Cold Stone Creamery franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Cold Stone Creamery franchise takes $310,375 – $602,775 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $27,500 – $59,500. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 6% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 3%. To qualify, Cold Stone Creamery asks for $100,000 in liquid cash and a $250,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Cold Stone Creamery franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $27,500 | $59,500 | $27,500 to $59,500 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $310,375 | $602,775 | $310,375 to $602,775 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $310,375 | $602,775 | $310,375 to $602,775 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 6% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 3% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Cold Stone Creamery cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Cold Stone Creamery's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Cold Stone Creamery's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $310,375 — about in line with the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $27,500 — about 21% below the Food & Beverage median of $35,000.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
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How Cold Stone Creamery's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 1,037 units; 200 units opened, 237 closed, ending at 908 units. (partial records: 2018, 2019 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Cold Stone Creamery or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Cold Stone Creamery for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Cold Stone Creamery is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Cold Stone Creamery grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Cold Stone Creamery can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Cold Stone Creamery franchise
Cold Stone Creamery is a food & beverage franchisor with 908 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 1,037 units; its filings record 200 unit openings and 237 closures, ending at 908 units (partial records: 2018, 2019 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Kahala Brands.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
As a franchisee, you will operate a restaurant called Cold Stone Creamery specializing in super-premium fresh made ice cream, frozen yogurt, cakes, pies, smoothies, shakes, specialty beverages, soft drinks and other frozen dessert products (prepared using proprietary recipes) and an assortment of complementary toppings and mix-ins on a take-out or eat-in basis, soup and branded licensed products.
Cold Stone Creamery franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Cold Stone Creamery franchise cost?
- $310,375 – $602,775 all-in to open, per Cold Stone Creamery's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Cold Stone Creamery units are there?
- 908 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Cold Stone Creamery's units held up?
- 98.1% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).
- Is Cold Stone Creamery SBA-eligible?
- Cold Stone Creamery is flagged SBA-eligible in our dataset (as of 2026-05). Confirm current status on the SBA Franchise Directory before relying on it for financing.