Ice Cream Franchises Enjoying Sweet Taste of Success According to New Franchise Direct Study

ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - September 29, 2009) - The ice cream franchise sector is displaying strength despite the economic challenges of the moment, the latest franchise report by Franchise Direct states. Franchise Direct, one of the world's top franchise portals, has assessed the ice cream market after examining the UFOCs of 18 franchises and in its ice cream franchise report, it found an industry overcoming seasonality to provide a truly affordable luxury during hard financial times.

Franchise Direct brings great expertise and knowledge of the franchise industry to these studies. It has published a number of reports on various franchising industries this year, assessing the pizza, coffee and automotive franchise industries as well as the recently released rankings of the Top 100 Global Franchises.

Ice cream franchises, like all businesses, are dealing with challenging economic factors at the moment. This is simply another hurdle for ice cream franchises, which exist in an industry which is, by nature, seasonal. But Franchise Direct found that ice cream franchises have displayed a knack for innovation in recent years that makes them somewhat immune to both changes in the weather and the economy.

Industry-wise, the study found an industry that is consolidating. While revenue across the industry has slipped 4% since 2004, total sales among the top ten percent of ice cream franchises is up 32% over the same period. The Franchise Direct study found that the main consumers of ice cream are families and children, with the African-American community particularly loyal to this industry. Of the 18 franchises assessed here, 8 have been franchising for four years or less, which shows a developing industry.

While the quintessential image of the 1950's ice cream parlor continues to exist in the minds of many consumers, today's ice cream franchises come in many shapes and sizes. The classic ice cream stores like Ben & Jerry's and Carvel now compete with specialist ice-cream franchises like Marble Slab or Maggie Moo's or mobile ice-cream franchises like Coolcycle.

Ice cream franchises have a proven track record of innovation which prepares them well for these uncertain economic times. With a range of healthy, low-fat products and an interest in green technologies, ice cream franchises have proven adaptable to changes in consumer taste. They have responded accordingly to the recession, marketing ice cream as a tasty and cheap treat.

Thanks to a perennially popular product and a range of franchise concepts, ice cream franchises are displaying resilience in what continues to be difficult economic times.

About Franchise Direct: Franchise Direct (www.FranchiseDirect.com) is one of the world's leading portals for franchise and business opportunities. Started as a single website for the promotion of franchises in the US market in 1998, Franchise Direct now operates a suite of six multilingual sites targeting North America and Europe.

Contact Information: Contact: Diana Thurmann Franchise Direct 1-866-325-9830