Häagen-DazsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Häagen-Dazs franchise requires a total initial investment of $213K – $592K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $721K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 16.7% charge-off rate across 48 loans[1]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $213K – $592K
- 36th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $721K
- 21st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 215
- 83rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 16.7%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants 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
Franchising since 1983. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $213K – $592K including a $30K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $721K/year (median $631K).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 16.7% across 48 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- The Häagen-Dazs Shoppe Company, Inc.
- Parent company
- Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Company, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Froneri Lus Topco S.a.r.l
- Incorporated in
- NJ
- HQ
- 7500 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 750, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $9.8M
- vs $10.4M prior year
Affiliated brands
- that offers franchises only outside of the United States
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate ice cream shops or kiosks selling Häagen-Dazs premium ice cream, gelato, and frozen beverages under the brand. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, staffing, point-of-sale transactions, customer service, and maintaining brand standards through proprietary recipes and store presentation. Most locations are seasonal or location-dependent (airports, malls, tourist areas).
- CEO
- Adam Hanson
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 1983
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 29
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 37 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (New Shop) | $30K | $30K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Training (New Shop) | $3K | $3K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (New Shop) | $105K | $350K | |
| Deposits and Licenses (New Shop) | $8K | $18K | |
| Equipment, Fixtures and Furnishings (New Shop) | $50K | $115K | |
| Opening Inventory (New Shop) | $6K | $10K | |
| Insurance (New Shop) | $2K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months (New Shop) | $10K | $64K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (New Shop - Existing Franchisee) | $15K | $15K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Training (Existing Franchisee) | $0 | $3K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Existing Franchisee) | $105K | $350K | |
| Deposits and Licenses (Existing Franchisee) | $8K | $18K | |
| Equipment, Fixtures and Furnishings (Existing Franchisee) | $50K | $115K | |
| Opening Inventory (Existing Franchisee) | $6K | $10K | |
| Insurance (Existing Franchisee) | $2K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months (Existing Franchisee) | $10K | $64K | |
| Satellite Fee | $1K | $1K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Training (Satellite) | $0 | $3K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Satellite) | $105K | $350K | |
| Deposits and Licenses (Satellite) | $8K | $18K | |
| Total initial investment | $666K | $2.4M |
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
$123K
17.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
28%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $213K – $592K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $64K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $10K |
| 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
- $721K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $631K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 179 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $166K→$2.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Häagen-Dazs Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 215
- Opened
- 15
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 7
- Turnover rate
- 3.3%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +3.9%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +2.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 8
- Closed (3yr)
- 7
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 11
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 0.9%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 3.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 48
- Loan volume
- $7.9M
- Median loan
- $164K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 16.7%
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 27
- Defaults
- 7
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Häagen-Dazs presents moderate-to-cautious risk: a premium brand with solid average revenue but undisclosed profitability, minimal unit growth, and high capital requirements that warrant deep financial validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $30,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers 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: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to verify actual profitability against $721k average revenue
- 02MINORUnit growth flat at 3.9% YoY — below industry standards for premium ice cream, suggests market saturation or underperformance
- 03MEDHigh capital requirement ($213k-$591k) with 4% royalty creates breakeven pressure if revenue declines
- 04MINOROnly 215 units system-wide — smaller franchise network increases systemic vulnerability to economic downturns
- 05MINOR10-year term locks franchisee into agreement during uncertain economic/consumer preference cycles
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 |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | 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 | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Minnesota |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 21 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- Treatware POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Treatware POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
98 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Häagen-Dazs · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Häagen-Dazs franchise?
The total investment to open a Häagen-Dazs franchise ranges from $213K – $592K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Häagen-Dazs franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Häagen-Dazs FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $721K. The median is $631K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Häagen-Dazs's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Häagen-Dazs has a charge-off rate of 16.7% across 48 loans, meaning 16.7% 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 Häagen-Dazs franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Häagen-Dazs has 215 total units in the United States, including 207 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 15 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Häagen-Dazs a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Häagen-Dazs as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 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.