Inspire Brands’ brands here include sandwich, burger and chicken franchises. Each is franchised on its own terms, under its own agreement, so the cost to open, the fees and the record of each brand differ, even where the parent company is the same.
Brands owned by Inspire Brands
| Brand | Cost to open | Franchise fee | Royalty | Locations | 3-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkin'Donut | $532K–$1.83M | $40,000 to $90,000 | 5.9% | 8,780 | +662 (+8%) |
| SonicBurger | $1.49M–$2.52M | $15,000 | 5% | 3,412 | −134 (−4%) |
| Arby'sSandwich | $869K–$2.46M | $37,500 | 4% | 3,265 | −150 (−4%) |
| Jimmy John'sSandwich | $366K–$734K | $35,000 | 6% | 2,777 | +140 (+5%) |
| Buffalo Wild WingsChicken | $2.46M–$4.9M | $25,000 | 5% | 1,178 | −11 (−1%) |
| Baskin-RobbinsIce cream | $307K–$627K | $25,000 | 5.9% | 967 | −34 (−3%) |
Change is in US locations, franchised and company-owned, over the three latest years in each brand’s filing. A dash means the brand’s counts aren’t usable.
Size and growth
Together these brands have 20,379 US locations, 91% of them run by franchisees. Across the brands, the total grew by 473 locations (+2%), from 2023 to 2025.
Grew the most
- Dunkin'+8%
- Jimmy John's+5%
Shrank the most
- Arby's−4%
- Sonic−4%
- Baskin-Robbins−3%
- Buffalo Wild Wings−1%
Brands that started the three years with at least 10 locations.
Fees and royalties across the brands
Franchise fees run from $15K to $90K across these brands, with a typical $30K. Where the royalty is a single share of sales, it runs from 4% to 6%, typically 5.5%. On top of that, the marketing fund ranges from 0.9% to 5.2% of sales.
A shared parent can mean shared suppliers, systems and support staff, but it rarely means shared terms: compare the agreements brand by brand, and ask whether owning one brand gets you anything when you buy another.
Sales per location and who runs it
Of these brands, 6 publish yearly sales per location, from $527K at Baskin-Robbins to $3.57M at Buffalo Wild Wings. Of the 6 brands whose agreement says, 2 require the owner to run it day to day; at the rest a trained manager can.
| Brand | Sales per location | Marketing fund | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkin' | $1.37M a year | 5% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Sonic | $1.55M a year | 0.9% of sales | Owner must run it |
| Arby's | $1.27M a year | 5.2% of sales | Owner needn't take part |
| Jimmy John's | $1.01M a year | 4.5% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Buffalo Wild Wings | $3.57M a year | 4% of sales | Owner must run it |
| Baskin-Robbins | $527K a year | 5% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
Questions
Who owns Inspire Brands?
Private equity firm Roark Capital, which has been reported to be weighing a stock market listing for the company. Source: Bloomberg