Bruster's Real Ice Cream vs Handel's Homemade Ice Cream Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Bruster's Real Ice Cream vs Handel's Homemade Ice Cream 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
Handel's Homemade Ice Cream Franchise
Investment $229,200 - $1,315,000$234,500 - $814,500
Franchise Fee $35,000$50,000
Royalty Fee 5%6%
Advertising Fee 3%-
Year Founded 19891945
Year Franchised 19931989
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Bruster's Real Ice Cream Franchise
Handel's Homemade Ice Cream 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 COMMUNITYIn order to be considered, you must have a net worth of $250,000 and unrestricted capital in the amount of $100,000.

Financing Options
 
Bruster's Real Ice Cream Franchise
Handel's Homemade Ice Cream 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
Handel's Homemade Ice Cream Franchise
Training On-The-Job Training: 68 hours Classroom Training: 12 hours On-The-Job Training: 120 hours Classroom Training: 4 hours
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 Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection
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

Ad Templates Social media Website development Email marketing
Operations Absentee Ownership Allowed

Number of Employees Required to Run: 15 - 30

Number of Employees Required to Run: 25

Expansion Plans
 
Bruster's Real Ice Cream Franchise
Handel's Homemade Ice Cream Franchise
US Expansion YesYes
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 Handel's Homemade Ice Cream

"Handels

Handel's Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt is a popular ice cream company franchise founded by Alice Handel in 1945 in Youngstown, Ohio. As of 2020, the company was operating 50 corporate and franchise stores in nine states. Today, it is owned by Leonard Fisher and maintains a corporate headquarters in Canfield, Ohio.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Handel’s Franchise ranges from $234,500 to $714,500. This includes between $170,000 and $230,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or their affiliates.
The total investment necessary to operate multiple Parlors under a form of area development agreement depends on the number of franchises the franchisor grants you the right to open. The total investment necessary to enter into a development agreement for the right to develop three Parlors is $334,500 to $814,500, which includes an initial development fee of $150,000 that is paid to the franchisor, and the total investment to open and commence operations of your initial Parlor. Under the area development agreement, the Development Fee is equal to $50,000 for each Parlor that the franchisor will grant you the right to open and operate under the Development Agreement.

"Entrepreneur
#385 in Franchise 500 for 2020.