Ben & Jerry’sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ben & Jerry’s franchise requires a total initial investment of $157K – $551K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 3.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $664K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 20 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $157K – $551K
- 16th pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- $664K
- 7th pct Retail
- Royalty
- 3.0%
- 1st pct Retail
- Units
- 154
- 30th pct Retail
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Retail avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Only 0.0% of 20 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1981. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 161 to 152 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $157K – $551K including a $40K franchise fee, 3.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $664K/year (median $612K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 20 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Ben & Jerry’s Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- VT
- HQ
- 530 Community Drive, Suite 1, South Burlington, Vermont 05403-6828
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $15.1M
- vs $15.7M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate scoop shops selling Ben & Jerry's branded ice cream, frozen yogurt, and related products in protected territories. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, point-of-sale transactions, staff scheduling, in-store promotions, and local marketing within Unilever's brand guidelines. Shops typically operate seasonally or year-round depending on location.
- Headquarters
- VT
- Founded
- 1978
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 30
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 45 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Agreement Deposit (Full-Sized Shop) | $5K | $10K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Full-Sized Shop - Satellite Addendum) | $8K | $8K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Full-Sized Shop - Franchise Agreement) | $20K | $40K | |
| Plans, Development & Permits (Full-Sized Shop) | $4K | $12K | |
| Leasehold Improvements & Construction (Full-Sized Shop) | $85K | $230K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment, Casework, and Smallwares (Full-Sized Shop) | $65K | $135K | |
| Signage (Full-Sized Shop) | $5K | $18K | |
| Professional Fees (Full-Sized Shop) | $3K | $6K | |
| POS (Full-Sized Shop) | $2K | $2K | |
| Online Ordering System Hardware (Full-Sized Shop) | $1K | $2K | |
| Internet Connectivity and Telephone (Full-Sized Shop) | $1K | $2K | |
| Deposits (Full-Sized Shop) | $3K | $8K | |
| Initial Training (Full-Sized Shop) | $1K | $3K | |
| Inventory (Full-Sized Shop) | $8K | $14K | |
| Insurance (Full-Sized Shop) | $500 | $3K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising (Full-Sized Shop) | $3K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months (Full-Sized Shop) | $50K | $75K | |
| Preliminary Agreement Deposit (In-Line Shop) | $5K | $10K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (In-Line Shop - Satellite Addendum) | $8K | $8K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (In-Line Shop - Franchise Agreement) | $20K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $611K | $1.2M |
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.
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
$66K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
16%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $157K – $551K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 3.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $6K |
| Renewal fee | $12K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $664K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $612K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 124 units
- vs category median 49 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $138K→$2.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Compared against 304 Retail brands
vs Retail averages
How Ben & Jerry’s Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 154
- Opened
- 10
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 7
- Turnover rate
- 4.5%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +2.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 10
- Closed (3yr)
- 7
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 7
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 7
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 43.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 28 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Hawaii
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 20
- Loan volume
- $6.3M
- Median loan
- $351K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 12
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 20 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Ben & Jerry's presents moderate-to-elevated risk due to stagnant unit growth, undisclosed profitability metrics, active corporate governance litigation, and high capital requirements relative to disclosed revenue.
Litigation (Item 3)
15 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $9
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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (2.0% YoY) suggests mature/declining system despite brand strength
- 02MINORNo Item 19 (net income) disclosure limits ability to verify $664K revenue translates to viable profit
- 03HIGHActive litigation between independent board and Unilever creates governance uncertainty and potential strategic misalignment
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($156.9K-$550.8K) paired with modest average revenue ($664.3K) yields thin margins before operating costs
- 05MINORMultiple settlements/disputes over social responsibility (Israel/West Bank, supply chain) create reputational risk and potential operational constraints
- 06HIGHFalse going concern status unclear but warrants immediate clarification on financial health
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius or Boundaries |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Vermont |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
15 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 19 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 4 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
139 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Ben & Jerry’s · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ben & Jerry’s franchise?
The total investment to open a Ben & Jerry’s franchise ranges from $157K – $551K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ben & Jerry’s franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Ben & Jerry’s FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $664K. The median is $612K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Ben & Jerry’s's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Ben & Jerry’s has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 20 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Ben & Jerry’s franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ben & Jerry’s has 154 total units in the United States, including 161 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 10 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ben & Jerry’s a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ben & Jerry’s as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 51 out of 100, 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.
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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.