Jeni’s Splendid Ice CreamsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams franchise requires a total initial investment of $696K – $1.3M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $997K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $696K – $1.3M
- 39th pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- $997K
- 13th pct Retail
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 6th pct Retail
- Units
- 87
- 25th pct Retail
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Started franchising in 2025. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Bottom line
- Total investment $696K – $1.3M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $997K/year (median $933K), with an estimated 13% cash-on-cash return.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 47/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS FRANCHISE, LLC
- Parent company
- Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, LLC
- Incorporated in
- OH
- HQ
- 401 North Front Street, Suite 300, Columbus, Ohio 43215
- Auditor
- Plante & Moran, PLLC
- Audited financials
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Jeni's franchisees operate artisanal ice cream shops featuring small-batch, premium ice cream made with high-quality ingredients. Day-to-day operations include managing production scheduling, maintaining strict food quality and cold chain protocols, staffing seasonal labor fluctuations, and executing point-of-sale transactions in a retail environment with significant fixed overhead (rent, utilities, refrigeration equipment).
- CEO
- Poe Timmons
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 0
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $641K | $1.2M |
| Total initial investment | $696K | $1.3M |
Source: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$80K
8.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
8%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $696K – $1.3M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.3%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 7.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $72K – $113K |
| Total fee load | 7.3% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $997K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $933K
- Avg net profit
- $126K
- Reported as Net Profit in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 12.8%
- Based on Net Profit / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Corporate Outlets
- Sample size
- 83 units
- vs category median 49
- Range (low → high)
- $434K→$2.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $839K→$1.4M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Compared against 304 Retail brands
vs Retail averages
How Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 87
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Turnover rate
- 4.6%
- Company-owned
- 87
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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
- California
- Hawaii
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Washington
- 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
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
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
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
Moderate-to-cautious risk profile: high capital requirements, thin margins, small system size, and lack of transparent financial disclosure create meaningful downside exposure despite absence of litigation or going concern issues.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Plante & Moran, PLLC
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 47 / 100 rating
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($696k-$1.27M) relative to average net income ($125.5k) means 5.5-10 year payback period before accounting for royalties and debt service
- 02MEDOnly 87 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory suggests limited scale, unproven replicability, and potential market saturation concerns
- 03MINORNet income represents only 12.6% of average revenue ($125.5k / $997k), indicating thin margins vulnerable to cost inflation in perishable goods sector
- 04MINORAbsence of Item 19 (Financial Performance) disclosure prevents validation of claimed averages and obscures franchise performance variability
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Geographic |
| 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 |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 62 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
12 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams franchise?
The total investment to open a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams franchise ranges from $696K – $1.3M, 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 Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $997K. The median is $933K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (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 Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has 87 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 87 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 47 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.