Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk Franchise Cost & 2025 FDD Data
73/100
Strongest tier
73 this brand51 Quick-Service Restaurants medianlikely 53–93: narrower with more SBA loans (very low confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#422 of 3,069 graded brands
Why an A: Helped by unit growth and transparency. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $176K – $461K
- Kiosks format
- Avg gross sales
- not extracted
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from the FDD filing. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2025 FDD
Per the 2025 FDD, a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk franchise requires a total initial investment of $176K – $461K for the Kiosks format (the filing prices $176K to $872K across two formats), including a $20K franchise fee. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. Verdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2025 FDD · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium (issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file)
Evidence for the headline figures: thin✓ Investment (Item 7)✗ Item 19 status✗ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored3 of 3 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Quick-Service Restaurants median
Top edge: green = better than the Quick-Service Restaurants median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSNo Item 19 gross sales figure is on file for this brand. We have not established what its FDD discloses.
- GROWTHIn the latest Item 20 year, the number of franchised outlets fell by 4 (2 opened, 6 closed).
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $41K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $64K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $254K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (2)
- 1 pending matter names the franchisor in Item 3 (litigation). Pending claims are allegations, not findings.
- Limited data: this page holds only part of the filing. Read the FDD itself before relying on any figure here.
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating and no rule that the owner must run it personally. Not on file here, so ask: unit trend, SBA charge-off rate against the category median, competition inside your territory, jury-trial waiver and supplier rebates.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: the franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 35% below the Quick-Service Restaurants median ($487K).
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (Item 1: 265 Turner Drive, Durango, Colorado 81303) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Item 7 (startup costs) · 2 formats · 2025 FDD
Every building format
The filing prints a separate Item 7 table for each format.
2 formats, from $176K to $872K
| Format | Total investment | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Full-Sized Stores | $466K – $872K | p.20 |
| Kiosks(the range shown above) | $176K – $461K | p.23 |
Full Item 7 breakdown12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $20K | $20K | |
| Real Estate and Improvements | $27K | $197K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $32K | $83K | |
| Equipment | $41K | $57K | |
| Signs/Graphics | $3.2K | $12K | |
| Point of Sale (POS) System, a basic personal computer and specified software | $7.5K | $12.5K | |
| Opening Inventory | $7.5K | $12.5K | |
| Inventory and Cooking Supplies Purchased from Other Suppliers | $500 | $6.5K | |
| In-Store Promotional Graphics | $4K | $11K | |
| Security Deposits, Utility Deposits, Business Licenses, and Lease Review Fees | $5.2K | $10K | |
| Pre-Opening Training, Travel and Living Expenses | $2.2K | $5.5K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $25.5K | $33.5K | |
| Total initial investment | $176K | $461K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. The total row is the total as printed in Item 7. Actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fundBrand-wide marketing pool. Currently 1% of Gross Retail Sales; franchisor reserves right to charge up to 3% of Gross Retail Sales | 1.0% |
| Transfer fee | $5,000 |
| Renewal fee | $2,500 |
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $318K Item 7 midpoint (Kiosks format) is a $254K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $41K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $64K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $318K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $254K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
No Item 19 gross sales figure for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk is on file. The return models need one gross sales figure to start from, plus the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions; nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Not disclosed in Item 19. Enter your own gross sales assumption
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
No Item 19 figures are on file for this brand. Enter your own costs from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners.
Illustrative category typicals, not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Item 7 midpoint of $176K to $461K
Item 7's $26K to $34K additional funds are already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies annual revenue, royalty rate, COGS, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $254K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
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 · filed by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc.
Financial performance
We have not established what this franchisor's Item 19 says. The FDD on file either has no locatable Item 19 or could not be read, so no figure is published here.
Item 19 covers the parent format. The filing's Item 19 groups describe Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, not this format, so they are printed on the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory page.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
System figures: see Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
System figures: see Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Government records
SBA loan data
Matched to this brand from SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What are the risks?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade A: Strongest tier, 73/100 (category median 51); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why an A, factor by factor
- Financial health NeutralAudited financials; no going-concern doubt
- Unit economics NeutralNo Item 19 sales figure to set against the investment, so neutral
- Unit growth HelpsTurnover 3.9%
- Scale NeutralFranchising since 1982
- Legal Neutral3 matters naming the franchisor among the Item 3 matters we list
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 status not confirmed (neither credit nor penalty); audited financials
- Adjustments after the six dimensions (+1 point)Rounding: the score is kept as a whole number, which moved it by 1 point.
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CohnReznick LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
The revenue figures are in the Franchisor tab, under The franchisor.
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Revenue from purchases by franchisees was $18,587,900 (57%) of total revenues of $32,342,579 for fiscal year ended February 28, 2022.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
Ask what the franchisor earns on the supplies it sells you or the rebates it takes (Item 8).
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
System figures: see Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Allowed renewals | 1 |
|---|---|
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Who runs it (Item 15) | Owner-operator not required |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Governing law | Colorado |
Items 5 (initial fees), 7 (startup costs), 12 (territory) and 20 (outlet counts) · development agreement
Area development (several units)
The filing offers a development agreement for several units.
Every term, with its page
- Item 7 for the agreement
- $35K – $60K to sign the development agreement, before any unit's own Item 7 total.
2025 FDD p.24
“TOTAL (See Note 2) $35,000 $60,000”
Each unit still needs its own Item 7 investment on top of the development fee. Have a franchise attorney read the schedule and the default terms before you sign.
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- On-the-job training
- 26 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects and acquires premises subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- POS System (PC-based registers, cash drawers, thermal receipt printers, credit card readers, scales, laser bar code scanners); Worldpay by FIS compatible for Gift Card Program
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Franchisee contacts
We hold no owner list for this brand. Item 20 of the FDD lists the current and former owners; the free FDD is the source.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk franchise?
Per the 2025 FDD, the total investment to open a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk franchise ranges from $176K to $461K for the Kiosks format, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. Across every format the filing prices, totals run from $176K to $872K (two formats). This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk franchise owners earn?
No average owner earnings figure for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk is on file. Item 19, where a franchisor may disclose what its outlets earn, is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and we have not established what this brand's FDD says. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk?
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk is franchised by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. Its parent company is Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (Delaware holding company, formed March 1, 2015). The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (Delaware). Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk 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 Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate, and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk has too few resolved SBA 7(a) loans on file (fewer than 10) to show an SBA charge-off rate that would mean anything. The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. Review the turnover and closure figures in Item 20 of the FDD and speak with current and former franchisees.
Is Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Kiosk an A Verdict grade (Strongest tier) with a verdict score of 73 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by unit growth (turnover 3.9%) and transparency. The “Why an A” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Similar investment first, then by grade
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.