Cold Stone Creamery franchise has been providing the best in ice cream and related products to Americans for over twenty years. The stores offer customers a chance to choose their own topping on the ice cream. Employees mash a dipping of ice cream onto a cold slab of granite, then assorted toppings of fruits, brownies, nuts and basically anything that the customer wants and blended by hand with skill and expertise. This practice has endeared Cold Stone to its employees and it was ranked number one in its category in 2007.

Cold Stone Creamery franchise is exactly what you need if you are an ice cream enthusiast and want to pro vide quality products to consumers in the country. Cold Stone currently has more than 1,400 stores in the US and locally. Cold Stone was ranked number 11 in the fastest growing franchises by entrepreneur magazine.

When you choose to be part of the franchise team, Cold Stone provides you with real estate agents to help you secure a location for your franchise. The agents go with you to the field and help you decide on then best location according to the company’s criteria. Alternatively, a franchisee can choose to go with already developed units. These units consist of pre leased sites and franchised own stores. The stores usually have already trained staff to deliver that best ice cream. All one has to do is bring the passion and the charm to achieve excellence and leadership that the stores require.

If the stores don’t appeal to you and you would love to set up your own, the real estate developers will help you negotiate a lease agreement for the site that you have selected. The team will help you secure the lease under the most advantageous terms to you. The lease agreement can take a period of not more than three months. After signing the lease, the franchisee can now begin the building process. A construction coordinator will help you in site plans and design documents.

Training is carried out at the Cold Stone academy. The training is for a period of two weeks and covers intensive training on operational excellence and customer experience.

The requirement for a Cold Stone Creamery franchise is an initial franchise fee of $42,000. Working capital for the initial three months is required and it is about $35,000. The total investment for a franchise is $294,250 - $438,850. Financing for a franchise is done through third party negotiations.

Operations for the franchise require that the owner be present at all time to maintain quality standards. The minimum number of employees per unit is 15. Marketing support for a franchise is provided through co-op advertising, ad slicks, national and regional media advertising. Ongoing support is carried out through newsletters, magazines, internet, field operations, grand opening security and safety procedures.