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FRANCHISE RESALES

Buy a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Franchise

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is a premium, artisan ice cream brand founded in 2002 in Columbus, Ohio, and widely credited with helping spark the craft ice cream movement in the United States. Its founder is a James Beard Award winner, and the brand is built around a distinctive buttercream texture and inventive, frequently rotating flavors made from scratch with grass-pastured dairy and direct-trade ingredients.

The business reaches customers through three channels: scoop shops, a growing grocery presence in retailers such as Whole Foods and Kroger, and a direct-to-consumer shipping operation. The scoop-shop network spans more than 95 locations across 15 states and Washington, D.C., positioning Jeni’s among the better-known names in premium dessert rather than a regional player.

In 2025, after two decades of running company-owned shops, Jeni’s opened its model to franchising under what it calls the Fellowship Model, a community-driven approach that partners with aligned entrepreneurs, growers and makers. A Certified B Corporation, the brand pairs its quality positioning with documented social and sustainability commitments.

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Why buy a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Franchise?

Buying a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams franchise means stepping into a brand with more than two decades of consumer recognition, a loyal national fan base, and a flavor pipeline that keeps the menu, and the brand, in the cultural conversation. Within a premium dessert category that has proved resilient across economic cycles, that established awareness is a meaningful head start over an independent scoop shop.

Because franchising only opened in 2025, the network is small and early, which can suit owners who want to grow alongside a recognised brand rather than enter a saturated system. The Fellowship Model emphasises shared success and brand alignment, and franchisees draw on a proven scoop-shop playbook, national marketing and PR support, and an in-house flavor-development engine that introduces more than a dozen new products each year.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Franchise Costs & Information

Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

  • Brand Profile

    • Year Founded

      2002

    • Franchising Since

      2025

    • New Startup Cost

      $696,000 – $1,265,750

    • Avg. Resale Price

      Contact us for details

  • Franchise Fees

    • Initial franchise Fee

      $40,000

      for new territories

    • Transfer Fee

      $25,000

    • Royalty Fee

      5%

      of Net Sales

    • Marketing Fee

      2%

      of Net Sales

  • Unit Performance

    • Total Units *

      87

    • New Units Opened *

      0

    • Units Transferred *

      0

    • Avg. Unit revenue *

      Not Disclosed

    * Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams – Additional  Information

  1. Training & Support

    Jeni's provides franchise partners with a structured training and onboarding program built around a proven scoop-shop playbook, immersive brand education and expert support. Support continues after opening through award-winning marketing and branding, spanning national advertising, social media, local marketing assets and PR, plus a continuous flavor-innovation program that supplies more than a dozen new products each year for shops to feature. Buyers of an existing Jeni's unit should confirm what transfer training and brand-system access the franchisor provides to incoming owners and retained staff when ownership changes.

  2. Ideal Owner

    Jeni's tends to suit hospitality-minded operators who can deliver a polished, experience-led retail environment and lead a service team. Prior ice cream experience isn't required, but day-to-day operational discipline, comfort managing staff and a genuine feel for customer connection matter. The brand's Certified B Corp positioning and community focus mean owners who align with its values around quality, creativity and social responsibility, and who can act as local brand ambassadors, are the strongest fit.

  3. Recognition & Awards

    Jeni's carries unusually strong recognition for its category. Its founder is a James Beard Award winner, and the brand has been honoured repeatedly for flavor innovation, from a Food & Wine Tastemaker Award in 2005 to multiple PEOPLE magazine Food Awards, and is frequently cited by food media as a benchmark for artisan ice cream. As a Certified B Corporation, it also holds third-party recognition for its social and environmental standards. For resale buyers, brand prestige should be weighed alongside the specific shop's local reviews and repeat-customer base.

  4. Industry / Market

    The US ice cream market was valued at roughly $19.5 billion in 2025 (Mordor Intelligence), and within it the premium and artisan segment is growing faster than the broader category as consumers trade up to higher-quality, clean-label and small-batch treats. Dessert spending tends to hold up through economic cycles, since indulgence purchases are low-cost and habitual. For resale buyers, scoop-shop demand is also highly local, with foot traffic, neighbourhood demographics and seasonality shaping a single unit's performance more than national market size.

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