Freddo Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Freddo is a dessert franchise serving Argentine-style artisan gelato and ice cream. Franchisees run the shops, managing gelato prep, inventory, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Freddo franchise requires a total initial investment of $163K – $455K, including a $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $163K – $455K
- 15th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 18
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · 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 $163K – $455K including a $20K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSStatement of Income (Loss) reports Sales of $1,389,087 (FY2024) vs $2,696,564 (FY2023). Item 8 discloses $950,000 (68% of $1,389,087 revenue) derived from the sale of gelato to franchisees during 2024.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 49/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports net revenues rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Freddo Franchising International, LLC
- Parent company
- GA Investment LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Freddo S.A. (Freddo Argentina)
- CEO title
- Manager / CEO
- Raúl Mandía
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 176 Giralda Ave., Coral Gables, FL 33134
- Auditor
- Pistrelli, Henry Martin y Asociados S.A. (Member of Ernst and Young Global)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.4M
- vs $2.7M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Raúl Mandía
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2009
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 53% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $20K | $20K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $7K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $136K | $405K |
| Total initial investment | $163K | $455K |
Source: Freddo 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $163K – $455K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $7K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $400 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Freddo did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Freddo unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
35%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Statement of Income (Loss) reports Sales of $1,389,087 (FY2024) vs $2,696,564 (FY2023). Item 8 discloses $950,000 (68% of $1,389,087 revenue) derived from the sale of gelato to franchisees during 2024.
- Item 19 type
- net revenues
- Sample size
- 9
- vs category median 20 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $113K→$566K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.5% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports net revenues rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 142.9% CAGR over 3 years across 18 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 averages
How Freddo Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 18
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +142.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +142.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 8
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 9
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Freddo presents moderate-to-caution risk: undisclosed profitability metrics, unprotected territories, and a small system size limit visibility into unit economics and scalability.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Pistrelli, Henry Martin y Asociados S.A. (Member of Ernst and Young Global)
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: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate profitability claims against $313k average revenue
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization potential among 18 units
- 03MEDSmall franchise system (18 units) with modest 88.9% YoY growth suggests limited scale and market penetration
- 04MEDHigh investment range ($163k-$455k) relative to disclosed average revenue without profitability transparency
- 05MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years), creating renewal uncertainty and reduced ROI window
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Miami, FL |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 63 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 121 hrs
- Training location
- Miami, FL or other designated location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 168 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
9 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Freddo · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Freddo franchise?
The total investment to open a Freddo franchise ranges from $163K – $455K, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Freddo franchise owners earn?
Freddo does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Freddo 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 Freddo FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Freddo's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Freddo (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Freddo franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Freddo has 18 total units in the United States, including 17 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Freddo a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Freddo as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 49 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.