Bruster's Real Ice Cream vs Shakes Alive Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Bruster's Real Ice Cream vs Shakes Alive including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Bruster's Real Ice Cream Franchise
Shakes Alive Franchise
Investment $229,200 - $1,315,000N/A
Franchise Fee $35,000N/A
Royalty Fee 5%-
Advertising Fee 3%-
Year Founded 1989-
Year Franchised 1993-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Bruster's Real Ice Cream Franchise
Shakes Alive Franchise
Experience *20% CAPITAL IN THE PROJECT. *DEDICATION TO EITHER OPERATING OR OVERSEEING *A MANAGER THAT WORKS APPROPRIATE RETAIL HOURS CULTIVATING AND MOTIVATING YOUTH. *INVOLVEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY-

Financing Options
 
Bruster's Real Ice Cream Franchise
Shakes Alive Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/Yes-/-
Start-up Costs No/Yes-/-
Equipment No/Yes-/-
Inventory No/Yes-/-
Receivables No/Yes-/-
Payroll No/Yes-/-

Training & Support
 
Bruster's Real Ice Cream Franchise
Shakes Alive Franchise
Training On-The-Job Training: 68 hours Classroom Training: 12 hours

Covers the areas of administration, operations, customer service and more. Valuable, hands-on experience will be gained through on-the-job training at an existing Shakes Alive! location. Shortly before your location opens, an experienced trainer will attend your grand opening in order to help assure that things start as smooth as possible.
Support *Real Estate Review and approval *Project Management *Marketing program and materials *procurement of products for operation *operations manager to support in your opening and ongoing consultations at your storePurchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform

We are eager to share our expertise with you, and will be available to answer your questions by phone or email at any time. Plus, you will be periodically visited by a Shakes Alive! representative who can provide assistance and insight.
Marketing Complete assortment of templates and plans annually along with the support of a field marketing representative for more one on one support.

Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app

Includes marketing plans in advertising materials for use in your own local market.
Operations Absentee Ownership Allowed

Number of Employees Required to Run: 15 - 30

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Expansion Plans
 
Bruster's Real Ice Cream Franchise
Shakes Alive Franchise
US Expansion Yes-
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion No-

Company Overviews

About Bruster's Real Ice Cream

Consistently ranked among the nation's top Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine, Bruster's Real Ice Cream is one of the fastest growing ice cream franchises. Bruster's Real Ice Cream started as a family-owned ice cream shop in 1989 when founder Bruce Reed opened his first store in Bridgewater, PA. Bruce grew up in the food service business working at his family's diner just blocks away from where he opened the first Bruster's ice cream store. Today, Bruster's has more than 230 stores in the eastern United States from New Hampshire to Florida, with a majority of them being locally owned and operated. Bruster's Real Ice Cream has been consistently ranked by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the nation's leading franchise companies. Bruster's philosophy is very simple. We believe that ice cream is one of life's great, simple pleasures that can be shared with family and friends of all ages. Bruster's Real Ice Cream store owners and managers share in that philosophy and our commitment to providing only the highest quality products and service to our customers. They are highly skilled experts in making only the freshest ice cream with the finest ingredients. Our owners and managers continue to rotate flavors to keep their product offering new and exciting every time a customer visits the store.

In addition, Bruster's Real Ice Cream is constantly developing and testing new products based on customer feedback.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Bruster’s franchised business is between $508,000 and $1,315,000 for a freestanding Unit, between $229,200 and $584,500 for an endcapUnit. This includes $35,000 that must be paid to the Franchisor or its affiliate(s) for a Unit.

Seeking new franchise units throughout the U.S., Asia, Canada, Central America, Middle East, Mexico, Philippines and South America    

#54 on Entrepreneur's ranking of the top 150 franchises offering incentives and other programs to help veterans become franchisees
Veteran Incentives  50% off franchise fee

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In Franchise Business Reviews Top 200.

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#23 in Gator's Top franchises.



About Shakes Alive