FranchiseVerdict
Kona Ice logo
FV-01429·STRONGExcellent81

Kona Ice

Formerly known as KII

Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & DessertsFranchising since 2008Website
Investment
$179K – $227K
31st pct Ice Cream & D…
Avg revenue
59th pct Ice Cream & D…
Royalty
Units
1,820
100th pct Ice Cream & D…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $179K – $227K 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 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 56 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 22.4% CAGR over 3 years with 1820 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Kona Ice, Inc.
Parent company
Kona Ice Holdings, LLC
Incorporated in
Kentucky
HQ
5945 Centennial Circle, Florence, Kentucky 41042
Auditor
Barnes Dennig
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$55.7M
vs $53.7M 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 Kona Ice 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: $179K–$227K
Working capital
$
Item 7 didn't break this out — defaulted to ~10% of annual revenue

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

33%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$68K
EBITDA margin
9.0%
Total invested
$208K
Payback
37 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 mobile or fixed-location shaved ice kiosks, selling flavored frozen treats primarily to consumers in warm-weather markets. Day-to-day operations involve inventory management, point-of-sale transactions, customer service, and seasonal marketing. Revenue is highly dependent on weather, foot traffic volume, and local competition.

CEO
Tony Lamb
Founded
2008
FDD year
2025
States available
47

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$179K – $227K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$0 – $10K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$15K
Royalty
$3,000 to $5,000 per year based on tenure
Ad fund
500 per year

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
1,820
Opened
182
Last reporting year
Closed
36
Turnover rate
2.0%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+8.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+22.4%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
1,816+150
Franchised units
2024
1,670
Franchised units
2025
1,484
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 6 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 · 6 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
56
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

46
Risk · 0-100
STRONG46 / 100

Kona Ice presents moderate-to-cautious risk: thin financial transparency, modest growth trajectory, and heavy reliance on seasonal demand without disclosed unit economics.

Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Revenue/Net Income) disclosed — impossible to validate ROI claims or profitability benchmarks
  2. 02MINORModest unit growth of 8.7% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee struggles in a seasonal business model
  3. 03MINORFlat/low royalty structure ($3,000–$5,000/year) may indicate franchisor dependency on franchise fees rather than system health
  4. 04MEDHigh initial investment ($178k–$227k) relative to disclosed information creates unquantified risk exposure
  5. 05MINORSeasonal revenue model (frozen treats) creates cash flow vulnerability; no disclosure of off-season survival strategies
  6. 06MED10-year term is relatively long; redemption/exit clauses not disclosed

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
population-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 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
Kentucky

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
14 hrs
On-the-job training
10 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

100 numbers

Locked
(520) 350-••••
AZ
(520) 591-••••
AZ
(310) 270-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Kona Ice · FDD (2025) PDF

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