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Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Cold Stone Creamery vs FROOTS Fresh Smoothies Salads & Wraps 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 | $87,600 - $316,750 |
Franchise Fee | $15,000 - $27,000 | $20,000 |
Royalty Fee | 6% | 6% |
Advertising Fee | 3% | 2% |
Year Founded | 1988 | 2001 |
Year Franchised | 1994 | 2004 |
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 | No/No |
Start-up Costs | No/Yes | No/Yes |
Equipment | No/Yes | No/Yes |
Inventory | No/Yes | No/No |
Receivables | No/Yes | No/No |
Payroll | No/Yes | No/No |
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. | On-The-Job Training: 1 week Classroom Training: 16 hours Additional Training: At Froots corporate 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. | Froots offers you a complete support team. We work with each of our franchisees personally throughout the start-up process. This ensures that you are provided with everything necessary to properly launch your business. Including, but not limited to, everything from site selection to marketing support. Our training consists of 23 days in a corporate training program and 80 hours of Grand Opening Support Ongoing Support Purchasing Co-ops Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations |
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 |
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) |
50% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 9 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (70% of current franchisees are owner/operators) |
Expansion Plans |
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US Expansion | Yes | Yes |
Canada Expansion | No | No |
International Expansion | Yes | Yes |
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
FROOTS has been set up with the first time franchisee in mind. If you have never owned a franchise before, the questions below can help you determine if you are ready for the responsibility of such an endeavor.
Who is going to operate the restaurant on a day-to-day basis?
If it will be self-operated, have you committed to this being your full-time job and your full-time income stream?
If a Manager will be hired, has a manager been identified that has a legitimate stake in the success of your business?
If you are currently employed and are planning on leaving to own and operate your Froots, have you at least made your decision to quit your current job?
If so, when are you planning on quitting?
Have you determined exactly where the money for the total development costs will come from to open the store?
Have you determined exactly how much of your own money you will invest in this endeavor?
Is the money you are going to invest available to use immediately?
Do you have the adequate cash reserves to manage through the start-up phase of your restaurant?
Will you have partners in this endeavor?
If so, have you defined exactly how much each partner will be contributing and what their roles will be?
Do all partners agree on moving forward?
Are all partners ready to contribute their portion of the investment?
Have you discussed this opportunity with everyone that will be involved in your household?
Does 100% of your household and any additional family members support your decision to own and operate a Froots?
Are you 100% comfortable with the site you have selected or the trade area in which you will locate the store?
Do you fully understand the franchise agreement and are you ready to abide by all of the Froots system standards as set forth in the franchise agreement?
Have you completely analyzed Froots and do you feel that the Froots brand meets your personal and business objectives as a brand?
We hope that this list of questions will help you address the most important issues that you will need to clarify before realizing your dream of owning a Froots Franchise. We are here to help you address many of the above issues and answer as many of your questions as possible. Since many of the above issues carry a different weight with each individual, we encourage you to address each of them as it relates to your personal situation.