Millie's Homemade Ice Cream franchise
2025 filing · May 1, 2025GrowingShares sales figures
Millie's Homemade Ice Cream at a glance
An ice cream and coffee shop scooping small-batch homemade ice cream. At the end of 2024 there were 14 Millie's Homemade Ice Cream locations in the US, 9 franchised and 5 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Millie’s Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Homestead, Pennsylvania
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $254K–$557K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 5.5% of net sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- None now
- Up to 2.0% of net sales a month; not charged at present
- Renewal fee
- $5,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 14
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 9
- Company-owned
- 5
- Change in 3 years
- +8
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 2
- Most in Pennsylvania and Florida
From Millie’s Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Millie's Homemade Ice Cream among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Millie's Homemade Ice Cream | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $405,000 | Costs more than 55% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $50,000 | Higher than 70% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5.5% | Lower than 66% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 14 | Fewer than 56% of franchises |
How much a Millie's Homemade Ice Cream franchise costs
Opening one Millie's Homemade Ice Cream costs an estimated $253,500 to $556,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements, architectural fees and signage (exterior and interior) ($55,000 to $275,000) and purchase of mobile food truck & upfitting ($45,000 to $75,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $50,000 | ||
| Rent (3 months) | $9,000 | $16,000 | |
| Leasehold Improvements, Architectural Fees and Signage (exterior and interior) | $55,000 | $275,000 | |
| Equipment, Furniture, and Digital Menus | $44,500 | $69,500 | |
| Opening Inventory | $7,000 | $12,000 | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Spend | $10,000 | ||
| Activation Fee | $7,500 | ||
| Office Supplies and Smallwares | $4,500 | $5,500 | |
| Initial Training Travel Expenses | $1,500 | $2,500 | |
| Business Permits & Licenses | $1,000 | $2,500 | |
| Insurance – Deposit and 3 Months of premiums | $1,000 | $2,500 | |
| Additional Funds – (Initial Period 3 months) | $15,000 | $25,000 | |
| Purchase of mobile food truck & upfitting | $45,000 | $75,000 | |
| Total | $253,500 | $556,500 | |
Source: Millie’s Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 16
Millie's Homemade Ice Cream franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Millie’s Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5.5% of net sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | Up to 2.0% of net sales a month; not charged at present. |
| Transfer Fee | $5,000 |
| Renewal | $5,000 |
| Local Advertising Requirement | 2.0% of Net Sales per month |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Millie’s Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, pages 11 and 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 12–14. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Millie's Homemade Ice Cream publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Millie’s Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 41
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $360K–$640K
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2024 / 2022–2024. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Millie's Homemade Ice Cream | Typical ice cream brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +13% / +800% | +6.2% / +18% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 0% | 2.4% / 9.5% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 25% / 200% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical ice cream brand is the median of the 33 brands in ice cream franchises with three years of counts.
How Millie's Homemade Ice Cream compares
Of the 101 ice cream franchises on this site, Millie's Homemade Ice Cream is the 39th cheapest to open and the 56th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Millie's Homemade Ice Cream | Typical ice cream brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $254K | $285K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $557K | $597K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5.5% | 6% | 6% |
| US locations | 14 | 18 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 76 of 101 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 101 brands in ice cream franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 (+2) | 5 | +2 | 0 |
| 2023 | 8 (+5) | 3 | +5 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 (+1) | 5 | +3 | −2 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: ice cream franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Millie’s Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 43
Where Millie's Homemade Ice Cream locations are
At the end of 2024, Millie's Homemade Ice Cream had locations in 2 states. The most are in Pennsylvania and Florida.
- Pennsylvania12
- Florida2
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Florida | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Source: Millie’s Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 44
Who owns Millie's Homemade Ice Cream?
Millie's Homemade Ice Cream franchises are sold by Millie’s Franchising, LLC.
From Millie’s Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Millie’s Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Millie's Homemade Ice Cream filings
The figures on this page come from Millie’s Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued May 1, 2025, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | May 1, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other ice cream franchises
All ice cream franchises
Millie's Homemade Ice Cream is also on these lists: coffee franchises, food franchises.