Ben & Jerry's
#63 Franchise 500| Ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, smoothies

Ben & Jerry's
Ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, smoothies
|

About
Founded

1978

Franchising Since

1981 (39 Years)

Corporate Address

30 Community Dr.
South Burlington, VT 05403

CEO

Matthew McCarthy

Parent Company

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Ticker Symbol

UN

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 #63 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
+3.7%+22 UNITS (1 Year) +5.7%+33 UNITS (3 Years)

Units (Locations)

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, Southeast, Southwest, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Western Europe
Franchise Financing
Using 401(K)/IRA Funds
  • Tax Penalty-Free
  • Debt Free
  • Expert Guidance
Learn More

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Franchise Articles

Pop Quiz: How Well Do You Know Ben & Jerry's?

Pop Quiz: How Well Do You Know Ben & Jerry's?

From its legendary flavor graveyard to its iconic cow on its packaging, we want to test your Ben & Jerry's trivia for National Ice Cream month.
Grace Reader | 1 min read
Why Ben Picked Jerry

Why Ben Picked Jerry

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield launched the legendary ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry's in 1978. And they're still friends today.
Catherine Clifford | 4 min read
Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield

Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield

Caring Capitalists
8 min read
5 Things Franchise Owners Should Know About the New Department of Labor Rule on 'Joint Employment'

5 Things Franchise Owners Should Know About the New Department of Labor Rule on 'Joint Employment'

The Trump administration's new rule will change what qualifies as joint employment.
Jessica Thomas | 4 min read
The Top 20 Franchises of 2020 From the Entrepreneur Franchise 500

The Top 20 Franchises of 2020 From the Entrepreneur Franchise 500

These 20 franchises start the new decade atop our Franchise 500 list.
Matthew McCreary | 10 min read

Disclaimer

The Franchise 500 is not intended to endorse, advertise, or recommend any particular franchise. It is solely a research tool you can use to compare franchise operations. Entrepreneur stresses that you should always conduct your own independent investigation before investing money in a franchise.
Updated: August 14th, 2019
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