Andy's Frozen Custard

Should you invest $529,000 to $1.4 million in a frozen dessert franchise? That is the exact question serious franchise investors are asking about Andy's Frozen Custard, and the answer requires more than a cursory glance at the menu. Founded on March 19, 1986, by John and Carol Kuntz in Osage Beach, Missouri, Andy's Frozen Custard was born from a moment of inspiration during a family trip to Wisconsin, where the couple discovered the dense, creamy texture of freshly made frozen custard. They sought direct mentorship from Leon and Doris Schneider, the operators of Leon's Frozen Custard in Milwaukee, before returning home to launch their first location. The business was named after their son, Andy Kuntz, who would eventually inherit the stewardship of the company after founder John Kuntz passed away in 2008. Today, Andy and Dana Kuntz, alongside co-founder Carol Kuntz, lead the company from its headquarters at 211 East Water Street in Springfield, Missouri, where Andy serves as CEO. The brand began franchising in 2004 and has since grown to more than 180 stores across 15 states as of 2025, making it the largest dessert-only franchise in the world. Spanning states including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, Arizona, and Illinois, Andy's Frozen Custard franchise operates exclusively within the United States. The company is entirely family-owned, with no external investors or public trading, a structure that reflects an intentional commitment to long-term brand stewardship rather than short-term capital extraction. For franchise investors evaluating the snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars category, Andy's represents a rare combination of heritage brand identity, a proprietary product with genuine artisan differentiation, and a franchise system scaled with geographic discipline across high-growth Sun Belt and Midwest markets.

The industry backdrop for the Andy's Frozen Custard franchise opportunity is defined by powerful secular tailwinds in the frozen dessert and broader snack segment. The global snack bar market was estimated at $29.59 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $44.25 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.0% from 2025 through 2030, with North America commanding the largest regional revenue share at 42.3% in 2024. Separately, the global frozen snacks market was valued at $119.66 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to $175.44 billion by 2034, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 4.38% through the forecast period. Consumer trends driving demand within this category are multidimensional and reinforcing: premiumization, which reflects consumers' demonstrated willingness to pay more for gourmet and artisanal products, directly benefits Andy's positioning as a maker of handcrafted, scratch-made custard produced every hour using a continuous-flow process with no gums or preservatives. The clean label movement, defined by consumer demand for transparency in ingredient sourcing and fewer artificial additives, also aligns precisely with Andy's product philosophy. Convenience remains a structural driver, with drive-thru and walk-up formats commanding an increasing share of quick-service dessert transactions. The competitive landscape within regional frozen dessert franchising remains moderately fragmented, creating space for a brand with genuine artisan differentiation and an established multi-state footprint to capture territory ahead of saturation. Technology integration, including mobile ordering platforms and point-of-sale analytics, is reshaping operational benchmarking across the category, and Andy's has incorporated contemporary point-of-sale and reporting systems to monitor costs and performance at the unit level. The combination of a large and growing total addressable market, clean-label consumer alignment, and a drive-thru-optimized format makes this category one of the more durable segments within franchise investment.

Understanding the Andy's Frozen Custard franchise cost requires a careful decomposition of both entry-point fees and total capital exposure. The initial franchise fee for a first-store location is $32,000, which steps down to $28,000 for each subsequent store in a development agreement, a tiered structure that rewards multi-unit commitment and reduces the per-unit cost basis for experienced operators. A non-refundable deposit of $14,000 is required upon signing an additional Development Addendum, with the remaining balance due 60 days prior to each store opening, allowing franchisees to stage capital deployment across a development timeline. The total initial investment for an Andy's Frozen Custard franchise ranges from $529,000 to $1.4 million per location, with alternative estimates from different disclosure periods ranging from $528,500 to $1,387,500 and $622,000 to $1,490,500, depending on market, real estate format, and equipment configuration. This spread is primarily driven by land and construction costs, geographic labor market differences, and the requirement that franchisees purchase frozen custard machines directly from Andy's Frozen Custard, as the company uses custom-made proprietary equipment built to corporate specifications. The ongoing royalty structure starts at 6% of gross sales and decreases through tiered levels as low as 4%, with lower rates unlocked by opening additional locations, creating a meaningful economic incentive for franchisees who execute multi-unit development. Franchisees may also be required to contribute up to 2% of store sales to Andy's National Advertising Fund, though as of Q3 2023 the active collection rate was 1%, placing total ongoing fee obligations at approximately 7% of gross sales at current collection levels for early-stage operators. The financial qualification threshold for prospective franchisees is substantial: Andy's requires candidates to demonstrate liquid assets in excess of $3 million, with qualifying liquid assets defined as cash, money markets, mutual funds, marketable stocks, and bonds, explicitly excluding real estate holdings. A net worth requirement of $2 million has also been cited in various qualification frameworks. Working capital estimates fall between $1,000 and $80,000 per location. The franchise agreement carries an initial term of 10 years with a 5-year renewal term. Relative to the category, this is a mid-to-premium investment profile that filters toward well-capitalized, operationally experienced multi-unit developers rather than first-time franchise investors.

The daily operating model of an Andy's Frozen Custard franchise is purpose-built for efficiency in a high-volume, quick-service dessert environment. Locations are typically freestanding restaurants featuring drive-thru windows and walk-up service windows without interior customer seating, a format that concentrates labor investment in production and order fulfillment rather than dining room management. The majority of sales volume occurs during nights and weekends, which shapes staffing schedules, labor cost structures, and management deployment patterns differently from traditional full-service restaurant models. Andy's staffing philosophy, established by founders John and Carol Kuntz, centers on hiring high-quality team members, paying above-average wages, providing thorough training, and maintaining an uncompromising customer service standard, particularly an emphasis on genuine, personalized customer connection. Franchisees entering the system complete an initial training program totaling 252 hours, comprising 42 hours of classroom instruction and 210 hours of on-the-job training, conducted over two weeks at corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. This hands-on training ratio reflects the custard production complexity involved in a continuous-flow, scratch-made product made fresh every hour. Franchisees are required to purchase frozen custard machines and systems directly through Andy's Frozen Custard, ensuring consistency across the system and giving corporate control over a critical quality variable. Operational costs are monitored through contemporary point-of-sale and reporting systems, enabling franchisees to benchmark labor, food cost, and throughput against system averages. Territory exclusivity is granted at the market level, meaning franchisees receive a defined and protected territory, typically anchored to a minimum development commitment of three to five stores, with larger and more densely populated markets requiring greater minimum store counts. The brand explicitly does not pursue single-store franchise arrangements, positioning Andy's as an opportunity for multi-unit operators and experienced restaurateurs rather than lifestyle investors. Corporate support infrastructure includes key leadership personnel at the senior level: Chief Financial Officer Buddy Coulter, Chief Operating Officer Chris Grooms, and Director of Franchise Sales and Development Bill Breyer each bring functional expertise to the franchisee support structure.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document, which means that specific average revenue per unit, median revenue, and profit margin benchmarks are not publicly detailed through the FDD at this time. This is an important consideration for investors conducting rigorous due diligence, as Item 19 disclosure represents the most reliable basis for unit-level economic modeling. However, meaningful publicly available signals exist. The company's estimated U.S. sales in 2024 were approximately $208 million across 169 U.S. units, which implies an estimated average unit volume of roughly $1.23 million per location, a figure that is meaningfully competitive within the quick-service dessert segment when evaluated against total investment ranges of $529,000 to $1.4 million. The company's estimated annual revenue has been reported at approximately $20 million at the corporate level, with an estimated enterprise valuation of $64.1 million. Andy's reported a 17% increase in systemwide sales in 2020 compared to the prior year, alongside an 11% rise in unit count during the same period, demonstrating that the brand maintained sales momentum through a period of significant industry disruption. In 2023, Andy's added 22 net new locations to the system, and in 2024 the company planned to add 25 to 30 additional units, reflecting a targeted annual growth rate of approximately 15% to 20% in unit count. The company's gross sales information is disclosed within the FDD's Item 19 section in the form of historical store data, meaning prospective franchisees who obtain the FDD directly from Andy's can review store-level gross sales histories for existing locations. Potential investors should request this document and work with a qualified franchise attorney and financial advisor to model unit-level economics based on the historical gross sales data provided, layered against local market construction costs, real estate conditions, and operating cost assumptions specific to their target geography.

Andy's Frozen Custard franchise has demonstrated one of the more consistent net unit growth trajectories among regional quick-service dessert brands. From a single location in Osage Beach, Missouri in 1986, through the launch of franchising in 2004, through the transition of leadership to Andy and Dana Kuntz following John Kuntz's passing in 2008, the brand has scaled methodically to more than 180 stores across 15 states by 2025, growing from more than 135 locations as of December 2023 and more than 140 locations in 2024. The brand's competitive moat is anchored in several reinforcing advantages. First, the proprietary frozen custard production process, using custom-engineered machines manufactured to Andy's specifications and purchased exclusively through the company, creates a product quality barrier that competitors using standard soft-serve or ice cream equipment cannot easily replicate. Second, the brand's modern-retro design aesthetic and its signature product lineup, including customizable Concretes blended with real fruits, nuts, and candies, seasonal offerings like the Pumpkin Pie Concrete, classics like the Straw-Ana and Ozark Turtle, and Jackhammers with center-filled surprises, creates strong purchase frequency and menu affinity. Third, the brand's recognition has earned external validation, including selection as one of the "10 Best Franchise Deals for 2020" in quick service and fast casual by a council of franchise experts. Corporate expansion activity in recent periods has been targeted and deliberate: 2023 saw new openings in Downers Grove, Illinois, Overland Park, Missouri, Mansfield and Prosper, Texas, and Edmond, Oklahoma, along with an announced Orlando-area restaurant in Florida. Strategic brand partnerships have also been activated, including an expanded investment with NASCAR's Richard Childress Racing and a community partnership with Missouri Boys and Girls State Programs. These initiatives reflect a brand using both market expansion and brand-equity building simultaneously to support franchisee performance.

The ideal Andy's Frozen Custard franchise candidate is a well-capitalized, multi-unit restaurant operator with demonstrated experience managing teams across multiple locations and the financial resources to execute a market-level development commitment. Andy's explicitly targets experienced restaurateurs who understand the operational complexity of developing three to five or more stores within a defined territory over a compressed timeline, and the brand does not currently pursue single-store franchise inquiries. Candidates must demonstrate liquid assets in excess of $3 million and a net worth of at least $2 million, qualification thresholds that effectively screen for seasoned investors with meaningful capital reserves beyond their franchise investment. Available territories span 15 states including Missouri, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, with high-growth Sun Belt markets in particular offering significant white space for market-level development. The franchise agreement carries a 10-year initial term with a 5-year renewal, providing a meaningful runway for operators to realize returns on their development investment before facing renewal decisions. Franchisees should anticipate an active owner-operator involvement model, as Andy's is explicit that the business is not a passive investment or a standard 9-to-5 commitment, with peak revenue periods concentrated in evenings and weekends. The timeline from signing to opening is shaped by real estate search, permitting, and construction processes typical of freestanding drive-thru builds, which generally range from six to eighteen months depending on market and site conditions. Transfer and resale considerations are governed by standard FDD provisions, and prospective buyers should review those terms carefully with a qualified franchise attorney.

For investors conducting serious due diligence on the snack and nonalcoholic beverage bar franchise category, the Andy's Frozen Custard franchise opportunity warrants a careful and data-informed evaluation. The brand brings together a compelling set of investment signals: the largest dessert-only franchise system in the world by unit count, 39 years of operating history since its 1986 founding, a methodical expansion trajectory adding 22 net new units in 2023 alone against a backdrop of a global frozen snacks market projected to grow from $119.66 billion in 2025 to $175.44 billion by 2034, and an implied average unit volume of approximately $1.23 million based on estimated 2024 systemwide sales of $208 million across 169 U.S. units. The family ownership structure eliminates the short-term financial pressure that publicly traded or private-equity-backed franchise systems can impose on franchisee support resources, though it also means less publicly available financial transparency than SEC-reporting companies provide. The absence of Item 19 financial performance disclosure in the current FDD requires investors to conduct additional primary research, including direct conversations with existing franchisees and independent analysis of the gross sales data contained within the FDD itself. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark the Andy's Frozen Custard franchise investment against comparable opportunities within the snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars category and across the broader quick-service dessert segment. With a current FPI score of 46, this profile sits in the Fair range, a baseline signal that should be contextualized against growth trajectory, market positioning, and franchisee qualification requirements in a full independent analysis. Explore the complete Andy's Frozen Custard franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.