FranchiseVerdict
Dippin’ Dots® logo
FV-00754·STRONGStandard76

Dippin’ Dots®

Formerly known as Digital Doc

Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & DessertsFranchising since 1999Website
Investment
$79K – $399K
3rd pct Ice Cream & D…
Avg revenue
59th pct Ice Cream & D…
Royalty
Units
260
90th pct Ice Cream & D…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $79K – $399K including a $15K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 5 loans (below the industry average).
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Dippin’ Dots Franchising, L.L.C.
Parent company
J & J Snack Foods Corp.
Incorporated in
Oklahoma
HQ
910 South 5th Street, Paducah, Kentucky 42003
Auditor
Blythe CPAs + Advisors
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.3M
vs $3.1M 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 Dippin’ Dots® unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
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: $79K–$399K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$64K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

24%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$68K
EBITDA margin
9.0%
Total invested
$276K
Payback
49 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 Dippin' Dots retail locations (kiosks, carts, or storefronts) selling flash-frozen beaded ice cream products. Day-to-day operations include managing inventory, serving customers, maintaining equipment, and tracking per-unit/per-bag royalty payments on both bulk and pre-packaged products sold.

CEO
Daniel Fachner
Founded
1999
FDD year
2025
States available
47

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$79K – $399K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $64K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$15K
Royalty
$2.16 per bag for bulk; $0.09 per unit for pre-pack; Up t…
Ad fund
$0.24 per bag for bulk; $0.01 per unit for pre-pack; Up t…
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
260
Opened
28
Last reporting year
Closed
14
Turnover rate
5.4%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+5.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+8.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
260+14
Franchised units
2024
246
Franchised units
2025
239
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 23 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 · 23 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
5
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

52
Risk · 0-100
STRONG52 / 100

Dippin' Dots presents caution-level risk due to undisclosed financials, modest growth trajectory, territorial vulnerability, and opaque royalty mechanics that obscure true profitability potential.

Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average revenue/net income not provided) prevents proper ROI analysis
  2. 02MEDSlow unit growth of 5.7% YoY with only 260 locations suggests limited market expansion and potential market saturation
  3. 03MINORUnprotected territory creates risk of internal brand cannibalization and direct franchisee competition
  4. 04MINORComplex royalty structure (per-bag bulk + per-unit pre-pack + 6% ancillary) lacks transparency on total cost of goods sold impact
  5. 05MINORWide investment range ($79K-$398K, 5x spread) indicates inconsistent unit economics and unclear cost allocation

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Designated geographic area
Protected territory
No
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
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
Oklahoma

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
32 hrs
On-the-job training
30 hrs
POS system
Square
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

79 numbers

Locked
(606) 682-••••
KY
(754) 222-••••
FL
(626) 278-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Dippin’ Dots® · FDD (2025) PDF

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