Food & Beverage

Kona Ice Franchise

A mobile shaved-ice and beverage franchise built around a branded truck -- the Kona Entertainment Vehicle, or KEV -- that works schools, sports leagues, and community events rather than operating from a fixed storefront. Founded in Florence, Kentucky, operating similar mobile businesses since 2007 and franchising since 2008; franchised unit count grew every year in the FDD's three-year window, and the system took on its first company-owned units in 2024.

Opening more locationsFounded 2008HQ: Florence, KY

Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from Kona Ice's own filing.

What it costs to open

From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.

Franchise fee

$15,000

Total to open

$114,730–$228,601

Ongoing royalty

Not a %-of-revenue fee -- see FDD

What you'd actually spend, over time

The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.

Your estimated annual revenue

Defaulted to a rough food & beverage industry average, not a figure from Kona Ice's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.

Startup investment (royalty not included -- see below)

$114,730 – $228,601

Kona Ice doesn't charge a straightforward percentage-of-revenue royalty -- its FDD describes a different ongoing-fee structure instead. That cost isn't included in the total above; check the FDD directly for the real terms before using this figure to compare against other franchises.

When would you break even?

Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. Kona Ice's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical food & beverage profit margin (~8%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.

Estimated profit margin (% of revenue)

%≈ $80,000/year

Defaulted to a general food & beverage industry benchmark, not a figure from Kona Ice's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.

At that profit, you'd break even in about

1.4–2.9 years

Weigh that payback period against what you already know: Kona Ice is opening more locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.

Is Kona Ice actually growing?

Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:

Locations opened vs. closed, by year

Growing

From Item 20 of Kona Ice's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.

+194

+146

+113

202320242025

Year	Franchised units, start	Franchised units, end	Net change
2023	1,476	1,670	+194
2024	1,670	1,816	+146
2025	1,816	1,929	+113

Most recent year (2025): gained 113 franchised units, ending the year at 1,929 total.

How Kona Ice compares to other Food & Beverage franchises

Across the 52 food & beverage franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $860,899–$2,165,095, with royalties averaging around 5.6% of gross sales (based on the 48 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).

Dave's Hot Chicken

$617,800–$2,170,000 · 6% royalty

Slim Chickens

$1,188,900–$4,944,000 · 5% royalty

Ziggi's Coffee

$315,830–$2,093,361 · 6% royalty

Crumbl

$848,566–$1,472,533 · 8% royalty

Little Caesars

$376,500–$1,769,200 · 6% royalty

Jamba

$480,850–$941,300 · 6% royalty

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

$300,000–$720,500 · 6% royalty

Playa Bowls

$188,675–$636,458 · 6% royalty

Firehouse Subs

$166,671–$950,351 · 6% royalty

Wingstop

$310,400–$1,048,500 · 6% royalty

Jersey Mike's Subs

$436,176–$1,162,228 · 6.5% royalty

Dunkin'

$532,400–$1,832,500 · 5.9% royalty

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

$1,222,045–$3,923,245 · 5% royalty

Del Taco

$1,461,200–$3,313,500 · 5% royalty

Blaze Pizza

$757,000–$1,297,100 · 5% royalty

Church's Texas Chicken

$1,202,400–$1,886,300 · 5% royalty

MOD Pizza

$924,732–$1,220,633 · 5% royalty

Twin Peaks

$2,959,000–$5,734,000 · 5% royalty

McDonald's

$1,470,500–$2,642,000 · 5% royalty

Subway

$263,000–$630,000 · 8% royalty

Taco Bell

$1,859,750–$4,312,200 · 5.5% royalty

Domino's Pizza

$231,450–$743,500 · 5.5% royalty

KFC

$2,107,575–$4,155,000 · 5% royalty

Burger King

$2,039,200–$4,730,600 · 4.5% royalty

Chick-fil-A

$317,521–$3,463,155 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Penn Station

$507,500–$858,750 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Nekter Juice Bar

$243,155–$647,160 · 6% royalty

Jimmy John's

$366,200–$733,500 · 6% royalty

Sonic Drive-In

$1,485,200–$2,522,900 · 5% royalty

Papa John's

$281,485–$890,267 · 5% royalty

Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs

$238,982–$697,322 · 5.5% royalty

Jack in the Box

$1,909,500–$4,041,500 · 5% royalty

Wendy's

$1,523,957–$2,992,000 · 4% royalty

Marco's Pizza

$286,477–$811,186 · 5.5% royalty

Pizza Hut

$846,000–$2,130,000 · 6% royalty

Chicken Salad Chick

$777,000–$998,500 · 5% royalty

Teriyaki Madness

$392,667–$1,121,405 · 6% royalty

Cold Stone Creamery

$390,675–$680,775 · 6% royalty

Scooter's Coffee

$1,163,650–$1,345,750 · 6% royalty

Nothing Bundt Cakes

$475,200–$994,100 · 6% royalty

Five Guys

$977,850–$1,375,750 · 6% royalty

Tim Hortons

$427,500–$3,312,500 · 6% royalty

7 Brew

$940,500–$2,283,500 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Swig

$608,400–$1,718,000 · 7% royalty

Culver's

$3,406,350–$10,294,100 · 4% royalty

Dairy Queen

$1,516,200–$2,543,050 · 4% royalty

Paris Baguette

$727,515–$1,860,550 · 5% royalty

Jollibee

$1,614,568–$4,589,057 · 5% royalty

Smoothie King

$329,850–$683,215 · 6% royalty

IHOP

$380,550–$3,735,850 · 4.5% royalty

Cinnabon

$256,950–$703,500 · 6% royalty

Kona Ice Franchise FAQ

How much does it cost to franchise a Kona Ice?

Based on Kona Ice's own FDD, total initial investment to open one location runs $114,730–$228,601, including the $15,000 franchise fee. California DFPI Registration Renewal, App ID APP00005142, filed 4/20/2026, effective 6/5/2026. FDD issued April 20, 2026. Item 5: $15,000 initial franchise fee per KEV. Item 6: royalty is not a percentage of sales -- it's a flat annual fee of $3,000 (years 1-2), $4,000 (years 3-6), and $5,000 (years 7-10) per KEV, plus a Brand Fund contribution currently $1,000/year per KEV and $200/year per piece of Additional Equipment (increasable up to 10%/year at Kona Ice's discretion, or more with a 75% Ad Council vote). Item 7: $114,730-$228,601 total initial investment for a single KEV. Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets; company-owned outlets appear starting 2024.

What is the Kona Ice franchise fee?

The initial franchise fee is $15,000. Kona Ice's ongoing fee isn't a flat percent-of-revenue royalty -- check the FDD's Item 6 for the actual structure.

Is the Kona Ice franchise growing or shrinking?

Growing. Across 2023–2025, Kona Ice added a net 453 franchised locations, per its own annual FDD filings.

Keep going

Kona Ice and Firehouse Subs are both food & beverage franchises; Kona Ice's total investment starts about $51,941 lower than Firehouse Subs's. Firehouse Subs Franchise
Kona Ice and Playa Bowls are both food & beverage franchises; Kona Ice's total investment starts about $73,945 lower than Playa Bowls's. Playa Bowls Franchise

Where this came from: California DFPI Registration Renewal, App ID APP00005142, filed 4/20/2026, effective 6/5/2026. FDD issued April 20, 2026. Item 5: $15,000 initial franchise fee per KEV. Item 6: royalty is not a percentage of sales -- it's a flat annual fee of $3,000 (years 1-2), $4,000 (years 3-6), and $5,000 (years 7-10) per KEV, plus a Brand Fund contribution currently $1,000/year per KEV and $200/year per piece of Additional Equipment (increasable up to 10%/year at Kona Ice's discretion, or more with a 75% Ad Council vote). Item 7: $114,730-$228,601 total initial investment for a single KEV. Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets; company-owned outlets appear starting 2024. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2026-04-20. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.

If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.