Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice CreamFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise requires a total initial investment of $217K – $356K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $228K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 56.2% charge-off rate across 16 loans[1]. Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $217K – $356K
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $228K
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 40
- 60th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 56.2%
- 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
At 0.8x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
56.2% of SBA loans charged off across 16 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 44 to 38 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $217K – $356K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $228K/year (median $220K).
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 75/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 56.2% across 16 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- SUB ZERO FRANCHISING, INC.
- Parent company
- Sub Zero Franchise Company, LLC
- Incorporated in
- UT
- HQ
- 62 W. Center St., Provo, UT 84601
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $858K
- vs $756K prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Sub Zero franchisees operate specialty ice cream shops featuring liquid nitrogen-frozen ice cream, emphasizing experiential service and premium positioning. Day-to-day operations involve preparing custom ice cream orders tableside using nitrogen, managing inventory of mix-in toppings, handling POS transactions, and creating viral-worthy moments for social media marketing.
- CEO
- Jerry Hancock
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2010
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 11
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $167K | $291K |
| Total initial investment | $217K | $356K |
Source: Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream 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
$32K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
10%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
9.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $217K – $356K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $65 |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $228K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $220K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 18 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $95K→$446K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $127K→$343K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 40
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 7.5%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 95%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +5.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -13.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Transfer rate
- 2.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 5.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 7.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 24 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
- 16
- Loan volume
- $2.9M
- Median loan
- $181K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 56.2%
- 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
- 13
- Defaults
- 9
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
A 56.2% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 2 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Sub Zero presents moderate-to-caution risk due to missing profitability disclosure, sluggish unit growth, and high capex relative to revenue, with unproven unit economics in a niche market category.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate profitability claims or actual ROI
- 02MEDSlow unit growth of only 5.6% YoY with 40 units suggests limited market traction or saturation concerns
- 03MEDHigh initial investment ($216.8K–$356K) relative to disclosed average revenue ($228K) creates thin margin for error and extended payback period
- 04MED6% royalty on gross sales with no disclosed net income makes it difficult to model true franchise profitability
- 05MEDNitrogen ice cream is a novelty category with limited consumer awareness — higher customer acquisition costs likely
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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Driving Mile Distance / Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Utah |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 28 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 58 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee's restaurant and franchisor's facility
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Profit Keeper
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Profit Keeper
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
48 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise?
The total investment to open a Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise ranges from $217K – $356K, 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 Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $228K. The median is $220K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream has a charge-off rate of 56.2% across 16 loans, meaning 56.2% 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 Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream has 40 total units in the United States, including 44 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 75 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.