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Updated RecentlyCold Stone Creamery vs The Cream & Fudge Factory Franchise Comparison
Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Cold Stone Creamery vs The Cream & Fudge Factory including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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| Investment | $50,200 - $467,525 | $85,000 - $250,000 |
| Franchise Fee | $15,000 - $27,000 | $25,000 |
| Royalty Fee | 6% | 6% |
| Advertising Fee | 3% | 2%local +2%Nat'l |
| Year Founded | 1988 | 2005 |
| Year Franchised | 1994 | 2005 |
| Term Of Agreement | 10 years | - |
| Term Of Agreement | 10 years | - |
| Renewal Fee | - | - |
Business Experience Requirements |
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| Experience | - | - |
Financing Options |
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| In-House/3rd Party | In-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 |
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| 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. | The Cream & Fudge Academy offers a broad range of technical and managerial courses. The training is designed to provide you with the key skills required to run your stores with a passion for quality - a passion your customers will sense and appreciate through their overall experience at the store. The Cream & Fudge Factory also offers onsite training by its experienced professionals and has a specialized team taht can assist your local team in opening a new store. |
| 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. | The Cream & Fudge Factory will support you from the moment you sign a contract to the time your store - or stores - open. And the support continues during operation through continuous monitoring of your store, helping you to achieve a consistent high level of customer experience. We also help you promote your business by marketing the brand effectively within your territory. Because our ultimate goal is the same as yours - to generate solid returns on investment by running the business professionally and with the full support of The Cream & Fudge Factory's proven systems. |
| 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® | The Cream & Fudge Factory has ready-to-use proven promotions that can be adapted and implemented in your market. The Cream & Fudge Factory also has a professional team of graphic designers that can design specific promotions to meet your requirements. |
| 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) | - |
Expansion Plans |
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| US Expansion | Yes | - |
| Canada Expansion | No | - |
| International Expansion | Yes | - |
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
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About The Cream & Fudge Factory
The Cream & Fudge Factory offers super premium smooth and creamy ice cream, made fresh. After the customer selects their favorite flavors, the ice cream is hand folded on a frozen marble stone with the customer's choice of mix-ins of nuts, fruits, candies and fudge. In addition to allowing customers to create their own combinations, The Cream & Fudge Factory has a menu of proprietary and innovative creations made at the stores for customers to enjoy fresh. The company also offers take-away ice cream in pints and ice cream cakes. The minimum size for a shop is 50sqm up to 100sqm. In 2005, "The Cream & Fudge Factory" was launched and became part of the portfolio of Global Franchise Architects. Using its Swiss expertise and its worldwide research and development capabilities, in just 3 short years it has expanded its operations in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Oman, and Vietnam. The Cream & Fudge Factory prides itself on serving the highest quality premium ice cream blends, homemade waffle bowls & cones, innovative recipes, a wide range of mix-ins and like all GFA brands, its undying dedication to enhancing the customer experience worldwide. An upscale and world class experience in the super premium ice-cream mix-in category, The Cream & Fudge Factory offers a luxurious atmosphere where customers can enjoy our carefully mixed creations or customize their own. The Cream & Fudge Factory is the ideal environment in which to enjoy such pleasures, where cool contemporary styling and casual comfort complete a thoroughly dreamy all-round ice cream experience.