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Craig

Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:04 pm

ShaveIce² wrote:DesertCone, is the Snowie truck a franchise? I am not too aware of Snowie's business model. Are they a franchise like Kona, Tropical Sno, etc. I know a lot of people who call their store's Snowie as well, Im always assumed they do franchising along with business to business sales. Care to share your experiences?
I'm currently looking at Snowie, and they are definitely not a franchise.
They state that in most of their documentation
Except to use their name you have to buy their syrups. I'm not sure if you have to buy their machines.
I'm not looking at their bus, just their carts and kiosks.
So the cost is a lot cheaper
I also like their flavor stations. I like the fact that you can serve fast and let the customers put their own syrup on.
I'll be going to go down to their summit they have next month, see the equipment first hand.
TWH
Posts: 97
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2012 2:22 pm

Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:38 am

Craig, my wife and I will be at the Summit as well. I went to one a couple years ago and it was well worth the trip. They do have some great items to show. I bought a Satellite Cart that I was going to use for something but now am looking at placing it up on a busy college campus and letting one of the groups use it for their fundraising and split the profits with them (not necessarily 50/50). If you do not use their name then you are not required to use their machines or products, although personally I believe their block shaver is the best on the market.
Craig

Fri Jan 26, 2018 6:26 am

TWH wrote:Craig, my wife and I will be at the Summit as well. I went to one a couple years ago and it was well worth the trip. They do have some great items to show. I bought a Satellite Cart that I was going to use for something but now am looking at placing it up on a busy college campus and letting one of the groups use it for their fundraising and split the profits with them (not necessarily 50/50). If you do not use their name then you are not required to use their machines or products, although personally I believe their block shaver is the best on the market.
Hope to see you there.
Do you know how the Snowie 3000 cube shaver compares with the Hatsuyuki cube shaver?
I know it is considerably more expensive.
TWH
Posts: 97
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2012 2:22 pm

Fri Jan 26, 2018 6:55 am

I very routinely visit other people that sell shaved ice, in order to scope out the competition and get new ideas. That being said I have not found any ice cube shaver that I liked. The exception is the Snowie 3000. To be certain it is not as good as using a solid block of ice, but it is quite good...definitely better than any of the competitors that I have tried. Of course the actual ice cubes you use can also make a big difference as well as other factors including the speed setting. I don't want to push Snowie products too hard but I like them. Some people do not like them because the texture of the snow is different than the ribbon style units and they are definitely more expensive than most of the competition.
ShaveIceSupply
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:44 am

Mon Jan 29, 2018 11:52 am

Snowie = Faster out put machine, made in America. NSF
Hatsuyuki = Slower shaver (maybe a bit finer texture), made in Japan. NSF

Both are equally good machines, it depends on your budget and output. Many people go for the Hatsuyuki simply cause it is a lot cheaper, if you search hard and negotiate well, Ive seen people get it for less than $1,500. Snowie on the other hand is well over $2,000.
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shavedicetrucks

Mon Apr 16, 2018 10:12 am

My first time on here in many months.
Starting season 7 with Kona Ice. Couldn't be happier with my decision. A franchise isn't for everyone, and I've looked at dozens of franchises over the years. From restaurants, to boxing gyms, to cleaning companies, to driveway sealers, coffee shops, etc. I did the privateer shaved ice thing from 2001-2011 and have always had at least 75% more sales with one Kona truck than I ever did as a privateer.
Most franchises (in any industry) charge at least a 6% royalty, plus big marketing costs and most have their supplies priced far above private label stuff. Our royalty is $3K per year, so less than 3% of my sales in my first season (mid March to mid Oct). With Kona, our flavors are better and cheaper (and we can buy from anywhere we want). Our full color branded 12 oz. cups are less than 1/2 of what anyone could get from printglobe, or 4imprint or the cupstore.
And someone on the first page of this thread listed some really wrong stats as far as repossessions, sales numbers and h=unhappy franchises. Talk to other franchises. Don't just listen to me. Look at the franchise review numbers and how Kona ranks in the major publications vs others (well there aren't any other shaved ice businesses in the rankings, but just look at overall food biz).
So, again, it's not for everyone. I love it and have served over a quarter million Konas. I've literally had 5 complaints of ice consistency. Five. Out of 250K+. My set up time is about 30 seconds after I roll into my spot. My cleanup time is about 10-20 minutes (depending on the craziness of the event). I have served as many as 325 Konas in one hour by myself, and as a duo we've done over 400 several times.
The support from the company is over the top and with plenty of other franchisees to talk with and share ideas and gigs with, it's a real blessing to my wife and I. We're able to live like we want, travel to the Philippines and Cuba, support our missions and give back about $12-15K per year to the local community/schools/non-profits. We may be a bit biased though. Hope everyone has a great season!!!!!
Loopdan
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:51 am

Tue Apr 17, 2018 4:03 am

@shavedicetrucks

I'm glad Kona is working out for you. I'm curious, do you have a single franchised territory and one truck, or are you doing multiples?

I like the flat royalty Kona requires rather than an 8% rate like other franchises, but I think it starts at $3k and then increases to $3500 and then finally $4000. They also charge a $500 marketing fee you have to pay every year. And if you have additional equipment (like the trailer or kiosk or mini), there are royalties to pay every year for operating those.

If I understand Kona's structure right, you pay the upfront $15,000 franchise fee for your territory, and the yearly royalty is on your truck. So if you want an additional truck within your territory you pay another $3000-$4000 a year for that. And if you want to expand your territory with just the one truck it's an additional $10,000 franchise fee for additional territory.

Given all this, I still think their flat rates probably beat the royalty rates for the other shave ice franchises.
shavedicetrucks

Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:39 am

I have two trucks and 2 territories. I will eventually get a couple more trucks because I just cant do all the events and cover all the neighborhoods that I want to.
You've obviously talked with corporate and have a pretty good understanding of the royalty and marketing set up.
Yeh, I really dig the flat fee, and after many many years of doing this before Kona and all the other franchises I looked into, it's hard to beat that royalty fee. The marketing fee is so well worth it, because we, as franchisees, have the luxury of picking and choosing what programs we take advantage of, and how often. Another flat fee that I benefit from at the very beginning of my season and use it all summer long.
Once the $15K franchise fee is paid, then we just have the royalty and marketing fee to pay each year, which is a very small %age of my sales during my 7 month season. So much of the work is done for us through corporate, so when I crunched numbers of what I was getting for my money vs the time and effort and learning curve that I would have to put into such high quality stuff, it was a no brainer for me. It actually allows me to make much more money each year because I have less logistical stuff to worry about.
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