Food & Beverage

Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream scoops up strong Q1 figures

Source: Handel's Ice Cream

April 29, 2026

Summarize with

Handel's Homemade Ice Cream reported a strong start to the year, driven by market entries and franchise development.

"Our strong first quarter is the result of our continued focus on franchisee profitability," CEO Jennifer Schuler said in a press release. "We've prioritized increasing the topline of our business, and our systemwide same-store sales are outpacing the rest of the industry by a large margin."

Operator profitability

In 2024, the latest data available, Handel's reported an average unit volume of $1.061 million across 116 franchised locations open for the full year.

Stores opened

The company opened locations in Vancouver, Washington, and Oviedo, Florida,and added a store in Thornton, Colorado.
Based in Canfield, Ohio, Handel's has more than 175 locations across 20 states, with additional units in development.

Franchise agreements signed

The brand signed agreements for 20 additional units with new and existing franchisees.

Nine deals were with franchisees, including six locations across two new markets: the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and Fort Collins, Colorado. Existing franchisees plan to open additional locations in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas.