Tastee-Freez franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Tastee-Freez franchise takes $143,200 – $1,328,500 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $10,000 – $20,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Tastee-Freez franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $10,000 | $20,000 | $10,000 to $20,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $143,200 | $1,328,500 | $143,200 to $1,328,500 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $143,200 | $1,328,500 | $143,200 to $1,328,500 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Tastee-Freez's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | Not disclosed |
See the full Tastee-Freez cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Tastee-Freez's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Tastee-Freez's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $143,200 — about 49% below the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $10,000 — about 71% 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
Free info kit — costs, fees, and unit track record. You choose who may follow up.
Figures look outdated? Report outdated info.
How Tastee-Freez's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2020: began the window at 32 units; 4 units opened, 33 closed, ending at 8 units. (partial records: 2016, 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
Not enough history to compute a survival figure — we need at least three years of unit data, and we don't extrapolate.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Tastee-Freez 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 Tastee-Freez 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 Tastee-Freez 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 Tastee-Freez 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 Tastee-Freez 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 Tastee-Freez franchise
Tastee-Freez is a food & beverage franchisor with 8 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2020, it began the window at 32 units; its filings record 4 unit openings and 33 closures, ending at 8 units (partial records: 2016, 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only).
Disclosure filings report 2 franchise-related lawsuits. Review Item 3 of the FDD. (as of 2026-05)
From the franchisor's materials
The franchise is a quick service unit featuring soft serve ice cream products, although the menu may include hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and drinks.
Tastee-Freez franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Tastee-Freez franchise cost?
- $143,200 – $1,328,500 all-in to open, per Tastee-Freez's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Tastee-Freez units are there?
- 8 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).