Stella's Ice Cream

Deciding whether to invest six figures into a franchise is one of the most consequential financial decisions a person can make, and the frozen dessert space is littered with brands that looked compelling on paper but delivered disappointing returns at the unit level. Stellas Ice Cream franchise is a young, fast-moving gourmet ice cream concept that deserves serious, data-grounded scrutiny before any capital is committed. Founded in 2018 in Nampa, Idaho, by Chad Hartley and his wife Brittney Hartley, the brand takes its name from the family's bulldog, Stella, and was built around a proprietary high-butterfat ice cream blend made entirely in-house, blast-frozen at -40°F for a distinctively smooth texture. CFO and co-owner Eric Toskin joined the founding team to build the financial infrastructure necessary to scale the concept. Stella's began franchising in 2022, making it a genuinely early-stage opportunity — the brand currently operates a combination of corporate and franchised locations across Idaho, Texas, Nebraska, Arizona, and is actively expanding into Indiana and Oregon. As of 2026, the system has reported approximately 12 franchised units, 4 company-owned units, and 16 franchise units awarded all time, with 13 awarded in the most recent 12-month reporting period. That growth velocity for a brand less than four years into franchising is notable, and it signals both opportunity and execution risk in equal measure. The concept differentiates itself in a competitive category through creative menu breadth — cups, cones, sundaes, shakes, cakes, pints, sandwiches, tacos, and Pupcicles for dogs — combined with a modern, social-media-optimized store design, a claimed industry-leading selection of dairy-free and vegan options across 8 SKUs made with almond, coconut, and oat milk, and a franchise model that encourages franchisee creative control in flavor development. This is an independent analysis, not marketing copy, and what follows is every material data point an investor needs to evaluate the Stellas Ice Cream franchise opportunity with clear eyes.

The broader market context for Stellas Ice Cream franchise investment begins with a global ice cream bar market estimated at $92 billion in 2025, projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7% through 2033. In the United States specifically, the ice cream market is valued at approximately $15 billion, and Stella's operates within the larger Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars category, which intersects with the U.S. non-alcoholic beverages market — a segment valued at $169.55 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $246.90 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.78%. Several powerful consumer macro trends are tailwinds for a brand positioned the way Stella's is. Premiumization — the consumer willingness to pay more for artisanal, handcrafted, clean-label products — is one of the dominant forces reshaping the frozen dessert industry, and Stella's emphasis on 100% all-natural dairy, real vanilla, locally sourced ingredients, and daily hand-production of all ice cream and baked goods is precisely aligned with that demand. The plant-based and vegan movement is equally significant: consumer demand for dairy-free frozen dessert options has grown substantially, and Stella's claim of having the largest selection of dairy-free, vegan, and gluten-free options among frozen dessert franchise concepts gives it a defensible niche positioning. Sustainability preferences, clean-label transparency, and the rise of social media-driven food discovery further favor a visually compelling, community-embedded brand like Stella's. The competitive landscape in gourmet artisanal ice cream franchising remains relatively fragmented compared to the broader quick-service restaurant sector, which means early movers with strong brand identity and proven operational systems have a genuine opportunity to build durable regional and national recognition before consolidation accelerates. These structural tailwinds make the frozen dessert franchise category worth serious attention from investors evaluating the snack and beverage segment.

The Stellas Ice Cream franchise cost structure is important to understand in full before any conversation about returns. The initial franchise fee is $49,500, with a 5% veteran discount available to qualifying candidates. The total initial investment for a single unit ranges from approximately $442,250 to $732,275, with some data sources indicating a range from $158,000 on the low end to $659,780 depending on format and build-out conditions — the spread is driven primarily by two major variables: leasehold improvements, which can reach up to $300,000 for building out an 800 to 1,500 square foot space to Stella's specifications, and equipment costs, which can reach up to $150,000. Working capital is estimated between $10,000 and $30,000. For multi-unit development, which requires a minimum of two units, the total investment range rises to approximately $484,250 to $774,075. The financial qualification thresholds set by the franchisor require minimum liquid capital of $200,000 to $250,000 and a minimum net worth of $400,000 to $500,000, depending on the source consulted. These requirements position the Stellas Ice Cream franchise investment firmly in the mid-tier to premium range of specialty food franchise concepts. Ongoing fees include a royalty of the greater of 6% of gross revenue or $500 per month — critically, this royalty is calculated on topline gross revenue, not profit, meaning it is owed regardless of bottom-line performance. The brand fund fee is 1% of gross revenue, which the franchisor can increase to 2% with notice, and a market co-op contribution of up to 2% may be established in the future, though no co-ops are currently in place. Franchisees are required to purchase from approved suppliers, and the franchisor disclosed that revenue from required ice cream mix purchases represented approximately 9.8% of franchisor revenue in 2024, plus a $1 per-case mix rebate — a meaningful detail that prospective investors should factor into their total cost of ownership analysis. The franchise agreement term is 10 years with a 10-year renewal option. Financial assistance is not provided directly by the franchisor, and prospective franchisees should explore SBA loan eligibility independently.

Daily operations at a Stellas Ice Cream franchise revolve around in-store ice cream and baked goods production, customer service, inventory management, and community engagement across multiple revenue channels. The store footprint of 1,000 to 1,500 square feet is intentionally compact, making site acquisition faster and more affordable than larger-format food concepts while still accommodating a full production kitchen and front-of-house service. A full-time general manager is required to be in place at each location, meaning owner-operators who are not present daily must have qualified management talent on the floor at all times. The brand encourages franchisees to pursue multiple revenue streams beyond the scoop shop itself — event carts, food trucks, wholesale distribution, party boxes, and custom cakes and pies — which creates incremental top-line opportunity but also adds operational complexity that demands strong organizational skills. The initial training program consists of 5 days at the Nampa, Idaho headquarters for the franchisee and up to two additional team members, totaling approximately 101 hours across 19 hours of classroom instruction and 82 hours of on-the-job training, with an additional week of on-site support at the franchisee's own location. At opening, a corporate representative is present on-site for up to 5 days. Ongoing support includes field coaching, operational guidance on unit operations, maintenance, customer service techniques, product ordering, pricing, and administrative procedures, as well as ongoing research and development support. Franchisees are required to use the franchisor's designated technology stack — Square for point-of-sale, QuickBooks for accounting, and proprietary connecting software — and the franchisor retains ownership of all customer data with 24/7 remote access to the POS system. Marketing support includes customizable collateral designs, consumer marketing plans, network-wide advertising, and a strong franchisor social media presence. Each franchisee receives an exclusive territory defined by either a 50,000 to 100,000 population threshold or a 3-mile radius, and no territories are currently sold out, indicating broad geographic availability for new investors.

Item 19 financial performance data disclosed in the Stella's Ice Cream Franchise Disclosure Document for 2024 reveals a picture that requires careful interpretation. The 5 affiliate-owned corporate stores averaged over $580,000 in gross income with a 69% gross margin, producing estimated earnings of approximately $96,000 per location — however, these figures exclude certain significant costs, including commissary and warehouse rent, owner salaries, and a portion of general and administrative expenses, meaning the true net owner earnings at corporate locations are likely lower than the reported $96,000 average. The 2 franchise-owned stores included in the Item 19 disclosure averaged a considerably lower gross income of approximately $284,000, with average estimated earnings of just over $6,000 — and one of those two franchise locations experienced negative earnings in 2024, meaning it lost money after accounting for all costs and fees. This is the single most important data point for any prospective Stellas Ice Cream franchisee to internalize: the gap between corporate and franchisee store performance in the disclosed data is substantial, approximately $296,000 in gross income and roughly $90,000 in estimated earnings per location. The franchisor itself reported a shift from a small profit in 2022 to growing net losses, reaching over $21,000 in losses in 2024 and accumulating a negative member's equity of almost $63,000 by year-end 2024. Industry benchmarks for specialty ice cream scoop shops suggest that well-positioned units in high-traffic markets can generate $400,000 to $700,000 in annual revenue, but cost structures including a 6% gross revenue royalty, a 1% to 2% brand fund, required supplier purchasing that may account for 50% to 80% of operating costs, labor, and occupancy make path-to-profitability modeling critical for every candidate. The FDD includes the standard legal disclaimer that individual results may differ and there is no assurance of earning comparable amounts. Investors should conduct detailed pro forma modeling using the Item 19 data as a baseline, not a guarantee, and should speak directly with existing franchisees during validation.

The growth trajectory of Stellas Ice Cream franchise reflects a brand in active, accelerating expansion from a small but deliberate base. Beginning franchising in 2022 with just a handful of units, the system has reached approximately 12 franchised units by 2026, with 16 franchise agreements awarded all time and 13 awarded in the most recent 12-month reporting window — a year-over-year signing pace that, if sustained, would meaningfully increase system-wide scale within the next 18 to 24 months. Active and planned locations span Idaho, Texas, Nebraska, Arizona, with documented expansion into Oregon — specifically Sherwood, Oregon, where franchisees Jenifer and Eric Nelles broke ground in February 2026 with an opening anticipated for May 2026 — and Indiana also in the pipeline. The Collister Shopping Center location in Boise, Idaho, demonstrates the brand's ability to execute on a 1,050 square foot inline retail footprint, which is a format that tends to offer more attractive lease economics than freestanding units. The brand's competitive moat is built on several interlocking elements: a proprietary high-butterfat ice cream base with a distinct production process involving blast-freezing at -40°F, franchisee creative control in flavor development that enables genuine local differentiation, a menu architecture that includes the Pupcicles pet product as a unique community engagement tool, and a strong social media aesthetic that turns each store into a content-generation engine. The 8-SKU dairy-free and vegan lineup positions Stella's favorably against consumer trends toward plant-based options, and the multi-revenue-stream business model — spanning event carts, food trucks, wholesale, and custom orders — provides earnings diversification that single-channel scoop shops cannot match. Continued investment in the training infrastructure and technology stack will be key indicators of system health to monitor as unit count scales.

The ideal Stellas Ice Cream franchisee profile, as defined by the franchisor, prioritizes outgoing, community-oriented leaders with strong management and organizational skills, a genuine passion for dessert, and financial qualifications that include $200,000 to $250,000 in liquid capital and a minimum net worth of $400,000 to $500,000. Prior food service or retail management experience is advantageous given the daily production demands of a from-scratch ice cream operation, though the 101-hour training program is designed to bring qualified candidates without direct industry background up to operational standards. Given that a full-time general manager is required, candidates exploring a semi-absentee model must budget for a dedicated management hire in their pro forma from day one. Multi-unit development is available, with a minimum two-unit commitment required for multi-unit agreements, and the active signing pace of 13 new franchise agreements in the most recent 12-month period suggests the franchisor has capacity to support simultaneous development in multiple markets. Available territories span the entire United States, with no markets currently sold out and documented expansion activity across the West, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest. A new franchise in Sherwood, Oregon, illustrates a typical timeline from signing to opening of approximately 3 to 6 months, encompassing site selection, lease negotiation, build-out, and training. The franchise agreement runs for an initial 10-year term with a 10-year renewal option. Prospective investors should note that if married, a spousal guarantee will likely be required, making both spouses personally liable for all financial obligations, and a non-compete clause prohibits involvement in competing businesses within a 25-mile radius of the franchise location or any other Stella's unit system-wide for two full years following any exit from the system — terms that are meaningful considerations in evaluating total risk exposure.

The investment thesis for Stellas Ice Cream franchise is grounded in a category with compelling macro fundamentals — a $92 billion global market growing at 5.7% annually, powerful premiumization and plant-based consumer tailwinds, and a fragmented competitive landscape that rewards differentiated artisan brands — combined with a young franchise system that is signing new agreements at a rapid pace and expanding its geographic footprint across multiple U.S. states simultaneously. The honest assessment is that the brand carries the execution risks inherent in any sub-five-year-old franchise system: the Item 19 data shows a meaningful performance gap between corporate and franchised locations, the franchisor itself reported negative member's equity of nearly $63,000 at year-end 2024, and one of the two disclosed franchised units experienced negative earnings in the same period. These are facts, not disqualifiers, but they underscore why independent due diligence — including direct franchisee validation calls, detailed pro forma modeling, and a thorough review of the full Franchise Disclosure Document with qualified legal and financial counsel — is non-negotiable before signing any franchise agreement. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score analysis, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark the Stellas Ice Cream franchise opportunity directly against competing concepts in the frozen dessert and specialty snack category. With a current FPI Score of 61, which PeerSense classifies as Moderate, the platform's independent scoring methodology gives investors a quantified starting point for evaluating system health relative to the broader franchise universe. Explore the complete Stellas Ice Cream franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.