Cold Stone Creamery vs Wendy's Milk Bar Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
Wendy's Milk Bar Franchise
Investment $50,200 - $467,525$100,000 - $210,000
Franchise Fee $15,000 - $27,000$25,000
Royalty Fee 6%-
Advertising Fee 3%-
Year Founded 19881979
Year Franchised 19940
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
Wendy's Milk Bar Franchise
Experience -Wendys franchisees take a hands-on approach to their business yet they understand the importance of following procedure and working within the Wendys system. Our franchisees are friendly, outgoing and determined to succeed. They love making other people happy and they are always positive and enthusiastic. Our franchisees understand the importance of customer service and building strong community relations. They are strong team leaders and they relate well to their staff. In fact, we often talk about our franchisees as having pink blood � they live and breathe the Wendys brand; the outcome of which is almost always reflected in their success. If this sounds like you, then you�re already well on your way to meeting the needs of becoming a Wendys franchisee.

Financing Options

 
Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
Wendy's Milk Bar 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

 
Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
Wendy's Milk Bar 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.

When you join the Wendys franchise, your first step will be to take part in our franchisee training program where you'll learn about the Wendys philosophy and business approach as well as how to operate your store. The training program includes: *Three weeks of in-store training with an accredited trainer (before your store opens its doors) *One week at our National Support Office where you'll learn about the retail and management skills which underpin Wendys success We also provide ongoing assistance with staff recruitment programs and staff training, including customer service training and other management service programs.

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.Wendys Private Website is a key resource for our franchise family. It contains a wealth of information and tools designed to make your life easier. In addition to our confidential Product, Operational and Local Area Marketing manuals, the site contains valuable business tools such as Wendys business planning and promotional plans. It also incorporates important news, promotional briefs and links to order merchandise, posters and vouchers online. As a franchisee, you'll be given your own Wendys email address, enabling you to contact head office and to keep in touch with other franchisees.
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®As a national network, we have developed a strong brand position in an increasingly cluttered and competitive environment. Keeping Wendys at the forefront of customer minds is an essential part of our success. To do this, we work with leading advertising and communications agencies to implement compelling advertising and marketing campaigns � all designed to achieve excellent cut-through within our key target demographics.
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)

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Expansion Plans

 
Cold Stone Creamery Franchise
Wendy's Milk Bar Franchise
US Expansion Yes-
Canada Expansion No-
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 Wendy's Milk Bar

Welcome to WendysWith more than three decades of franchise expertise and a product offering that's second to none, it's little wonder that Wendys is the leading brand of choice in the treats market in both Australia and New Zealand. By joining Wendys, you not only become part of a brand that is known and loved; you also become part of a franchise network that is backed by experience and proven systems that work. Everything we do is about empowering our franchisees to be the best they can be - masters of taste and masters of providing the most indulgent, fun, I HAVE to come back here again treat experience.
The Mini
The Mini is a compact store offering that offers the perfect entry point into the world of Wendys franchising. At an average of 10m2 - less than half that of our traditional store - what the Mini concept lacks in size, it more than makes up for in punch with a focus on our core product line-up of hot dogs, shakes and scoop ice cream. The flexible nature of the Mini ensures franchisees can be where the demand is. And, with the investment entry point from $100,000.00 + GST, it's not hard to see why the Mini is gaining significant interest - both with young investors as well as those looking to become multi-store owners.
The Maxi
The Maxi is the big scoop in the Wendys franchise system. With sale price from $200,000.00 - $ 210,000.00 + GST, the Maxi is a store in which franchisees can maximize their potential. The large-space format Maxi ranges from 20m2, enabling franchisees to carry the full Wendys product range including hot dogs, shakes,smoothies, cakes, soft serve and - of course - a veritable rainbow of scoop ice cream flavours.
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