Ice cream prices in 2026 are not what they used to be. As Bloomberg Businessweek reported in June 2026, prices at scoop shops have climbed more than 35% since 2019, when the average cost of a cone was around $4.50, according to research firm Technomic. Today, single scoops at premium concepts routinely run $8 or more. A family of four can easily spend real money before anyone adds a topping.
That’s hardly family-friendly. Nor is it great for businesses that want to control costs.
There are well-documented reasons for this price jump. David Ortega, a food economist at Michigan State University, told Bloomberg Businessweek that the pressure isn’t driven by one factor alone, pointing to the lingering effects of the pandemic, tariffs, and a K-shaped economy where higher earners keep spending while everyone else pulls back. Wholesale dairy prices have stayed volatile for years. Cocoa prices have more than tripled since 2022, driven by poor West African harvests and disease pressure on cocoa trees. Egg prices have risen more than 150% since 2019, driven largely by recurring avian flu outbreaks. Energy costs for refrigeration and air-conditioned retail have climbed sharply too. Many brands have raised prices. Others have quietly substituted ingredients. Labor costs have climbed as well, adding another pressure point for operators already squeezed on ingredients.
For consumers, that means sticker shock at the scoop window. For prospective franchise owners, it raises a more useful question: which frozen dessert business models are insulated from those pressures, and which ones are most exposed?
Franchise facts: Ice cream prices and Why Rita’s Wins
- Ice cream prices are up more than 35% since 2019. Dairy, cocoa, egg, labor, and energy costs have all surged, squeezing traditional scoop shop operators from every direction.
- Rita’s core product is largely insulated from those pressures. Italian ice is made from water, sugar, and real fruit, not the ingredients that have gotten expensive.
- The numbers reflect it. System-wide combined food, paper, and fuel surcharge costs averaged 17.3% of gross sales in 2025 (food alone: 14.8%), well below the 28-35% range typical of traditional restaurant and QSR franchises.1
- Consumers are actively looking for value. When premium cones hit $8, accessible concepts with strong perceived value, like Rita’s, pick up customers who are cutting back but not cutting out treats entirely.
- Drive-thru locations averaged 38% higher gross sales than standard shops in 2025, making format selection an increasingly important variable for prospective owners to consider.2
Why do ice cream prices keep rising?
Traditional ice cream is expensive to make and sell.
Dairy costs represent a large share of the ingredient bill and have been volatile for years. Cocoa became scarce due to poor harvests and disease pressure in West Africa, where most of the world’s cocoa supply originates. Energy is a hidden cost that compounds across every stage of ice cream’s supply chain: refrigerated trucks, commercial freezers, air-conditioned retail.
Labor has added to the pressure, especially for scoop shops that are seasonal businesses concentrated between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Staffing up and back down within a compressed window carries its own cost, from recruiting and training seasonal crews to managing turnover, a cycle that formats with a longer operating season, like drive-thru locations, are built to smooth out.
The premium end of the market has held. Consumers who can afford $8 cones still buy them, treating the purchase as a small luxury even when cutting back elsewhere. The value-oriented middle of the market has struggled more, as rising costs outpace the ability to raise prices without losing customers. Rita’s three-ingredient Italian Ice avoids the ingredient-cutting tradeoffs that dairy-heavy concepts face.
How does Rita’s differ from other frozen dessert options?
The cost pressures hitting traditional ice cream businesses share a common root: dependence on dairy-heavy, energy-intensive products with complex supply chains. Rita’s starts from a different place.
Italian ice runs on three main ingredients: water, sugar, and real fruit. That simplicity keeps food costs far lower than any dairy-heavy concept. Rita’s entire menu flows from just two products, Italian Ice and Frozen Custard, with every item being some combination of the two. There is no cooking, no grease traps, no vent hoods. Preparation takes minutes. Equipment needs are minimal. It is a genuinely simple operation compared to a full-service dessert concept.
Frozen Custard does carry higher ingredient costs than Italian Ice. But the two-product model distributes that risk: the Italian Ice side creates favorable food cost conditions that offset the higher input costs on the Frozen Custard side, resulting in a blended margin position that is difficult to achieve in a pure dairy concept.
What the 2025 Financial Data Shows for Rita’s Owners
Rita’s 2026 FDD includes detailed cost of goods data for 503 shops, out of 569 franchised shops systemwide at the end of 2025, that completed at least 26 weeks of sales in 2025.3 This excludes royalties, advertising contributions, rent, and other operating expenses. Individual results vary. This is not a guarantee of future performance.
What are the food costs at a Rita’s franchise?
The system-wide average for combined food, paper, and fuel surcharge costs was 17.3% of gross sales across all tiers in 2025. Food costs alone averaged 14.8% system-wide.1 The breakdown by sales tier:
Top-tier shops: Average gross sales of $558,602. Combined food, paper, and fuel surcharge: 16.0% of sales (food cost alone: 13.7%).: Combined food, paper, and fuel surcharge costs averaged 16.0% of sales (food cost alone: 13.7%).
Middle-tier shops: Average gross sales of $346,957. Combined cost of goods: 18.1% of sales (food cost alone: 15.5%). Combined cost of goods averaged 18.1% of sales (food cost alone: 15.5%).
Bottom-tier shops: Average gross sales of $221,606. Combined cost of goods: 19.3% of sales (food cost alone: 16.6%). Combined cost of goods averaged 19.3% of sales (food cost alone: 16.6%).1
Even at the bottom-tier level, those food cost figures sit well below the 28% to 35% range common across traditional restaurant and QSR franchises. The primary reason is the Italian Ice product itself: water, sugar, and real fruit cost significantly less than dairy, cocoa, and eggs. The cost of ice cream inputs simply doesn’t apply to a large portion of what Rita’s sells.
How do Rita’s gross sales compare across locations?
The 2025 FDD data shows consistent gross sales growth across all tiers over a seven-year period. Top-tier shops averaged $558,103 in reported gross sales during the 2025 season. Middle-tier shops averaged $345,566. Bottom-tier shops averaged $220,095.4
Locations with a drive-thru format showed a notable difference: the 33 drive-thru shops in the system averaged $508,897 in gross sales, compared to $366,957 for non-drive-thru shops, a 38% gap.2
These reported gross sales figures don’t reflect the operating costs, rent, royalties, or other expenses that affect net income. Prospective franchisees should review the full Item 19 disclosure and conduct independent financial analysis before making any investment decision.
Rita’s value positioning when ice cream costs are high
The Bloomberg report identifies an important consumer pattern in 2026: families cutting larger discretionary purchases are still buying small treats. A food economist quoted in the piece noted that a family might skip a Florida vacation but still spend $7 on a frozen dessert. That behavior favors community-embedded, accessible concepts rather than premium luxury experiences.
According to a 2025 consumer research study by Iris Pricing Solutions, Rita’s sits in the value-advantaged quadrant on a price-versus-perceived-value matrix. Customers feel they get more than they pay for. That perception holds up against both national chains and local competitors. When premium cones are hitting $8, that gap matters.
The product earns that positioning. Low-cost inputs, an accessible price point, and a welcoming atmosphere do the work. When scoop shop prices climb past $8, Rita’s becomes the obvious everyday alternative.
What does Rita’s price advantage mean for franchise owners?
For anyone evaluating a food franchise in 2026, the ice cream pricing environment raises specific questions worth asking about any concept under consideration:
- How exposed is this business to dairy price volatility?
- What happens to margins if ingredient costs rise another 15%?
- How dependent is revenue on customers who can absorb high prices?
Rita’s answers to those questions differ from most of the traditional ice cream franchise category. The Italian Ice product carries minimal dairy exposure. The Frozen Custard component carries more ingredient sensitivity, but the two-product model distributes that risk across the menu. The customer base skews toward families and community regulars. The low food cost structure, documented in the FDD and consistent across tiers, creates more buffer between revenue and input cost volatility than most food service concepts offer.
Franchising carries real financial risk. Results vary by location, operator, and market. An established shop’s performance figures are not a reliable predictor of what a new location will do in its first season.
That said, in an environment where dairy, energy, and labor costs are pressuring traditional ice cream operators, understanding which franchise models carry those exposures and which ones do not is a reasonable place to begin an evaluation.
Explore the Rita’s franchise opportunity today
Rita’s publishes its full financial performance data in its Franchise Disclosure Document, which is provided to candidates during the evaluation process. Cost of goods breakdowns, gross sales by tier, and drive-thru comparisons are all available to review before any commitment is made as a standard part of the franchising process.
When you are ready to start a conversation, reach out to the franchise development team. For specifics on the initial investment range and franchise fee by shop format, see the investment breakdown before reaching out.
1: Rita’s Franchise Company, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19, Table 4.
2: Rita’s Franchise Company, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19, Table 3.
3: Rita’s Franchise Company, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 20.
4: Rita’s Franchise Company, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19, Table 1.
