Cold Stone Creamery

My franchise is Cold Stone Creamery. Cold Stone Creamery is a service type franchise mainly in the US, but they are slowly making their way to Canada. They sell ice cream, ice cream cakes, smoothies, and frozen yogourt. Cold Stone Creamery first started up in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1988, but now, the head office is in Tempe, Arizona – which is basically the next town over. Cold Stone Creamery has a lot of different locations: there are over 1,500 in total situated in 15 countries such as the US, Japan, Mexico, and a couple in Canada. They appeal to all people, except for those who are vegans, lactose intolerant, or those who have peanut allergies.

The total cost to own a franchise here ranges from around $300,000 - $450,000. There is no advertising fee, but there is a 6% royalty fee. Also, the initial franchise fee is around $40,000. Some advantages to owning your own franchise is that there is little to no need to advertise for yourself since Cold Stone Creamery has been running for almost 25 years. Also, you get to set up your store the way you want to. Another thing is that Cold Stone Creamery is associated with Tim Horton’s, meaning your store can get double the customers. Some disadvantages of owning a franchise is that you have to follow a set of general rules in order to prevent your store from shutting down from the head office. Also, you have to get forms signed and approved from head office if you want to make any changes to the menu. Last, any bad reviews from people of other stores can decrease the amount of customers you have at your store.

Cold Stone Creamery is a not a very good investment. There are many upsides, but there are more downsides. First off, the start-up cost is reasonably high – the cheapest price being almost $300,000. Many franchise owners have been complaining that they get very low profit even though the price of the ice cream is so high. Also, many customers have been complaining that the ice cream at Cold...