Jeremiah’s Italian Ice Opens 150th Location in Tuscon

Lisa Ocker
| May 30, 2024

Marking a Significant Expansion, the Popular Dessert Franchise Brings Cool Treats to the Arizona Heat

Just in time to provide some delicious cooling relief for the hot summer doldrums, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice has opened in Tucson, Ariz., representing the brand’s milestone 150^th location.

“We’re overjoyed and incredibly honored to have reached 150 locations in just five years of franchising,” says Michael Keller, Jeremiah’s CEO and president. “This milestone is a true testament to the dedication of our incredible franchisees, the hard work of our entire team, and, of course, our valued and loyal customers.

“As we continue to grow our footprint, we commit to upholding our values of bold flavors, genuine guest service, a generous heart for our communities, vibrant locations, a Frog Squad ‘cool’ factor, and a strategic vision, and we look forward to continuing to bring our delicious treats to new communities across the nation,” he says.

Record Growth

Reaching the 150^th franchise location is a landmark not achieved by many brands. Only 16% of U.S. franchises have more than 100 units, while 12% fall in the 100-500-unit range and 11% have between 25 and 50 stores, according to FRANdata research.

Founded in 1996, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice partnered with emerging brand accelerator Pivotal Growth Partners in 2019, officially launching its franchise program and catapulting Jeremiah’s remarkable growth. Jeremiah’s Italian Ice’s expansion, reaching 150 units in five years, far outpaces the growth of most other brands, which average just 10 units per brand after a decade. In fact, Jeremiah’s opened 40 new locations in 2023 alone, and has spread across 11 states.

The brand’s growth is not slowing; plans include adding more than 60 locations during the next 18 months. Jeremiah’s is offering franchises throughout the southern U.S.

A Hot Market

The frozen dessert market was valued at $30.91 billion in 2021 and expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% from 2022 to 2030, according to Grand View Research. Increased product offerings including more health-conscious options, as well as new and imaginative flavors are driving the market growth, according to this research.

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice offers a rotating selection of 40 ice flavors made fresh daily; soft ice cream in vanilla, chocolate and swirl; decadent layer-ins such as Oreo Cookie Crumbles and Nerds Candy; gelati, which includes Italian ice layered with ice cream; and Flavorites that layer Italian ice, ice cream and layer-ins to create seemingly limitless dessert options.

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise business

With so many combinations possible, Jeremiah’s team members have happily created pre-built Flavorites to help guide consumers; these include combos with rainbow sprinkles such as Frosted Animal Cracker, those with Oreo cookie crumbles including The Grasshopper, and those with cookie butter crumbles such as PB&J.

Jeremiah’s also caters to those with food allergies and other health concerns by offering options that are soy free, dairy free, peanut free, gluten-free, sugar free and more.

‘Live Life to the Coolest’

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise business exterior

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice has received recognition for its achievements including being ranked No. 15 on the 2024 Franchise Times Fast & Serious list; No. 157 on this year’s Entrepreneur Franchise 500, climbing 55 spots from 2023; and included in Entrepreneur’s Fastest Growing Franchises list for a third consecutive year.

The brand’s popularity with consumers is a credit not only to its delicious frozen treats, but also its outstanding customer service and community involvement. The brand’s motto is “Live Life to the Coolest.”

“Partnering with Jeremiah’s Italian Ice has been an incredible journey,” says Cameron Cummins, co-founder of Pivotal Growth Partners. “A key factor in rapid franchise development is a strategic business development plan, and it has been an honor to work alongside the team to develop the foundation for such explosive growth. Jeremiah’s drive and dedication to its mission has yielded them great success thus far, and we at Pivotal Growth Partners look forward to continuing our commitment to growing the brand together and reaching new heights in the coming years.”

For more information about franchising with Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, visit https://jeremiahsfranchise.com/.

Lisa Ocker

Lisa Ocker’s career began at her hometown paper, The Baytown Sun, covering everything from city government to chemical plant disasters, a hurricane and a controversial FEMA buyout of a flood-plagued neighborhood. From there, she moved to South Florida, reporting for the Palm Beach Post and South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspapers, and serving as editor of the regional magazine, Boca Raton. Returning to her home state, she led the re-launch of SUCCESS magazine as editor after a Texas-based entrepreneur bought the 100-year-old brand.

Lisa’s work also has appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsweek. She has covered major news events including the space shuttle Challenger explosion and the rape trial and acquittal of William Kennedy Smith, nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward Kennedy. Her coverage of immigration issues included reporting on Haitian and Cuban refugee crises while traveling with the U.S. Coast Guard and from the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Her work with SUCCESS included profiles of entrepreneurs Steve Case, Ted Turner and the late Tony Hsieh.

Now living in and working from Santa Fe, NM, Lisa enjoys sharing the challenges and successes of franchisees and franchisors as senior editor of
FranchiseWire and Franchise Consultant Magazine.