BEN & JERRY'S AND sPECIAL VENUE SCOOP SHOP

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc. was founded on May 5, 1978, by childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in Burlington, Vermont, with an initial investment of $12,000, equal to roughly $59,000 in 2025 dollars. The first shop operated from a renovated gas station. Within three years, the company began distributing pints through grocery retailers and opened its first franchised location in Shelburne, Vermont, in 1981. Today, headquarters are in South Burlington, Vermont, and manufacturing is based in Waterbury, Vermont. The brand has more than 600 Scoop Shops across dozens of countries. British multinational Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000, and the brand operates as an independent subsidiary within Unilever's ice cream group. That group reported €7.9 billion in fiscal year 2025 revenue and 4.2% organic sales growth. Ben & Jerry's contributed more than 3% organic sales growth in 2025, supported by 25 new flavor and format combinations, and recorded $1.1 billion in global sales in 2024. The Ben Jerry's And Special Venue Scoop Shop franchise serves a focused part of this network in institutional and venue settings with substantial visitor traffic.

The global ice cream market is valued at $109.24 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow approximately 2.5% in 2026. Ben & Jerry's benefits from consumer interest in experiential retail and from demand for brands with social and environmental commitments. Its three part mission covers product quality, economic fairness, and social justice, and has been part of the brand since its founding. Ben & Jerry's holds 29% of the premium ice cream market in the United Kingdom. Its 98 flavors include dairy, non dairy, and gluten free options, supporting demand from consumers with dietary restrictions and health related preferences. The premium dessert segment competes through flavor innovation and brand identity rather than price, while specialty dessert and ice cream franchising remains moderately fragmented. More than 600 locations give Ben & Jerry's a scale advantage in supply and marketing compared with smaller independent operators.

The Ben Jerry's And Special Venue Scoop Shop format is intended for food service operations inside facilities, institutions, and purpose built venues. Its initial franchise fee is up to $18,000, compared with $37,000 for a standard Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop. Total investment ranges from $235,300 to $524,800, depending on venue size, construction needs, equipment, and local building costs. Working capital requirements range from $50,000 to $75,000. Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $350,000 and at least $100,000 in liquid capital before signing. The April 2025 FDD lists total investment of $238,800 to $550,800 for traditional full size Scoop Shops, $206,800 to $386,300 for in line shops, and $156,900 to $333,300 for kiosks. Franchisees also pay 2.0% to the national brand fund and an additional 2% of gross sales for local marketing, creating a total ongoing fee burden of 7% of gross sales. United Kingdom franchisees face a £20,000 franchise fee and a minimum liquid capital requirement of £100,000.

Daily service may include ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbets, sundaes, shakes, smoothies, novelties, pints, and custom cakes. The Special Venue format targets contract feeders and food service providers in arenas, convention centers, universities, airports, theme parks, and similar settings where a street facing shop may not be practical. The franchisee or a trained, full time manager must provide active on site supervision at all times. If the franchisee is a corporation, partnership, or LLC, an individual with at least a 20% beneficial interest must devote full time management efforts to the business. Special Venue training totals 23 hours, including 19 hours of classroom instruction and 4 hours of on the job training under Ben & Jerry's certification protocols. Traditional Scoop Shop operators attend Scoop U, which includes classroom instruction, hands on production, and in store management practice led by certified trainers. The Scoop U fee is $1,800. Ongoing support includes quarterly promotional campaigns, seasonal marketing materials, recipe updates, and operational guidance. Territory is an authorized location rather than an exclusive geographic zone, with decisions based on market demand, demographics, population density, traffic, access, visibility, and nearby Scoop Shops.

Special Venue sites may experience less weather related volatility because arenas, convention centers, and universities draw visitors through scheduled events throughout the year. Sites with more than one million annual visitors, such as the Cleveland Playhouse Square location approved with a 1.2 million annual visitor count, should base projections on venue attendance rather than general benchmarks.

The global network fell to 562 units in 2020 as the COVID 19 pandemic disrupted retail food service, then reached 583 locations by 2022, adding 21 units over two years. In 2025, the brand website showed at least 170 shops across 32 states and Washington D.C. Recent openings include a Cleveland Playhouse Square Scoop Shop following a $300,000 renovation and a Station Yards location in Ronkonkoma, New York, which opened in January 2026 for a growing downtown district. Unilever announced plans to spin off its entire ice cream portfolio, including Ben & Jerry's, into The Magnum Ice Cream Company, with completion targeted for late 2025 and a primary listing in Amsterdam. The Magnum Ice Cream Company reported €7.9 billion in fiscal year 2025 revenue and 4.2% organic sales growth. Ben Cohen is campaigning for full separation from Unilever, while Jerry Greenfield resigned from the company because of concerns that Unilever was limiting its social and political mission. The transition creates organizational uncertainty alongside the brand's global recognition and customer loyalty. Its stated advantages include a multi decade flavor innovation history, 98 dairy, non dairy, and gluten free flavors, the three part mission, and Scoop U training across more than 600 global locations.

The preferred franchisee is a food and beverage professional or experienced business owner with food service management skills and a genuine connection to the brand's values. Ben & Jerry's identifies prior franchisee or business ownership, community involvement in social and environmental issues, and ethical business practices as preferred traits. The Special Venue model is suited to operators with relationships involving venue management, stadiums, universities, airports, or convention centers. As of the 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, 22 franchised Special Venue locations operated in the United States across 14 states and Washington D.C. The West region had the largest concentration, with 9 locations across AZ, CA, CO, NV, and WA. Other states listed were CT, DC, GA, IL, MA, MO, MS, NY, TN, and VT. The 22 location system is small compared with the broader global network of more than 600 Scoop Shops, reflecting the format's specialized site requirements. Owner operator involvement is the expected model, with either direct franchisee management or a dedicated full time trained manager under an actively engaged owner.

The global ice cream market is valued at $109.24 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at 2.5% in 2026. Ben & Jerry's reported $1.1 billion in global sales in 2024, more than 3% organic sales growth in 2025, and revenue performance approximately 47% above the sub sector average in one available data set. The planned move into The Magnum Ice Cream Company by late 2025 adds an ownership transition to the review. Total investment is $235,300 to $524,800, with a minimum net worth of $350,000 and $100,000 in required liquid capital. PeerSense provides independent franchise research that includes SBA lending history, Loan Activity Score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and comparison tools covering investment level, support quality, revenue performance, and territory availability. PeerSense is a commercial capital advisory firm, not a lender, and introduces franchise buyers to SBA and conventional lenders.