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
news:The Outside Scoop | Scott Mendelson · 33mo ago
6 questions to ask a The Outside Scoop franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These are the questions built from what The Outside Scoop has actually disclosed — each one carries the number it came from, so you can tell whether the answer squares with the record.
- 01
You pay 4.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?
Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.
FDD Item 6
- 02
The Outside Scoop makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?
Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.
FDD Item 19 · 2025
- 03
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 04
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 05
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 06
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if The Outside Scoop’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing The Outside Scoop's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
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.