Sprinkles franchise
2024 filing · April 30, 2024GrowingShares sales figures
Sprinkles at a glance
A cupcake bakery selling handcrafted cupcakes, cookies and brownies, with an optional cupcake ATM. At the end of 2023 there were 24 Sprinkles locations in the US, 4 franchised and 20 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2021
- 3 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Austin, Texas
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $880K–$1.31M
- Production bakery
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- None
- No exclusive territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 24
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 4
- Company-owned
- 20
- Change in 2 years
- +4
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
- States
- 7
- Most in California, Texas and Florida
From Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC’s 2024 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Sprinkles among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Sprinkles | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $1,095,000 | Costs more than 85% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 24 | More than 52% of franchises |
How much a Sprinkles franchise costs
Opening production bakery costs an estimated $880,000 to $1,310,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are construction and leasehold improvements ($400,000 to $500,000) and operating assets ($240,000 to $340,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40,000 | ||
| Construction and leasehold improvements | $400,000 | $500,000 | |
| Architect Fee | $25,000 | $50,000 | |
| Operating Assets | $240,000 | $340,000 | |
| Signs | $30,000 | $40,000 | |
| Cupcake ATM | $0 | $80,000 | |
| 3 months' rent | $30,000 | $60,000 | |
| Security deposit | $5,000 | $25,000 | |
| Opening inventory and supplies | $40,000 | $50,000 | |
| Grand opening marketing | $10,000 | $15,000 | |
| Training expenses | $25,000 | $50,000 | |
| Miscellaneous opening costs | $5,000 | $10,000 | |
| Additional Funds – 3 months | $30,000 | $50,000 | |
| Total | $880,000 | $1,310,000 | |
Source: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2024 filing, page 18
Sprinkles franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2024 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
| Transfer fee – non-control transfer | $2,500 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2024 filing, page 13
Other fees as filed, from page 14. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Sprinkles publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2024 filing, page 54
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $780K–$1.4M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
How Sprinkles compares
Of the 112 bakery franchises on this site, Sprinkles is the 102nd cheapest to open and the 48th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Sprinkles | Typical bakery brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $880K | $341K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.31M | $720K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $40K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 24 | 16 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 74 of 112 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 112 brands in bakery franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0 (0) | 21 | – | – |
| 2020 | 0 (0) | 20 | – | – |
| 2021 | 0 (0) | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 (+1) | 22 | +1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 4 (+3) | 20 | – | – |
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: franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2019 to the end of 2023, franchised locations went from 0 to 4 (+4). The earlier years come from the brand's 2022 and 2023 filings.
Source: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2024 filing, page 61
2019: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2022 filing, page 64
2020: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2023 filing, page 64
Where Sprinkles locations are
At the end of 2023, Sprinkles had locations in 8 states and territories. The most are in California, Texas and Florida.
- California11
- Texas6
- Florida2
- Arizona1
- District of Columbia1
- Illinois1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Texas | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Florida | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Arizona | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Illinois | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| New York | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Utah | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2024 filing, page 62
Who owns Sprinkles?
Sprinkles franchises are sold by Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC. It is a subsidiary of Sprinkles Franchise Holdings, LLC.
From Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC’s 2024 filing, page 9.
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: Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on page 12, bankruptcy on page 12
Sprinkles filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Sprinkles Franchise Group LLC’s 2024 filing, issued April 30, 2024; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | April 30, 2024 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
| 2023 filing | April 28, 2023 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2020 |
| 2022 filing | May 16, 2022 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2019 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other bakery franchises
All bakery franchises
Sprinkles is also on these lists: food franchises.