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Updated RecentlyCold Stone Creamery vs Let's Yo Yogurt Franchise Comparison
Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Cold Stone Creamery vs Let's Yo Yogurt 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 | $355,800 - $548,500 |
| Franchise Fee | $15,000 - $27,000 | $45,000 |
| Royalty Fee | 6% | 6% |
| Advertising Fee | 3% | - |
| Year Founded | 1988 | 2011 |
| Year Franchised | 1994 | 2011 |
| Term Of Agreement | 10 years | 10 years |
| Term Of Agreement | 10 years | 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. | At our training facility our franchisees and managers learn how to successfully operate a Let's YO store. The training is an intensive series of onsite workshops, online courses and hands-on training. Attendees receive personalized, hands-on training from a dedicated team of Let's YO Education and Training specialists. Not only do our franchisees learn how to make our famous treats, they learn how to exceed guest service expectations and deliver quality guest service. The training facility also includes a fully-functioning Let's YO retail location with inside seating and service that is open to the public year round. The training facility is open to all Let's YO, and provides an excellent model of future Let's YO stores that features the latest design Let's YO features and key elements. |
| 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. | Real Estate This is the beginning of your Site Search as a Let's YO franchisee. You will be teamed with a Let's YO Real Estate Manager who will work with you to determine the best possible location for your new store. Your Real Estate Manager is designated to your area and will visit your site, research Demographics, market characteristics, and analyze the proposed location to determine that your site can be submitted to Let's YO Site Approval Committee. Our Committee meets weekly in order to determine the most viable location for your Let's YO store. We will also assist you with your negotiations, Rental Offer/Letter of Intent (LOI), and Lease Agreement signing. By utilizing local brokers, defining the intentions between the landlord and the tenant, outlining the basic provisions of your lease, and reviewing any contingencies. Let's YO supports you through the Real Estate process. We are committed to identifying the best opportunity for you in your area of development. With your partnership we will continue our strategy for expansion and to build the Let's YO franchise brand! Construction During this next step, a Project Manager from Let's YO Construction Team will work closely with you. Our Project Managers handle every property from the time the site is identified to the time that the store opens. We provide support during the design and permitting phase prior to the start of construction, and we manage Contractors and Vendors while holding everyone involved in the process to Let's YO standards. Our experienced Construction Team has experience in working with all types of Real Estate from Free Standing, to Strip Centers, to renovated buildings. Your Project Manager will provide you with Let's YO approved floor plan, cost estimate, scope of work, and your equipment list. Let's YO Construction Team is here to ensure this process runs smoothly and efficiently while adhering to the Let’s YO Franchise System standards. Operations Support Dedicated field staff will visit your store to help strategize, build and execute your plan on a local level. Our operations team includes a number of professionals with wide-ranging food service expertise who function as your business consultant. These experts can assist with everything from sharing best practices, hitting P&L goals, engaging your team members, customer service, human resources, understanding trade areas and local store marketing. New Store Opening Support Through every aspect of the exciting but challenging opening process, the Let's YO team will assure that your store's opening is truly grand. |
| 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® | We fully support you with strong marketing and advertising programs, along with a complete package of communication and brand tools. Working from a solid brand and sales growth strategy, our team of marketing veterans will develop and manage all system wide tactics as well as assist you with specific ways to promote your store locally. |
| 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 | 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 Let's Yo Yogurt
Irresistible delectable treats is just one component of the Let's YO yogurt experience. The Let's YO brand has been carefully developed to appeal to health conscious and trend-forward customers with active lifestyles. We're developing a strong brand loyalty among our growing guest base through interactive marketing programs and social media outreach. The hip, energetic and socially connected store environment adds yet another dimension to Let's YO's distinctiveness among traditional yogurt stores. Its time to join a real growth opportunity! Let's YO is quickly establishing itself as one of fastest growing new franchise brands in the Fro-Yo industry and has a plan for success that includes expanding this hot new brand nationwide! The simple operation of this rapidly growing product category and relatively low investment, allows you to be an investor inside your store, not an operator. With territories now open for expansion throughout the U.S. the timing has never been better to invest in a Let's YO yogurt franchise! If you are interested in taking the next step to find out if a Let's Yo Yogurt franchise could work for you, please fill in the form below.