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Frozen Treats For All – That’s Dairy Queen!
It’s difficult to imagine a time without soft-serve ice cream, but that’s what the dessert world looked like prior to World War II.  Ice cream maker J.F. McCullough envisioned an ice cream treat that did not come to the consumer frozen into a solid block – thus was born the Dairy Queen product line.  The company’s first location opened in 1940 in Joliet, Illinois.  The store served only vanilla ice cream that flowed like a white ribbon into cones and sundae cups – takeout pints and quarts were also available – but additional items that played off the same theme were introduced over the years, such as banana splits, Dilly Bars, ice cream cakes, and the ubiquitous Peanut Buster Parfait.  It took Mr. McCullough only four short years to realize that Dairy Queen franchises would be a hot commodity, even in the midst of armed conflict.  And ten years after its inception, many Dairy Queen locations began serving hot food items such as hamburgers and hot dogs.  It soon became clear that nearly everyone wanted to find a Dairy Queen franchise for sale.

Dairy Queen Franchise Review
A Dairy Queen franchise location can be found in nearly every U.S. city and in several foreign countries.  At the end of 2008 there were more than 4,500 Dairy Queen franchisees in the U.S., plus close to 600 in Canada and an additional 450 plus overseas – primarily in Asia.  Each Dairy Queen franchisee receives three full weeks of training at the company’s headquarters in Minneapolis, plus an additional two weeks assistance from the parent company prior to and just after the store opens for business.  Dairy Queen franchise owners have the advantage of belonging to a buying co-op, which allows them to purchase equipment and supplies at reduced rates.  Additional support comes in the form of regular meetings within one’s region, ongoing evaluations from the field management office in your area, and regular training upgrades available to any new manager or assistant.  The Dairy Queen national media campaign regularly wins awards for its innovative marketing approach, and individual Dairy Queen franchisees can sign up for co-op advertising that includes direct-mail coupons and other schemes.  The company suggests that it takes anywhere from 20 to 40 employees to operate a single Dairy Queen franchise location.

Dairy Queen Franchise Information & Costs
The upfront Dairy Queen franchise fee is set at $25,000.  There is also an ongoing royalty fee that each Dairy Queen franchisee pays on a monthly or quarterly basis; this fee runs from between four to six percent of gross sales proceeds.  Additional fees will include three to six percent of gross sales paid into a sales promotion program that benefits all franchisees.  It is estimated that, to buy a Dairy Queen franchise, owners will sink anywhere from $700,000 to $1.3 million into their total investment.  As a result, one’s net worth should be no less than $750,000, with a cash liquidity position in the range of $400,000.  Startup expenses that are part of the overall total investment estimate include such things as pre-opening inventory (minimum $6,000), equipment such as ice cream makers, signage, and a point-of-sale [cash register] system (minimum $280,000, some of which can be leased), and building construction and / or remodeling of an existing location, which might run as much as $425,000.  Naturally there are a number of operational expenses to be borne by the owner of a Dairy Queen franchise, such as utilities, attorney’s fees, business licenses, taxes, insurance, and so on.  The initial Dairy Queen franchise agreement is for 20 years or the term of the site lease, whichever is less, and each franchisee can exercise his or her renewal option for an additional ten years; that fee can run as much as $2,500.  Of course, by then you will have sold millions of dollars of delicious Dairy Queen treats, so the renewal fee will seem tiny by comparison.
 

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