When thinking about owning a franchise, the first question prospective owners typically have is usually about money. It makes sense to want a clear answer before committing savings and time to a venture.
The honest answer to the question is that franchise owner income covers a wide range, and a handful of choices push it up or down. This guide breaks down what those numbers really mean and how Rita’s shops perform, so you can weigh the opportunity with clear eyes.
Key Takeaways
- How much do franchise owners make? There’s no single number, since income varies by brand, industry, location, hours, and how many units you own.
- Food and beverage owners open at least two years report about $142,000 in average annual income, per Franchise Business Review.
- Royalties, advertising contributions, rent, labor, and cost of goods all come out before your take-home pay.
- A franchisor’s FDD Item 19 often discloses historical sales data, but rarely discloses historical profits, so read it closely and note what it leaves out.
- Rita’s discloses in its FDD a great deal of valuable information, including tiered gross sales and a low cost of goods sold.
What Actually Drives Franchise Owner Income
Franchise owner annual income varies widely by brand, industry, location, the hours you work, and the number of units you run.
The averages may mislead potential franchisees because a handful of levers pull earnings up or down. Understanding these levers turns “How much do franchise owners make?” from a vague question into a decision you can actually plan around. Consider the following:
- Single-unit versus multi-unit ownership changes the math, since operators who run several shops report higher income in franchise surveys.
- Brand and industry set the ceiling. A frozen dessert shop and a fitness studio offer different margins, price points, and traffic patterns.
- Location and territory shape demand, rent, labor cost, and how many customers walk in each day.
- Hours and owner involvement matter, because an owner working the counter keeps more than one who pays a full management layer.
- Operating costs decide take-home, and lower cost of goods sold (“COGS”) leaves more of every sale in your pocket. For example, at Rita’s the average COGS is 17.3% versus a much higher industry average (28.4%, according to a report from Restaurant Research).
Location is the lever buyers underrate most. A strong market with room to grow can lift sales for years. That’s why it pays to study the open territories near you before you commit. Some franchises dictate which sites are available to franchisees; you open where they tell you to. Others, including Rita’s, will offer consultation and guidance, but the ultimate decision is up to you.
Revenue vs. Take-home: Why Gross Sales Aren’t Profit
Gross sales measure total revenue before any costs. Profit is what remains after you cover those costs, and the gap between the two can be large.
Picture a shop that rings up $400,000 in a year. Royalties, advertising fees, rent, labor, and cost of goods come out first. What lands in the owner’s account is a fraction of that top-line figure. This gap is exactly why a sales number alone tells you little about income.
The Fees and Costs That Cut Into Earnings
Every franchise carries certain one time costs and certain recurring costs, and they follow a familiar pattern. Knowing what each one pays for helps you read any brand’s numbers with clear eyes.
- The initial franchise fee pays for your license to operate under the brand and open your first shop.
- The ongoing royalty is a percentage of gross sales that funds the training and support you rely on.
- The advertising or brand fund pools contributions from all franchisees to pay for national and regional marketing.
- The startup investment covers build-out, equipment, signage, and the working capital you need to open.
These are just some of the costs that turn a gross sales figure into profit. Before you weigh any profit claim, it helps to understand what your startup costs cover.
A real example: Rita’s fees and investment
Rita’s publishes its numbers, so you can see the structure instead of guessing. A standard Rita’s shop has a $35,000 initial franchise fee. Ongoing fees are a 6.5% royalty, a 3.0% advertising contribution to the Brand Fund, and a minimum 2.0% local advertising spend.
The estimated initial investment runs from $315,233 to $915,536 depending on format and drive-thru.
The model helps on the cost side, too. With two base products, Italian Ice and Frozen Custard, a Rita’s shop skips fryers and full kitchens. That keeps operations simpler and the cost of goods low.
You can see how the pieces fit in the Rita’s franchise opportunity overview.
How to Read the Numbers: The FDD and Item 19
The best tool for answering the earnings question is the Franchise Disclosure Document, or FDD. Every franchisor has to give you one, and it is where the real numbers live.
Item 19 is the section to focus on, because that is where a franchisor may disclose financial performance. One caution carries across every brand. Item 19 usually reports sales, not profit, so a big top-line figure still needs the cost side before it means anything.
What Rita’s numbers actually show
Rita’s uses Item 19 in the FDD to disclose real shop performance. In the 2025 season, across a 530-shop sample, top-tier shops averaged $558,103 in gross sales (median $515,160).
Middle-tier shops averaged $345,566, bottom-tier shops averaged $220,095. Shops with a Drive-thru averaged $508,897, compared with $366,957 for shops without one.2
The cost side is where the model shows its edge. Food, paper, and fuel surcharge averaged 17.3% of sales across the system, and 16.0% for the top tier, with food cost alone averaging 14.8%.2 A lower cost of goods is one reason higher gross profit margins for owners are realistic here.
Keep the caveat in view. These are gross sales, not profit, and they won’t reflect rent, labor, or other operating expenses.
Is Owning a Franchise Worth It?
Ownership is a trade-off, and an honest look weighs both sides. On the plus side, you buy a proven system, national brand recognition, ready-made training, and marketing support that an independent startup builds from scratch.
The risks are just as real. Some costs (like rent and utilities) are fixed whether sales are strong or slow. In addition, the hours can be long, and no one guarantees a profit.
The context helps, though. The franchise sector is large and steady. The International Franchise Association’s 2026 outlook expects output to rise from $907.3 billion to $921.4 billion, with establishments growing from 832,521 to about 845,000 units.
Category choice shapes the odds. Frozen desserts draw frequent, affordable purchases that customers feel good about, and a recognized name reduces the risk of building demand from zero. If you are weighing options, it helps to compare the top dessert franchises side by side.
Seasonal demand and the frozen dessert advantage
Frozen treats sell on impulse and repeat, and that rhythm shapes an owner’s year. Warm-weather peaks and strong opening days can concentrate a large share of sales into the busy season.
For an owner, that pattern rewards planning. Staffing up for peaks and marketing hard around them protects margins. Rita’s has seen seasonal sales on opening day that set the tone for the season. Rita’s “owns” the First Day of Spring, a March 20th event that lets guests across the country know that Rita’s is open in seasonal markets.
With more than 40 years and over 600 shops behind the brand, that seasonal playbook is well tested.
Take the Next Step Toward Franchise Ownership
The honest answer to how much franchise owners make is that the number depends on the levers in this guide, not on any headline average. Your brand, your market, your costs, your presence in the space decide where you land.
Location is among the most important factors in franchise success. Rita’s franchisees ultimately make the choice of where to open, with support and guidance to help make the best choice. Compare that to other franchises, which often take a more heavy-handed approach to franchise development. In those cases, a franchisee is forced to take a specific site.
The smartest next move is to study a brand’s real, disclosed numbers rather than rely on estimates. Explore Rita’s franchise opportunity (including the transparent figures within the Franchise Disclosure Document) and look at the open territories near you. Next, start a conversation with Rita’s team about what ownership could look like in your market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is owning a franchise profitable?
It can be, though there’s no guarantee of profit. Earnings depend on your brand, location, costs, and time in the unit . Gross sales, while an important metric, aren’t the same as profit.
What should you do before buying a franchise?
Request the FDD and read Item 19 closely. Talk to current owners, and use your 14-day review window to check the numbers before you sign.
How much do Rita’s franchise owners make?
Rita’s discloses average gross sales by tier: top-tier shops averaging $558,103, $345,566 for middle tier shops, and $220,095 for bottom tier shops.2 These are sales, not profit.
What franchises can you start with a smaller budget?
Costs vary by concept and format. A Rita’s shop, for example, could cost anywhere between $315,233 for a standard shop without a drive-thru to between $456,858 and $915,536 for a shop with a drive-thru, and smaller formats have lower franchise fees.5,6
- “How Much Do Franchise Owners Make and Is It Profitable?” Franchise Business Review, September 4, 2025
- Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19
- Restaurant Research Industry Data Report on Unit Economics, 2025
- Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 5
- Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 6
- Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 7
