The Baked Bear franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening The Baked Bear franchise takes $171,239 – $716,030 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $28,900 – $35,900. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 6% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
The Baked Bear franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $28,900 | $35,900 | $28,900 to $35,900 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $171,239 | $716,030 | $171,239 to $716,030 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $171,239 | $716,030 | $171,239 to $716,030 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means The Baked Bear's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 6% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 5 years |
See the full The Baked Bear cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How The Baked Bear's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where The Baked Bear's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $171,239 — about 39% below the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $28,900 — about 17% below the Food & Beverage median of $35,000.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
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How The Baked Bear's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2015–2020: began the window at 0 units; 8 units opened, 5 closed, ending at 24 units. (partial records: 2016, 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
Not enough history to compute a survival figure — we need at least three years of unit data, and we don't extrapolate.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for The Baked Bear or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask The Baked Bear for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether The Baked Bear is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether The Baked Bear grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only The Baked Bear can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About The Baked Bear franchise
The Baked Bear is a food & beverage franchisor with 24 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2015 and 2020, it began the window at 0 units; its filings record 8 unit openings and 5 closures, ending at 24 units (partial records: 2016, 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only).
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
BB Franchise, LLC, offers for sale a franchise to operate a distinctive retail ice cream sandwich store under the trade name “The Baked Bear”. The Baked Bear specializes in selling custom ice cream sandwiches including cookie, donut, waffle and brownie ice cream sandwiches. The Baked Bear also offers a variety of other desserts, including, but not limited to, cookies, ice cream, warm cookie pies, floats, and ice cream sundaes.
The Baked Bear franchise: quick answers
- How much does The Baked Bear franchise cost?
- $171,239 – $716,030 all-in to open, per The Baked Bear's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many The Baked Bear units are there?
- 24 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).