Franchise Facts Report → brands → Bruster's Real Ice Cream
Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Bruster's Real Ice Cream is a food and beverage franchise with a significant initial investment range of $1.2M to $2.6M.
Everything below is free, read straight off Bruster's Real Ice Cream's registered filing, with where the numbers land against food & beverage peers. Weighing Bruster's Real Ice Cream against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Bruster's Real Ice Cream's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641261 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
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How much does a Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise make?
Bruster's Real Ice Cream is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure is $746,650 in average unit revenue — read it alongside what Item 19 says about which units it covers (often only mature or top-performing locations). See every food & beverage brand that discloses earnings in the Food & beverage franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Bruster's Real Ice Cream's 5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $746,650 of revenue, a 5% royalty alone is about $37,333 a year before any other cost.
Bruster's Real Ice Cream lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Bruster's Real Ice Cream's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose 1 legal proceeding in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Bruster's Real Ice Cream itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. 1 of those proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Bruster's Real Ice Cream closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Bruster's Real Ice Cream will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Bruster's Real Ice Cream's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a food & beverage of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Bruster's Real Ice Cream's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 2%, against a food & beverage median of 3.3% — at or better than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +14 to 219 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Bruster's Real Ice Cream?
Bruster's Real Ice Cream's franchise is offered by BRUSTER'S Limited Partnership — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Food & beverage franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Bruster's Real Ice Cream is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Bruster's Real Ice Cream — who is the franchisor?
Bruster's Real Ice Cream's most recently filed FDD (2026) names BRUSTER'S Limited Partnership as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise cost?
Bruster's Real Ice Cream's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $1,215,120 – $2,669,060 and a 5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against food & beverage peers it sits in the bottom quartile (median $379,725).
How much profit does a Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise make?
Bruster's Real Ice Cream discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (5% of gross for Bruster's Real Ice Cream), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Bruster's Real Ice Cream discloses is $746,650 in average unit revenue.
Does Bruster's Real Ice Cream disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Bruster's Real Ice Cream reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $746,650 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Bruster's Real Ice Cream?
Bruster's Real Ice Cream's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses 1 legal proceeding in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Bruster's Real Ice Cream itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. 1 of the disclosed proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor.
Is Bruster's Real Ice Cream a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Bruster's Real Ice Cream's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against food & beverage peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Bruster's Real Ice Cream or food & beverage: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.