Sonic Drive In vs Liquid Planet Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Sonic Drive In vs Liquid Planet including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Sonic Drive In Franchise
Liquid Planet Franchise
Investment $1,242,000 - $3,523,300$158,250 - $302,000
Franchise Fee $45,000$25,000
Royalty Fee 2.45-5%5%
Advertising Fee 3%1%Nat'l + 1%Local
Year Founded 19540
Year Franchised 19592010
Term Of Agreement 20 years-
Term Of Agreement 20 years-
Renewal Fee 10 years for $6K-


Business Experience Requirements

 
Sonic Drive In Franchise
Liquid Planet Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • If no industry experience, must have an operating equity partner
  • -

    Financing Options

     
    Sonic Drive In Franchise
    Liquid Planet 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

     
    Sonic Drive In Franchise
    Liquid Planet Franchise
    Training On-The-Job Training: 400 hours Classroom Training: 24 hours Additional Training: At existing franchise location -
    Support Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Franchisee Intranet Platform -
    Marketing Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Email marketing Loyalty program/app -
    Operations International franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 60% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 25

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed.

    Owner-operated or absentee owner

    Expansion Plans

     
    Sonic Drive In Franchise
    Liquid Planet Franchise
    US Expansion Yes-
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion No-

    Company Overviews

    About Sonic Drive In

    Sonic Industries Inc. was founded in 1973. In 1974, Sonic acquired the name 'Sonic Drive-In' from Troy Smith, Sr., and began franchising. Smith used his more than 15 years of experience in the restaurant business to develop and operate the Sonic franchise program. A wholly owned subsidiary of Sonic Corp., the company is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and has locations throughout the United States. The company's storefronts recently got a facelift to give them a 'retro-futuristic' look.

    Your estimated initial investment necessary to begin operation of a Traditional Sonic Drive-In franchise ranges from approximately $1,242,200 to $3,537,700 plus land costs and includes the $45,000 franchise fee that must be paid to Sonic.
    Your estimated initial investment necessary to begin operation of a Non-Traditional Sonic franchise ranges from approximately $361,900 to $978,700 and includes the $22,500 franchise fee that must be paid to Sonic.

    "franchiserankingscom"     "Entrepreneur
    #91 on Franchise Rankings.com
    #4 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
    #28 in Franchise 500 for 2021.




    About Liquid Planet

    Fresh Planet has what today's health conscious food consumer wants: Fresh, custom designed salads; flavorful, nutritious rice bowls; tasty smoothies; and healthy stuffed toasted pitas. In addition to being surrounded by great food and happy customers, Fresh Planet franchise owners promote a healthy lifestyle. The exceptional smoothie menu includes our signature oatmeal breakfast smoothies, specialty smoothies, and super-fruit acai berry smoothies. Also featured are delicious stuffed toasted pitas, with both meat and vegetarian options. Egg-stuffed pitas make great breakfast options so you can serve your customers any time of day. Some competing concepts have limited hours of either breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. Our diverse menu allows you to serve hungry customers all day long. Fresh Planet offers you and your store manger two weeks of thorough training at the Cleveland, OH, headquarters. The training staff has nearly five decades of combined restaurant experience in various operational capacities. A Ground Floor Franchise Opportunity Whether you are interested in a single unit or a multi-unit agreement, if you want to be involved in the next big thing in restaurant franchising, Fresh Planet has great territories available. This food franchise opportunity is also great for someone already in franchising who wants to grow by complementing other types of non-competing food franchises.