Tifa Chocolate & Gelato
- Ownership Requirement
- Full-time
- Business Type
- Franchise
Your Neighborhood Gathering Spot
Stay a while and serve your community hand-crafted gelato, artisan chocolates, and fresh pastries.
Brand overview
Tifa Chocolate & Gelato is a legacy dessert franchise that blends the energy of a hyper-local coffee house with the familiarity of a community bistro. Founded by the Ashamalla family in 2007, the brand began as an online chocolate retailer before expanding into its first brick-and-mortar café. Head Pastry Chef and Le Cordon Bleu-trained Candace Roño perfected hundreds of gelato recipes tailored to the American palate, moving away from exclusionary European flavors to create a welcoming, inclusive dessert experience for everyone. Today, Tifa encourages guests to come in, relax, and connect over American-centric gelato flavors, artisan chocolate truffles, espressos, and fresh pastries.
Availability
We are currently accepting inquiries in these states:
Gallery
Why choose Tifa Chocolate & Gelato
Multiple revenue streams—including gelato, chocolate truffles, espresso, tea, and pastries—keep locations profitable year-round, unlike seasonal frozen dessert concepts. The total investment offers a more accessible, lower-risk entry point into the dessert space compared to competing franchises. A hub-and-spoke special use development package provides low-risk area development opportunities for experienced investors. The brand emphasizes long-term sustainability and profitability over fleeting trends, ensuring your café remains a community staple for years to come.
Revenue Potential & Investment Requirements
Gross Sales
2024 FDD top performing unit
Total investment
$629,143–$877,010
Cash Required
$100,000
Franchise fee
$47,500
Royalty fee
6% of gross revenue
Ad fund %
1%
Total units
7
Financing available
Names of financial institutions that have done business with past franchisees can be provided upon request.
Real estate required
Yes
Growth Trends
Training & support
Tifa provides a guided real estate process for site selection to secure the best possible location for your café. New owners receive 7 days of in-house training with the executive team covering how to make gelato, sorbetto, and all recipes including seasonal flavors, followed by 7 days of on-site training at the opening location. Leadership conducts weekly track-to-open calls until opening day and weekly track-to-profit calls for the entire first year. Franchisees also receive comprehensive marketing initiatives and benefit from a national supplier agreement.
Ideal candidate
We seek owner/operators with strong face-to-face networking skills and a passion for top-notch customer experiences. Our franchise is an excellent fit for corporate professionals seeking a community-based career transition, as well as experienced investors looking for low-risk area development opportunities. Foodie-minded individuals pursuing a new career path, franchisees wanting to enter the frozen dessert space with no prior retail experience, and dual-income households where one partner is transitioning careers will all find a welcoming home with Tifa.
Bring your community together around hand-crafted gelato and artisan chocolates. Submit your information today to learn more about franchise opportunities with Tifa Chocolate & Gelato.