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FRANCHISE RESALES

Buy a Shipley Donuts Franchise

Shipley Do-Nuts is a quick-service donut and kolache franchise founded in Houston in 1936 and now franchising a fast-growing QSR concept across the southern and southeastern United States. Each shop is a retail bakery selling freshly made donuts, pastries, savory kolaches and coffee, with products baked throughout the day rather than held.

The system operates more than 390 locations across roughly a dozen states and is built around multi-unit ownership, with the franchisor actively recruiting operators to develop three or more stores under flexible store designs. Shops serve local walk-in, drive-thru and a growing share of digital customers.

Shipley moved under new ownership in 2025 and is led by a management team drawn from national QSR franchisors including Wingstop, Bonchon and Smoothie King. The brand pairs a long-established consumer name with recent investment in a cloud-based ordering ecosystem and preferred vendor relationships.

Latest Resales

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Why buy a Shipley Donuts Franchise?

Shipley Do-Nuts pairs an 85-year-old consumer brand with a simple, product-led operating model in a category that has stayed resilient through economic cycles. To buy a Shipley Do-Nuts franchise is to enter the donut and kolache segment behind an established name rather than building local recognition from scratch.

The model is structured for portfolio growth: a streamlined operating system, flexible real-estate formats and preferred vendor relationships are designed to make adding stores more straightforward for multi-unit owners. Recent leadership hires from large national franchisors and continued investment in digital ordering point to a franchisor focused on system-wide same-store growth.

Shipley Donuts Franchise Costs & Information

Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

  • Brand Profile

    • Year Founded

      1936

    • Franchising Since

      2020

    • New Startup Cost

      $503,461 – $1,024,946

    • Avg. Resale Price

      Contact us for details

  • Franchise Fees

    • Initial franchise Fee

      $40,000

      for new territories

    • Transfer Fee

      50%

      of the then-current Initial Franchise Fee

    • Royalty Fee

      5%

      of Gross Sales

    • Marketing Fee

      1%

      of Gross Sales

  • Unit Performance

    • Total Units *

      366

    • New Units Opened *

      24

    • Units Transferred *

      17

    • Avg. Unit revenue *

      $928,180

    * Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

Shipley Donuts – Additional  Information

  1. Training & Support

    Incoming operators complete structured initial training at a certified training store, with 104 hours of classroom instruction and 136 hours of on-the-job training. Ongoing support spans marketing and advertising, operations, culinary standards, field support and a team of franchise business consultants, alongside a cloud-based ordering and technology platform. Buyers of an existing Shipley Do-Nuts shop should confirm what initial and transfer training the franchisor provides to new ownership and staff, and what system access carries over.

  2. Ideal Owner

    Shipley Do-Nuts suits hands-on, business-minded operators interested in building a multi-unit portfolio rather than running a single store. Strong people management is central, since each bakery runs on early-shift production and counter staff, and owners drive local sales while upholding daily freshness standards. Prior food-service experience helps but is not required given the structured training. The model rewards operators comfortable managing labour, recruiting teams and scaling across several locations.

  3. Recognition & Awards

    Shipley Do-Nuts has been ranked #1 in its category on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 and named a Fast Casual Top 100 Mover & Shaker, and the brand also appears on the Franchise Times Top 400. One of the country's oldest donut names, it reported record growth in recent years while expanding into new states including North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. For resale buyers, this recognition should be weighed alongside the specific shop's local reviews, customer base and community presence.

  4. Industry / Market

    Americans buy around 10 billion donuts a year, and the US donut-store category posted roughly 3% market growth in 2023 (IBISWorld). Donuts and kolaches sit in the broad quick-service segment, where low average ticket, drive-thru convenience and strong morning-daypart demand support repeat traffic that tends to hold up through economic cycles. For resale buyers, local demand is shaped by daily commuter flow, nearby competition and the strength of a shop's drive-thru and digital ordering channels.

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