The Outside Scoop Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a The Outside Scoop franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
The Outside Scoop discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it D.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Projects $300K-$3M sales based on 2024 pre-franchise performance of 2 retail stores and 6 trucks. Only 1 franchisee currently in system. No earnings claims.
What a The Outside Scoop franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 4% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Total recurring fees | 4% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $222,000 – $2,200,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Franchise fee $25K + training $5K due at signing. Truck retrofit $105K-$135K. No refunds. 4% royalty on gross revenues; $10K renewal; $20K transfer fee.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
The Outside Scoop system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 0 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
Zero franchised outlets in operation 2022-2024; only 1 franchisee in entire system.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is The Outside Scoop worth it? — how it compares to 59 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 4% of sales | lower than most (median 7.5%) |
| Startup cost | from $222,000 | about average (median $209,354) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade D | less honest than most of the category |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every bakery, dessert & ice cream franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a The Outside Scoop
The franchisor's framing: Projects $300K-$3M sales based on 2024 pre-franchise performance of 2 retail stores and 6 … We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
The Outside Scoop franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a The Outside Scoop franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $222,000–$2,200,000, including a $30,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do The Outside Scoop franchise owners make?
- Projects $300K-$3M sales based on 2024 pre-franchise performance of 2 retail stores and 6 trucks. Only 1 franchisee currently in system. No earnings claims. We grade this disclosure D for honesty.
- What are the The Outside Scoop franchise fees?
- The Outside Scoop's FDD discloses a $30,000 initial franchise fee, a 4% royalty on gross sales, for roughly 4% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Franchise fee $25K + training $5K due at signing. Truck retrofit $105K-$135K. No refunds. 4% royalty on gross revenues; $10K renewal; $20K transfer fee.
- What is the The Outside Scoop franchise profit margin?
- The Outside Scoop does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Projects $300K-$3M sales based on 2024 pre-franchise performance of 2 retail stores and 6 trucks. Only 1 franchisee currently in system. No earnings claims. Recurring fees alone take about 4% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the The Outside Scoop franchise failure rate?
- Zero franchised outlets in operation 2022-2024; only 1 franchisee in entire system.
- How many The Outside Scoop locations are there?
- The Outside Scoop's FDD reports 0 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does The Outside Scoop have complaints or lawsuits?
- The Outside Scoop discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a The Outside Scoop franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. The Outside Scoop scores D on disclosure honesty, carries about 4% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare The Outside Scoop to similar franchises
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with The Outside Scoop or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.