 18.2% |
| 6 | PNC Bank, National Association | 22 | $3.4M | 0.0% |
| 7 | Bank of America, National Association | 20 | $2.5M | 0.0% |
| 8 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 13 | $1.4M | 7.7% |
| 9 | Heritage Bank | 9 | $906K | 0.0% |
| 10 | Enterprise Bank & Trust | 8 | $2.0M | 16.7% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACalifornia | 191 | 28 | 16.5% |
| TXTexas | 65 | 12 | 20.7% |
| WAWashington | 38 | 2 | 5.7% |
| AZArizona | 23 | 6 | 31.6% |
| ILIllinois | 22 | 1 | 4.5% |
| LALouisiana | 16 | 5 | 35.7% |
| COColorado | 14 | 5 | 41.7% |
| FLFlorida | 14 | 2 | 16.7% |
| MOMissouri | 13 | 3 | 27.3% |
| TNTennessee | 13 | 2 | 16.7% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans here charge off near the 16.0% national average.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
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.
Why this reads harsher than the B grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
One pending franchisee dispute (Shree Krishna Donuts) and several concluded matters including a former-franchisee civil rights suit (Shetty, settled by insurer), a multi-state AG no-poaching settlement, a NY AG data-security settlement ($650,000), a terminated-franchisee dispute (Ram Donuts, settled for $110,000), plus two affiliated-program (ARG, JJF) regulatory settlements not alleging misconduct by Baskin-Robbins itself.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-0.2% YoY) indicates system contraction despite mature brand recognition
- 02MINORNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosure prevents ROI validation; with $307k-$622k investment and $532k avg revenue, actual profitability is opaque
- 03HIGH18 active/recent litigation cases including franchisor-initiated breach of contract claims against franchisees signal operational/relationship tensions
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct cannibalization risk and competitive pressure within same market
- 05MINOR5.9% royalty on $532k avg revenue = ~$31k annual royalty obligation with unknown net income makes breakeven analysis impossible
- 06MINOR20-year term locks capital into declining system with no performance guarantees
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 0.1% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 7 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One pending franchisee dispute (Shree Krishna Donuts) and several concluded matters including a former-franchisee civil rights suit (Shetty, settled by insurer), a multi-state AG no-poaching settlement, a NY AG data-security settlement ($650,000), a terminated-franchisee dispute (Ram Donuts, settled for $110,000), plus two affiliated-program (ARG, JJF) regulatory settlements not alleging misconduct by Baskin-Robbins itself.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- Certified Training location or another Baskin-Robbins Restaurant designated by franchisor
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 15 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Simphony POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Simphony POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2,223 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Baskin-Robbins franchise?
The total investment to open a Baskin-Robbins franchise ranges from $307K – $627K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Baskin-Robbins franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Baskin-Robbins FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $527K. The median is $503K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Baskin-Robbins?
Baskin-Robbins is franchised by Baskin-Robbins Franchising LLC. Its parent company is Dunkin' Brands, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Inspire Brands, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Baskin-Robbins 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 Baskin-Robbins FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Baskin-Robbins's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Baskin-Robbins has a charge-off rate of 16.2% across 672 loans, meaning 16.2% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Baskin-Robbins franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Baskin-Robbins has 967 total units in the United States, including 967 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 32 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Baskin-Robbins a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Baskin-Robbins as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
If you represent Baskin-Robbins, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Quick-Service Restaurants category
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.