Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory — SBA financing may be unavailable; verify with your lender
The Outside Scoop
Food & Dining · independent · est. —
The Outside Scoop is an ice cream shop brand serving scooped ice cream, sundaes, and related frozen treats, originating in Iowa. A franchisee operates a dessert shop or stand, managing the counter, seasonal demand, and staff. The business is a small-footprint ice cream retailer.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Not enough disclosure
Distress
No verified FDD extraction to judge from. Any figures shown are labelled sample data or independent federal records.
Exit rate · latest year
Not disclosed
Cost to open
$222K–$2.2M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
No loan record
no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2022–2024
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2024, 0 of 0 franchised outlets left the system. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Opened | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Net change | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $25K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $222K–$2.2M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$222K–$2.2M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$25K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
4%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$40K
4% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$400K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for The Outside Scoop with an independent CPALabor record
US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present
Federal investigators have concluded 1 wage case against operators of this system, recovering $976 in back wages for 6 workers, including 1 child-labor case. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.
Concluded cases
1
Back wages owed
$976
Employees affected
6
Since 2020
0
1 of these cases involved child-labor violations, covering 5 minors across the system's franchised locations.
Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual The Outside Scoop franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not The Outside Scoop itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2020.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for The Outside Scoop. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing The Outside Scoop's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →The Outside Scoop franchise questions, answered from the filings
How much does a The Outside Scoop franchise cost?
Per The Outside Scoop's 2025 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $25K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $222K–$2.2M (Item 7).
What royalty does The Outside Scoop charge?
The Outside Scoop charges an ongoing royalty of 4.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2025 FDD.
Does The Outside Scoop disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — The Outside Scoop makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2025 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.