Crispy Cones

What Crispy Cones does

Crispy Cones is a privately held U.S. food and beverage company founded in 2018 and headquartered in Rexburg, Idaho. It operates retail storefronts selling a single core product: hand-rolled dough cones that are grilled rotisserie-style, rolled in cinnamon and sugar or specialty powders, and filled with creamy spreads, gourmet soft-serve ice cream, toppings, and sauces. The company positions the cone as a customizable, Instagram-oriented dessert experience, supported by a rotating weekly specialty flavor (such as Pina Colada or Tropical Mocktail). Distribution combines physical retail with an online ordering platform offering pickup and delivery, a mobile app, and a Square-based gift-card program.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market motion targeting individual consumers seeking novel dessert experiences. Revenue is generated from in-store and online dessert sales (transaction-fee style), augmented by gift cards and branded merchandise. The company's growth strategy is franchising-led: it markets a franchise program through crispycones.com/franchising, with the first franchise location slated for St. Johns County, Florida in spring 2026. The company appeared on Shark Tank, and its ownership structure post-appearance is undisclosed; no institutional investors are named in the input.

Operationally, Crispy Cones is a small organization (11-50 employees) with a lightweight technology stack — Squarespace for the website, Square for payments, and Klaviyo (Kmail) for email — and no disclosed AI/ML components, patents, or regulatory certifications. Its strategic posture is best characterized as an early-stage specialty-dessert brand extending a differentiated single-product concept into new U.S. markets through franchise partnerships.

Name

Crispy Cones

Legal name

Crispy Cones

Website

https://czechcrispycones.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crispy Cones is a U.S. food and beverage company that operates retail storefronts and online ordering for hand-rolled, rotisserie-grilled dough cones filled with customizable ice cream, spreads, toppings, and sauces, and is expanding via franchising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Desserts

NAICS

Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (31152)

SIC

Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024), Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Cream & Gelato Shops (THAFAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Soft-Serve & Custard Stands (THAFAGAC)

Keywords

• Hand-rolled dough cones
• Specialty dessert retail
• Customizable ice cream
• Dessert franchise program
• Rotisserie grilled cones

Headquarters

HQ city

Rexburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Dessert Sales: Direct sales of hand-rolled dough cones with customizable ice cream, toppings, and sauces to individual consumers at physical storefront locations.
2. Franchise Fees and Licensing: Revenue generated from franchise partnerships, where franchisees pay to open and operate Crispy Cones locations under the brand.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Crispy Cones manufactures and sells hand-rolled dough cones that are grilled rotisserie style, dusted with cinnamon and sugar or specialty powder, and filled with creamy spreads, gourmet soft serve ice cream, toppings, and sauces. The product is sold directly to individual consumers through physical retail storefronts, an online ordering system offering pickup and delivery, a mobile app, and a growing franchise network. Specialty flavors rotate weekly (e.g., Pina Colada, Tropical Mocktail), and the brand is supported by gift cards and branded merchandise.

Product overview

Crispy Cones is a single-product dessert company offering hand-rolled dough cones that are grilled rotisserie style and customized with a variety of toppings, spreads, ice cream, and sauces. The core product is supported by an online ordering system, mobile app for ordering, gift cards for gifting, merchandise, and a franchising program for geographic expansion. The company also maintains a community partnerships initiative. The specialty cone offerings rotate weekly, with flavors such as Pina Colada featured as current specialty items.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Crispy Cones (Hand-Rolled Dough Cones) Hand-rolled dough cones grilled rotisserie style, covered in cinnamon and sugar or specialty powder, filled with creamy spreads, gourmet soft serve ice cream, toppings, and sauces. Customizable with weekly rotating specialty flavors (e.g., Pina Colada, Tropical Mocktail). Sold to individual consumers at retail storefronts.
• Online Ordering System Web-based ordering platform that allows customers to browse the menu, customize their Crispy Cone order, and choose pickup or delivery options.
• Crispy Cones Gift Cards Gift cards sold through the Square payment platform, enabling customers to give Crispy Cones products as gifts.
• Branded Merchandise Branded merchandise offerings sold through the Merch section of the website.
• Crispy Cones Franchise Program Franchising opportunity offered to entrepreneurs to open and operate Crispy Cones locations under the brand, including a dedicated franchising inquiry page on the website.
• Crispy Cones Mobile App Mobile application available for download that enables customers to order and access the Crispy Cones brand on mobile devices.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sweetfrog Frozen Yogurt: Sweetfrog is a self-serve frozen yogurt franchise with extensive toppings and flavor customization. It is comparable to Crispy Cones because both target the customizable premium dessert experience through a franchise model aimed at entrepreneurs.
• Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams: Jeni's is a premium scoop shop and DTC ice cream brand known for unconventional flavors and direct-to-consumer pints. It is comparable to Crispy Cones because both compete on differentiated flavor innovation, premium pricing, and a multi-channel retail plus DTC model.
• Cold Stone Creamery: Cold Stone is a national franchise ice cream chain built around customized ice cream with mix-ins. It is comparable to Crispy Cones because both compete in the customizable premium ice cream shop category with a franchise-led growth model and personalization-driven value proposition.
• Insomnia Cookies: Insomnia Cookies is a late-night dessert delivery and retail brand with strong digital ordering infrastructure. It is comparable to Crispy Cones as a digitally native dessert brand with online ordering, late-night demand, and a focus on indulgent treats.
• Salt & Straw Ice Cream: Salt & Straw is a premium artisanal ice cream chain with rotating small-batch flavors and strong brand positioning. It is comparable to Crispy Cones as a premium-positioned, story-driven dessert brand competing on rotating specialty SKUs.
• Marble Slab Creamery: Marble Slab is an ice cream franchise chain offering made-to-order ice cream with mix-ins on a cold stone. It is comparable to Crispy Cones because both compete on customization, premium experience, and franchise-led multi-unit expansion.
• Yogurtland: Yogurtland is a self-serve frozen yogurt franchise with rotating flavors and extensive topping bars. It is comparable to Crispy Cones because both compete in the customizable premium dessert category with a franchise growth model targeting similar consumer occasions.
• Menchie's Frozen Yogurt: Menchie's is a franchise frozen yogurt chain with customizable toppings. It is comparable to Crispy Cones as a franchise-driven dessert shop competing on customization and customization-led visit frequency.
• Crumbl Cookies: Crumbl is a rapidly expanding dessert franchise built on rotating weekly specialty flavors, premium positioning, and Instagram-driven marketing. It is comparable to Crispy Cones because both rely on rotating limited-time specialty SKUs, social media virality, and franchise unit growth to scale.

Broad incumbents

• Dairy Queen: Dairy Queen is a long-established national chain offering soft-serve ice cream, Blizzards, and other custom desserts. It is comparable to Crispy Cones as a broad incumbent in the customized soft-serve dessert category with vastly greater scale and capital.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/p/DZYmNjcEtp2
• Xx.com/crispycones_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crispy Cones