Start a The Honey Baked Ham Co. Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: #135 Ranked #142 last year

Initial investment: $449K - $859K

Units as of 2024: 443 8.3% over 3 years

HoneyBaked Ham is a family-oriented business that was founded in 1957. It is a leading American food retailer with more than 400 locations, half of which are operated by franchisees. They sell mouth-watering hams, turkey breasts, and other pre-cooked entrées, side dishes, and desserts.

As you operate a franchise, you may get to feed many people with quality and delicious food. The perfect candidate for a HoneyBaked Ham franchise is a creative self-starter interested in the food business and ready to work with HoneyBaked Ham's business model.

Why You May Want to Start a HoneyBaked Ham Franchise

If you love the idea of dishing out delicious and convenient food, then opening a HoneyBaked Ham franchise might be for you. For over 60 years, HoneyBaked Ham has been committed to providing pre-cooked ham and delicious side dishes and desserts.

As a HoneyBaked Ham franchisee, you could be providing a crucial service to many people. Having quick and quality foods that are easily accessible typically helps make many people's lives easier, including overworked students and parents short on time.

HoneyBaked Ham might give you a chance to be part of a family tradition, not only in serving one of America's favorite holiday meals–honey baked ham–but in the exceptional service and amazing food they offer customers every day. You might turn this great family tradition into your business legacy.

What Might Make a HoneyBaked Ham a Good Choice?

To be part of the HoneyBaked Ham team, you should make sure you’re financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. You should also prepare yourself for ongoing fees, including advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees.

Many times in the past few decades, HoneyBaked Ham has been ranked in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 based on the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Their classic honey-baked ham, coupled with their impressive marketing, keeps people choosing HoneyBaked Ham for their holiday food needs. It is the classic holiday meal that many families drool over.

HoneyBaked Ham has retail, gift, catering, and lunch options to explore creative business options for various customers. Being part of the family-oriented HoneyBaked Ham franchise might be the business thrill you have been seeking.

How To Open a HoneyBaked Ham Franchise

To own a HoneyBaked Ham franchise, you will need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements. You may then submit a franchise inquiry form.

If chosen to proceed, you typically go through an initial webinar to teach you about the franchise brand and process. After that, you'll receive the Franchise Disclosure Document to help you compile your questions that a franchise representative may answer in a follow-up Q&A session.

Next, you may receive a business template to help you develop a plan and meet with experienced franchisees to get their perspective. Then, you might go through a final evaluation before signing, but only after you attend discovery day at company headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia.

You will go through some training before you open your doors. The HoneyBaked Ham franchise wants to see the company expand and is ready to support you in every way.

Company Overview

About The Honey Baked Ham Co.

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Miscellaneous Food/Beverage Businesses, Sandwiches, Miscellaneous Full-Service Restaurants
Founded	1957
Parent Company	The Honey Baked Ham Co. LLC
Leadership	Jim Dinkins, CEO
Corporate Address	3875 Mansell Rd. Alpharetta, GA 30022-1532
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1998 (27 years)
# of employees at HQ	225
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	443 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a The Honey Baked Ham Co. franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$15,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$448,600 - $858,900
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$350,000 - $500,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$100,000 - $250,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	$10,000 off first-store franchise fee
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	6%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	4.25%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	The Honey Baked Ham Co. has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	170-190 hours
Classroom Training	32 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Ad Templates National Media Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
# of employees required to run	7-10
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes