As of 2026, Naturals Ice Cream charges no franchise fee, no royalty and no brand deposit, and its official franchise page says it is currently not accepting new franchise requests. The company publishes no investment figure; third-party listings quote anywhere from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for setup, and the only legitimate application route is the form on naturalicecreams.in.
That one paragraph changes how you should read everything else about this franchise. The old "Rs 12 to 20 lakh, pay a Rs 1 lakh deposit" story that still floats around search results is 2021-era, and part of it is now being used by scammers. Here is the current picture.
What is Naturals Ice Cream and how big is the chain today?
Naturals Ice Cream has 165+ outlets across 15 states as of 2026, up from 135 in 2021, according to the company's official site. Press coverage puts the number past 170. The company had set a 200-store target for end-2025; no update on whether it was met has been published.
The brand started in 1984 when the late Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath opened the first outlet at Juhu (JVPD Scheme) in Mumbai. He died in May 2024; his son Siddhant Kamath now runs the business, Kamaths Ourtimes Ice Creams Pvt Ltd, from the Kandivali plant that still supplies every outlet.
The product is deliberately simple: milk, fruit or nuts, and sugar, with no artificial flavours or preservatives. That is why the ice cream has a shelf life of only 2 to 3 days, a detail from the official franchise FAQ that matters a lot once you run an outlet. The menu carries 20+ flavours at any time, with roughly 20 available year-round and a new "Friday Funday" limited flavour each week, 52 a year. The overall catalogue runs to around 125 flavours, per press reports.
Most outlets are franchised. The last published split (2022) showed 18 company-owned and 119 franchised stores, so roughly 85 to 90 percent of the chain is run by franchisees. Since 2014 the company has also been opening its own "benchmark" stores to set the service standard.
On scale: the company states revenue of over Rs 300 crore, Forbes India reported Rs 294 crore for FY24, and management has set a target of Rs 500 crore by FY27. Leadership has publicly said it will not take outside capital or list the company.
How much does a Naturals Ice Cream franchise cost in 2026?
Naturals does not publish a franchise investment figure as of 2026; the official FAQ says financial details are shared only with applicants who get shortlisted. Every rupee number you see online for this franchise comes from aggregator sites, and they disagree with each other by a factor of three.
What the company does confirm is what you will not pay. The official franchise FAQ states that no deposits or franchise fees are currently required, and adds that the company plans to introduce one very shortly. There is also no royalty at present. Earlier posts (including the 2021 version of this one) listed a Rs 1 lakh brand deposit. That is no longer true, and anyone asking you to pay a deposit to Naturals today is a warning sign, not a step in the process.
With that caveat stamped on it, here is how the 2025-26 third-party estimates break down. Treat these as a planning range, not a quote.
| Item | Third-party estimate (2025-26, unofficial) | Company position (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Interiors, fit-out, furniture | Rs 5 to 10 lakh | Not published |
| Deep freezers and equipment | Rs 2 to 4 lakh | Not published |
| Working capital (first stock, early salaries) | Rs 2 to 3 lakh | Not published |
| Brand deposit | Was Rs 1 lakh in 2021 | None as of 2026, per official FAQ |
| Franchise fee / royalty | - | None as of 2026; company says one is planned |
| Indicative total | Rs 12 to 25 lakh at the low end; some listings go to Rs 36 to 50 lakh | Shared only after shortlisting |
Source for the estimates: FranchiseBazar and similar listings, November 2025. The wide spread is mostly location: a 300 sq ft shop in a Tier 2 city and a high-street corner in Bengaluru are different projects with the same signboard.
Not included in any of those figures, and the reason the total balloons in metros:
- Rent security deposit (several months' rent in big-city retail; confirm locally)
- Brokerage on the lease
- Monthly staff salaries once the outlet is running
- Electricity, which is a serious line item when freezers run all day
Budget these separately for your city before you look at any "total investment" figure, including ours.
What does Naturals require from a franchisee?
The one requirement Naturals states publicly is that this is not an absentee business: the owner has to be personally involved in running the outlet. The official FAQ makes that point directly, and it is the filter most applicants fail.
On space, the company publishes no minimum area. Third-party listings commonly quote 200 to 500 sq ft; treat that as market convention, not a company rule. The old "8 to 10 ft frontage" figure has no official source and we have dropped it.
Territory is protected, but not with a published radius. The company says areas are allotted or reserved for existing franchisees, which in practice means an existing franchisee near your chosen spot blocks it, and that existing multi-unit operators get first look at new territory. That is consistent with how the chain has grown since it paused open recruitment in 2014 to fix service quality.
Supply chain is the one area where the model is unusual. All ice cream is made at the Kandivali, Mumbai plant and delivered fresh, with that 2 to 3 day shelf life. This is why the company does not serve Delhi or Kolkata (production limits) and why new outlets cluster in the west and south. Official pages do not describe a formal training programme, so do not rely on one; ask about onboarding directly if you reach the shortlist stage.
Licences you need before opening
These apply to any ice cream parlour in India and are on you, not the brand. Verify each with the authority or your CA.
| Licence | Who issues it | Note (as of 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| FSSAI registration or State licence | FSSAI, online via FoSCoS | Basic registration below Rs 12 lakh annual turnover; State licence from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 20 crore. A Naturals outlet will usually need the State licence |
| Shops & Establishment registration | State labour department | Mandatory for any shop with staff; fees and timelines vary by state |
| Trade / health licence | Municipal corporation | Required for food outlets in most cities |
| GST registration | GST portal | Needed for invoicing and for the brand's supply billing |
FSSAI applications are online-only through the FoSCoS portal; there is no offline form, so anyone offering to "arrange" your FSSAI for a fee is just charging you for a website.
How do you apply for a Naturals franchise?
The only official route is the online form at naturalicecreams.in/franchise-queries, and as of August 2026 that page states the company is not accepting any franchise requests. Check the page yourself before you do anything else; the status can change, and the page is the only place it changes.
When the window is open, the process is:
- Fill the form on the official site. The company states that all first contact is online only: no phone enquiries, no appointment requests.
- The team reviews submissions. If your profile and location fit, they contact you for more information or an appointment.
- Financials, including investment and expected returns, are shared only after you are shortlisted.
Even with the window open, a long list of cities is closed to new queries because they are already covered: Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Sangli, Kolhapur, Indore, Bengaluru, Belgaum, Mangalore, Manipal, Udupi, Hyderabad, Goa and Jaipur. Delhi and Kolkata are not served at all because of production limits. If your plan depends on one of these cities, the realistic path is a second outlet under an existing franchisee, not a fresh application.
The fake franchise problem
Naturals has published a fraud notice naming fake domains (partnersnaturalsicecream.com, franchisenaturalicecream.com) and email addresses (info@naturalicecreamsfranchise.in, info@naturalsicecreams.com) that send forged offer letters and collect "registration" or "deposit" payments. Some of these sites rank in search for franchise-cost queries. The company has no authorised agents and no consultants; the official domain is naturalicecreams.in and nothing else.
Simple test: the real company currently charges no deposit and is not taking applications. Any message that asks for money, promises an outlet in a closed city, or offers a quick approval fails on all three counts.
What profit margin can a Naturals outlet expect?
Naturals shares profit and return figures only with shortlisted applicants, so there is no verifiable margin number to give you, and the 55 percent figure from older posts was unsourced. What you can plan around is the structure of the business.
Gross margin on scoop ice cream is high because the product cost per serving is low relative to the selling price. Net margin is a different animal: rent, freezer electricity, staff and wastage all come off that gross. Wastage deserves special attention here, because a 2 to 3 day shelf life means unsold stock is not carried forward the way a packaged-ice-cream counter would. Ordering discipline is the skill.
Sales are seasonal. Summer and festival weeks carry the year; monsoon and winter months run thinner, and a shop whose rent was sized for April footfall can struggle in August. Work your payback on an annual cycle, not on a best-month number, and keep enough working capital to get through the first lean season.
Is a Naturals franchise better than other ice cream or food franchises?
For someone with a Rs 15 to 30 lakh budget and a strong retail location in a served state, the no-fee, no-royalty model (as of 2026) makes Naturals cheaper to run than most branded food franchises, where an ongoing royalty on sales is the norm. The catch is access: you cannot simply apply, and the best territories are already taken.
Who it suits: an owner-operator who will stand in the shop, in a city the Kandivali supply chain reaches, with patience for a window that may stay shut for a while. Who it does not suit: an investor looking for a managed outlet, or anyone whose plan depends on Delhi or Kolkata.
If the closed window is a dealbreaker, the logistics and retail franchises in our queue are open to applications and publish their terms. See how to get a DMart franchise for why big-box retail rarely franchises at all, DTDC franchise cost for a low-entry courier option, and Blue Dart franchise cost for the premium end of the same category.
FAQs
How much does a Naturals Ice Cream franchise cost in 2026?
Naturals does not publish an investment figure; it shares financials only with shortlisted applicants. Third-party listings from 2025-26 quote Rs 12 to 25 lakh at the low end and up to Rs 36 to 50 lakh in prime locations, excluding rent deposit, brokerage and salaries. There is no franchise fee, royalty or brand deposit as of 2026, per the official FAQ.
How do I apply for a Naturals Ice Cream franchise?
Only through the enquiry form at naturalicecreams.in/franchise-queries. As of August 2026 that page says the company is not accepting franchise requests, so check it first. The company does not take phone or walk-in enquiries and has no authorised agents.
Which licences do I need to open a Naturals outlet?
An FSSAI licence (applied online via FoSCoS; usually the State licence for turnover between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 20 crore), Shops & Establishment registration from your state, a municipal trade or health licence, and GST registration. Confirm current fees with the issuing authority or a CA.
How many Naturals Ice Cream outlets are there?
165+ outlets across 15 states as of 2026, per the official site; press reports put it past 170. The last published split (2022) showed 18 company-owned and 119 franchised stores.
What profit margin does a Naturals franchise make?
The company does not publish margins and only discusses returns with shortlisted applicants. Gross margin on scoop ice cream is high, but net margin after rent, electricity, staff and wastage is much lower and varies by location and season. Any site quoting a fixed percentage is guessing.
