Ben & Jerry's
Ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, smoothies
Ben & Jerry's
Ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, smoothies
About
Founded
1978
Franchising Since
1981 (37 Years)
Corporate Address
30 Community Dr.
South Burlington, VT 05403
CEO
Jostein Solheim
Parent Company
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.
Ticker Symbol
Financial Requirements
Initial Investment ⓘ
$149,185 - $504,300
Net-worth Requirement ⓘ
$350,000
Liquid Cash Requirement ⓘ
$100,000
Ongoing Fees
Initial Franchise Fee ⓘ
$16,000 - $37,000
Ongoing Royalty Fee
3%
Ad Royalty Fee
4%
Financing Options
Ben & Jerry's offers in-house financing to cover the following: franchise fee
Ben & Jerry's has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll
Support Options
Ongoing Support
Newsletter
Meetings/Conventions
Toll-Free Line
Grand Opening
Online Support
Security/Safety Procedures
Field Operations
Site Selection
Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support
Ad Templates
National Media
Regional Advertising
Social media
SEO
Website development
Email marketing
On-The-Job Training:
8 hours
Classroom Training:
33.5 hours
Ben & Jerry's is ranked #261 in the Franchise 500!
Bio
Ben & Jerry's is named for its founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who grew up together in Merrick, Long Island. In 1978, they took a $5 correspondence course on ice-cream-making, then leased an old gas station building in Burlington, Vermont to open their first ice cream shop.
They began selling pints of ice cream to local restaurants and grocery stores out of Cohen's VW campervan. As Cohen had no sense of taste, he relied on "mouth feel" when eating, so large chunks of chocolate, fruit and nuts became a signature of their ice cream flavors.
Cohen and Greenfield opened their first franchise in 1981. In 2000, they sold Ben & Jerry's to Unilever, but the company remains headquartered in Burlington, Vermont.
Cost
Initial Investment: Low - $149,185
High - $504,300
Units
+0.7%+4 UNITS (1 Year)
-1.3%-8 UNITS (3 Years)
Where Seeking Franchisees:
Franchisor is seeking new franchise units in the following regions/states:California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Midwest, Northeast, South, Southeast, Southwest, West, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Western Europe
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