Cold Stone Creamery vs Baskin-Robbins Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Cold Stone Creamery vs Baskin-Robbins including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
Baskin-Robbins Franchise
Investment $50,200 - $467,525$123,952 - $558,830
Franchise Fee $15,000 - $27,000$12,500 - $25,000
Royalty Fee 6%5.9%
Advertising Fee 3%5%
Year Founded 19881945
Year Franchised 19941948
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
Baskin-Robbins Franchise
Experience -
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • Marketing skills

  • Financing Options

     
    Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
    Baskin-Robbins Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/YesNo/Yes
    Start-up Costs No/YesNo/Yes
    Equipment No/YesNo/Yes
    Inventory No/YesNo/Yes
    Receivables No/YesNo/Yes
    Payroll No/YesNo/Yes

    Training & Support

     
    Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
    Baskin-Robbins Franchise
    Training Franchising with Cold Stone Creamery® means you’ll never be alone in your business. As one of the world’s premier ice cream franchises, Cold Stone Creamery’s support network has launched hundreds of entrepreneurs without any experience in either the service industry or the restaurant industry into growing businesses in communities across the country and around the world. “Cold Stone Creamery has one of the most robust training platforms in the entire franchise industry,” says John Wuycheck, SVP of Franchise Development. “Our franchisees make real investments of both time and money to franchise with Cold Stone Creamery, and we honor that by going above and beyond in providing an exceptional initial and ongoing training platform. We’ve been helping entrepreneurs establish new Cold Stone Creamery businesses for a long time, and we’ve built an iconic business model that requires no previous experience to become a top performer. As a franchisor, we’re honored to report that franchisee satisfaction is at an all-time high.” Initial New franchisees attend KTEC (Kahala Training and Education Center). In addition, new franchisees spend two weeks in a store where we cover every aspect of their new business, including making the ice cream, preparing and serving Cold Stone Creamery products, managing inventory and supporting their business through savvy marketing. On-The-Job New franchisees spend 80 hours in a store to learn the ins and outs of the business, including how to correctly prepare and serve the brand’s products. Cold Stone Creamery also hosts monthly check-ins to help you meet your goals, to offer assistance and to ensure you have all the tools necessary to improve your business every day. On-The-Job Training: 2.5 weeks Classroom Training: 2.5 weeks
    Support Cold Stone Creamery will meet with you regularly to help you and answer any of your questions. Every new franchisee receives monthly check-in calls from a Regional Director of Operations or Area Developer.Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
    Marketing Cold Stone Creamery franchisees have access to in-house marketing and public relations teams, which significantly reduces expenses. These teams help with national, regional and local marketing, along with public relations from the grand opening through the life of the business. We train franchisees to manage their stores’ social media accounts, including Facebook®, Twitter® and Instagram® -" and newer platforms such as Snapchat®Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
    Operations 35% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 15

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed.


    Expansion Plans

     
    Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
    Baskin-Robbins Franchise
    US Expansion YesYes
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion YesYes

    Company Overviews

    About Cold Stone Creamery

    Founders, Donald and Susan Sutherland, have an energy for frozen yogurt! They scanned wherever for frozen yogurt that was "smooth and rich", instead of the customary hard-pressed or delicate serve assortments. In 1988, in the wake of coming up purge in their hunt, they opened the primary Cold Stone Creamery in Tempe, Arizona. Utilizing just the finest fixings, the Sutherlands delivered the most elevated quality frozen yogurt accessible - making it crisp every day in their store. Each dessert creation was then made to arrange for every client by mixing in blend ins on a solidified rock stone (the Cold Stone!), and served in a crisp prepared waffle cone. Word soon spread far and wide among frozen yogurt significant others that Cold Stone Creamery's dessert was the best, and the upheaval started! In 1995, the main establishment store opened in Tucson, Arizona, trailed by the first out-of-state store in Camarillo, California.

    The establishing store of Cold Stone Creamery opened in 1988
    We've been granting establishments since 1994
    About 1,000 stores working in the U.S. also, almost 300 stores around the world
    U.S. Domains Currently Open
    Single and Multi-Unit Deals Available
    Normal time to open is 6-12 months
    Co-marking Opportunities Available

    The Numbers You Need to Know

    $27,000 establishment fee*
    $250,000 total assets
    $100,000 fluid, non-financed stores
    Add up to beginning speculation - $50,200 - $467,525 *
    Sovereignty expense - 6% of gross deals
    Publicizing expense - 3% of gross deals

    *This charge is for a customary area and does exclude any rebates that might be appropriate. Distinctive expenses may apply for different sorts of areas. More nitty gritty venture data is accessible in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).

    The Buzz About Our Brand

    #53 on the 2013 "Establishment 500®" rundown in Entrepreneur® magazine
    #19 on the 2013 "Worldwide 30" list in QSR® magazine
    #46 on the 2012 "Top Global Franchises" list in Entrepreneur magazine
    #49 on QSR magazine's 2011 "QSR Top 50" positioning
    #54 on the 2011 "Establishment 500" rundown in Entrepreneur magazine
    #49 on Franchise Direct's® "Best 100 Global Franchises" list for 2011

    #123 on the 2010 Franchise Times® "Beat 200 Franchise Systems"
    "franchiserankingscom"
    #79 on Franchise Rankings.com





    About Baskin-Robbins

    As a teenager in the 1930s, Irv Robbins managed an ice cream shop in Tacoma, Washington. Bored with serving traditional flavors like chocolate and vanilla, Robbins began experimenting, mixing fruit and candies into the ice cream. After serving in World War II, Robbins bought an ice cream parlor in Glendale, California. Three years later, he convinced his brother-in-law, Burt Baskin, to join the business. The two men flipped a coin to see whose name would go first on the sign. Baskin won, and in 1945, Baskin-Robbins was born. Today, Baskin-Robbins has locations in more than 50 countries, each serving the company's famous 31 flavors of ice cream as well as frozen yogurt, sherbet, cakes and drinks. Baskin-Robbins is a subsidiary of Allied Domecq, parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Togo's. Franchisees may operate combination stores, co-branding Baskin-Robbins with either Dunkin' Donuts or Togo's. 

    Veteran Incentives  First-store franchise fee waived; royalty fee reduced for first 5 years
    "Top    ""    "Entrepreneur
    #100 in Canada's Top franchises.          
                                                                                                   
    "franchiserankingscom"
    #30 on Franchise Rankings.com
    #13 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
    #38 in Franchise 500 for 2021.