DAIRY QUEEN Franchise Startup Cost, Profit & Opportunities

Dairy Queen, which is now most of the time known as DQ, can be considered to be one of America’s most iconic fast-serve restaurants.

The company built its reputation on the popular soft-served ice cream they manufacture.

A few years ago, the company diversified into a full menu of awesome restaurant delights, such as burgers, sandwiches, chicken strips and then fries.

They have been able to gather great success over the years through great service delivery and innovations of new dishes to their customers’ delight. This has made them so popular that a lot of entrepreneurs now seek the information on how much is a Dairy Queen Franchise?

FRANCHISE INFORMATION ABOUT DAIRY QUEEN

When J.F McCullogh was experimenting on a new recipe for a new frozen dairy item, he believed that ice cream would taste better if it was soft and served directly fresh from the freezer and not when frozen solid. When he perfected the recipe, himself and his son, Alex, were able to convince one of their numerous customers to assist with introductory sales of the innovation: THE SOFT ICE-CREAM.

It was an instant success as about 1600 ice cream lovers showed up to try it out. Following up on the initial success of the demo sales, the McCullough’s opened its first Dairy Queen store in the year 1940 in Illinois.

In the 1950s, some of their stores began to serve hot food items. Presently all Dairy Queen stores have wide menus which include hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken strips and a whole lot more.

HOW MUCH IS A DAIRY QUEEN FRANCHISE?

As an entrepreneur and you are interested in buying into the Dairy Queen Franchise opportunity, you will need to choose from the concept that you wish to identify with. Choices are ranging from DQ Grill & Chill to the DQ Orange Julius Treat Center. You will also need to pick out a location and then forward an application to the company. But before that, you will need to acquaint yourself with the cost of a Dairy Queen Franchise. This will surely set you back some few bucks, but you will surely be encouraged as it is lucrative dealing with DQ.

As a Dairy Queen Franchisee, you will be expected to have $400,000 as liquid assets and then $300,000 as cash equity. You will also need to have a net worth of $750,000 minimum. The total investment that will be needed to fully establish a Dairy Queen Franchise store will be in the range of $400,000 to $1,800,000. And we all understand the variation is dependent on the location that you choose to establish your store.

WHAT IS DAIRY QUEEN FRANCHISE FEE?

As it is with all franchises, you will be expected to make an Initial Dairy Queen Franchise Fee, which is between $25,000 to $35,000. You will also need to make a Royalty fee of about 4-5% of the gross revenue of your store to the company. An Ad fee of about 5-6% will also be required of you to pay for the company.

ARE THERE ANY DAIRY QUEEN TERMS OF AGREEMENT AND RENEWALS?

If you have been approved as a Dairy Queen Franchisee and operations have begun in your store. Be aware that the term of the initial franchise agreement for the company is 20 years. Renewal will be for another additional term, which could be for a shorter period of 10 years.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A DAIRY QUEEN FRANCHISE?

  1. As a franchisee with DQ, you will be afforded a training program before and after the launch of your franchise. This will get you acquainted with the concepts of the company and guide you in following due process and standards of operation.
  2. Additional supports will be given to you as the franchisee through meetings, field evaluation, newsletters, purchasing cooperatives and then toll-free phone lines.
  3. You also will get marketing support from the company, which will be provided through Co-op advertising, regional advertising, National media, and ad slicks.
  4. There is also an opportunity for you as a Dairy Queen Franchisee to participate in local promotions. This will assist you to reach out to the customers within your immediate environment.

TYPES OF TRAINING OFFERED BY DAIRY QUEEN

As a Dairy Queen Franchisee, you will be expected to undergo these four pieces of training

  1. The Management Training Readiness Assessment
  2. The Dairy Queen Corporation’s training scheme. These are in 3 phases
  • Product & Equipment Training
  • Management and Systems Training
  • People, Pride and Profit training
  1. SERVSAFE certification
  2. Cake certification and decoration course

You will be expected to deploy the Franchisee’s Manager, which could be you or any other person, 2 assistant managers for the first 3 training components. And then only one person is expected to attend the cake certification course.

QUICK FACTS ABOUT DAIRY QUEEN FRANCHISE

  • The business was established in the year 1940
  • Dairy Queen Franchise began in the year 1944
  • Dairy Queen Franchise fee ranges between $25,000 to $35,000
  • The royalty fee is between 4-5%

Dairy Queen evaluates the background, work experiences, and financial capabilities of prospective franchisees because it gives preference to prospects with food or business experience.

GUIDE: Pieology Franchising

I hope with this information you can be able to consider your options if you have an interest in picking a franchise.