Owning A Dessert Franchise Can Be Sweet

If you’re counting calories, on a Keto diet, or you’re just trying to cut down on your sugar intake, don’t read this post. Because it’s all about franchise opportunities that are in the business of providing sweet treats.

Sweet Franchise Opportunities

By “sweet,” I’m referring to franchise business opportunities that are in the dessert space. These businesses serve things like:

Ice cream
Frozen yogurt
Donuts
Gelato
Shaved ice
And more

In addition, there are now franchise opportunities in the dessert space that specialize in chocolate and cookie dough treats. Bottom line: there’s no shortage of choices if you’re looking for a franchise that serves sweet items.

Should You Own A Dessert Franchise Business?

What we’re really talking about here is a food franchise.

You need to decide if you have what it takes to own and operate a franchise business that requires quite a bit of physical energy. Bear in mind that you’ll need to be on your feet a lot, especially at the beginning, for long periods of time.

Another thing to think about has to do with employees. Specifically, the type of employees you’ll be hiring. Nothing against teenagers, but you need to accept the fact that the majority of your workers are going to be 16-19 years old. Have you ever managed young part-time workers?

In a lot of cases, these will be their first real jobs. You’ll have to be patient. And you might go through a lot of turnover before you find good team members. Having said that, you may have noticed how many food franchises there are. All of them, at one time or another, have dealt with employee turnover. It’s just part of the business. Knowing that going in helps a lot.

The Product

You have to like the product you’re putting out. Not necessarily eat it everyday, but you have to believe in it. And you have to believe that there’s a market for it. One that’s large enough to support your business.

One way to find out about market size is to look for data. Today’s search engines make that pretty easy, so start searching!

Another thing you can do is contact your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC). This free resource (supported mostly by the U.S. Small Business Administration), has counselors on hand who have access to both national and local market data.

Seasonality

What area of the country are you thinking of opening your dessert franchise?

For example, if you’re thinking of opening an ice cream franchise and you live in the southern part of the country, great. Your franchise business will likely have customers consistently year-round. But if you live in the north, you can still have year-round customers; however, you’ll be more likely to deal with greater disparities in revenue between the seasons. But it can be done successfully.

Tip: When you’re talking to franchisees (as part of your research), focus most of your energy talking to franchisees in your general area of the country. That way you’ll be able to find out what to expect, revenue-wise, in a similar climate.