Ben & Jerry's
The initial franchise fee is $8,000. Ongoing royalties are 3%.
What is the Ben & Jerry's franchise?
Ben & Jerry's is an ice cream business that sells scoops and other frozen treats to customers.
The initial franchise fee is $8,000. The royalty is 3 percent of sales. Headquarters are in MA.
Loan Activity Score
54/100
SBA Default Rate
6.4%
Active Lenders
46
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Ben & Jerry's has 85 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 46 lenders made 109 loans to franchisees of Ben & Jerry's. PeerSense calculates Ben & Jerry's's score as 54 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 1978 · 85 locations
$8,000
85
85 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
ModerateDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Ben & Jerry's
109
Total SBA loans
$265K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Ben & Jerry's
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Major Brand (100+ loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
6.4%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
109
Total Volume
$28.9M
Active Lenders
46
8 selective
States
27
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for Ben & Jerry's based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
6.4%
3.9% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
109 loans
Across 46 lenders
Lender Diversity
46 lenders
Avg 2.4 loans per lender
Ben & Jerry's: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
2004
18 approvals. The best year on record for Ben & Jerry's.
Top SBA State
California
16 SBA financed Ben & Jerry's locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$261K
Median $337K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Ben & Jerry's unit.
Lender Concentration
36.8%
Moderately Spread
Share of Ben & Jerry's approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Ben & Jerry's's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2004 (18 approvals). The last five fiscal years account for 13% of cumulative volume ($5.1M approved). Operator density is highest in California with 16 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $261K, with the median at $337K. Lender mix is moderately spread: the top three SBA lenders account for 36.8% of approvals. Meaningful choice exists, but specific lenders carry the brand.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$5,176
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
Ben & Jerry's, unit breakdown
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Page Review
Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman