Pitango GelatoFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pitango Gelato franchise requires a total initial investment of $387K – $756K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $804K[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $387K – $756K
- 71st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $804K
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 6
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Started franchising in 2024. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Bottom line
- Total investment $387K – $756K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $804K/year.
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 59/100.
- Emerging franchise: only 2 years of franchising with 6 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Pitango Gelato Franchise Co., LLC
- Ultimate parent
- None identified
- CEO title
- President and Manager
- Dinah Bengur
- CEO experience
- 2018 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 509 South Exeter Street, Suite 214, Baltimore, Maryland 21202
- Auditor
- Joel Glauser, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $65K
- vs $23K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate artisanal gelato retail locations, managing daily production/serving of premium gelato products, point-of-sale operations, staffing, and local marketing. Operations likely include ingredient sourcing, flavor development/rotation, customer service, and inventory management in a capital-intensive retail environment.
- CEO
- Dinah Bengur
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $80K | $250K | |
| Lease Payments and other rental expensesnot refundable | $7K | $30K | |
| Kitchen Equipmentnot refundable | $130K | $180K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Furnishingsnot refundable | $46K | $72K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $8K | $20K | |
| Initial Inventorynot refundable | $14K | $17K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $6K | $35K | |
| POS and Computer Equipmentnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Travel, lodging and meals for trainingnot refundable | $2K | $6K | |
| Business licenses, permits, etc. (for first year)not refundable | $600 | $2K | |
| Insurance deposits and premiumsnot refundable | $4K | $9K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $500 | $2K | |
| Utilities - deposits and connection feesnot refundable | $500 | $3K | |
| Other Operating Funds (Initial 3 months)not refundable | $20K | $35K | |
| Other Initial Investmentnot refundable | $8K | $22K | |
| Wages for Employees - First Three Monthsnot refundable | $25K | $35K | |
| Total initial investment | $387K | $756K |
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
$125K
15.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $387K – $756K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · 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 |
| Technology fee | $50 |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
A 6.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $804K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-owned outlets
- Sample size
- 3 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $562K→$1.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Pitango Gelato Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 6
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 17%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 16.7%
- Units that stopped operating
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.
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Pitango Gelato presents meaningful risk due to micro-scale operations (6 units), undisclosed profitability metrics, and franchisor going concern issues that undermine confidence in system viability and support.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Joel Glauser, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 6 units in system with unknown growth trajectory — insufficient scale and no demonstrated expansion
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — cannot assess actual profitability despite $806k average revenue
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is False — suggests financial instability or operational uncertainty at franchisor level
- 04MEDHigh investment range ($387k-$755k) relative to only 6 existing units — limited proof of concept
- 05HIGHNo litigation disclosed but 'Going Concern' flag indicates potential undisclosed legal or financial stress
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 | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius/Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 10 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 106 hrs
- Training location
- Baltimore, MD or Reston, VA
- Field support
- 106 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
4 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Pitango Gelato · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Pitango Gelato franchise?
The total investment to open a Pitango Gelato franchise ranges from $387K – $756K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Pitango Gelato franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Pitango Gelato FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $804K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Pitango Gelato's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Pitango Gelato (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 Pitango Gelato franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Pitango Gelato has 6 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 5 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Pitango Gelato a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Pitango Gelato as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 59 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.
For franchisors
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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.