Kaspa's Desserts Franchise | Join the UK's King of Desserts

A Sweet Success Story Built for the UK

In 2012, Azhar Rehman opened the first Kaspa's Desserts in Croydon, South London, with a simple but powerful idea: bring the world's most loved desserts together under one roof. The concept struck an immediate chord with customers, and the brand quickly began its journey from a single parlour to a nationally recognised franchise. Today, Kaspa's Desserts Franchise operates circa 100 locations, with 45 franchise partners including several multi-site operators, and the brand has been repeatedly voted the country's favourite dessert restaurant by Deliveroo customers.

The Kaspa's Desserts Franchise has also been named in the Elite Franchise Top 100, secured a place in the BrandVue Eating Out Top 100 for multiple years, and earned industry recognition for menu innovation and brand excellence. It is a franchise backed by a growing, culturally engaged customer base and a social media following that keeps demand consistently high across the network.

The Menu and the Model

Kaspa's is defined by its breadth. The menu offers artisan Italian-style gelato (made in-house at the brand's own dedicated production hub), waffles, crepes, sundaes, milkshakes, smoothies, cakes and hot desserts, alongside collaborations with major brands including Hershey's, Reese's, Thorpe Park, Paramount Studios and Sony Pictures. That mix of quality product, recognised brand partnerships and an ever-evolving seasonal menu keeps customers returning and generates strong social media content across the network.

Kaspa's signature menu - vibrant sundaes, waffles, crepes and shakes drive strong impulse-purchase footfall in every store

Three Store Formats to Suit Your Investment

The Kaspa's Desserts Franchise offers flexibility through three distinct store formats, allowing franchisees to match their investment level and location opportunity to the right model:

What the Franchise Offers

The Kaspa's Desserts Franchise provides a comprehensive support package from first enquiry to store opening and beyond. Key elements include:

• ✓ 160 hours of in-store training with a Kaspa's Brand Excellence Manager before launch
• ✓ Assistance with site selection, store design and project management for fit-out
• ✓ A turnkey store setup option for franchisees who prefer not to manage the fit-out process personally
• ✓ Operations manuals covering all aspects of running the business
• ✓ Access to Kaspa's in-house distribution network and dedicated gelato production hub
• ✓ Customised POS equipment and IT systems
• ✓ National marketing fund contributions for nationwide brand campaigns
• ✓ Ongoing profitability workshops and one-to-one business development support
• ✓ Partnerships with HSBC and Metro Bank for financing support

According to IBISWorld market research, the UK's dessert and ice cream sector has shown sustained consumer demand, with the branded dessert parlour concept firmly embedded in British high streets and retail parks.

Recent Trading Momentum

The brand's trajectory through 2025 gives prospective franchisees a useful read on the network's health. Kaspa's reported a 12% like-for-like sales uplift across the estate in the first half of 2025, a turnaround it attributes to new product development, sharper marketing, technology investment and price optimisation work led from head office (MCA Insight, 2025). Group level turnover across the Kaspa's network now sits above £100 million, with the leadership team publicly targeting further growth in the Midlands, Ireland and Scotland.

The 109th UK store opened on Dean Street in Soho in summer 2024, marking the brand's central London debut and signalling that the format travels well beyond the suburban and regional high streets where Kaspa's first scaled. International growth has continued alongside it, with new sites in Marrakesh, Rabat and Casablanca added during 2024 and further Middle East openings under discussion.

Inside the 160 Hour Training Programme

Every incoming Kaspa's franchisee completes 160 hours of in-store training before opening, typically delivered over four to six weeks at an established Kaspa's site under a Brand Excellence Manager. The aim is straightforward: a new operator should be able to run a full service unaided before they trade for the first time in their own store.

Brand standards continue after launch through mystery shopper audits, profitability workshops and a dedicated business development contact, with national marketing campaigns funded by the network's marketing levy.

UK Dessert Sector Backdrop

Branded dessert parlours have moved from novelty to a permanent fixture on the British high street, and the underlying ice cream and frozen dessert market remains commercially healthy. AHDB's consumer insight programme reports that nine in ten UK households purchase ice cream, with retail spend up almost 7% year on year, and that 68% of recent consumers eat ice cream alongside a dessert occasion at home (AHDB consumer insight on UK ice cream demand).

For out-of-home operators that translates into reliable evening and weekend footfall, particularly from younger family audiences and culturally diverse customer groups for whom an alcohol-free indulgence venue is a real gap in the high street offer. It is the same gap Kaspa's has been filling for more than a decade.

Who the Kaspa's Model Suits

The franchise is built around hands-on, owner-operator involvement rather than absentee ownership. The most successful Kaspa's partners tend to come from a hospitality, retail or multi-unit food background and treat the first store as a platform for a small portfolio. Roughly half of the brand's franchise base now operates more than one site, and head office actively supports portfolio building through territory conversations and financing introductions with HSBC and Metro Bank.

Candidates who enjoy late-evening trade, leading a young team and engaging with social media will get the most out of the format. Anyone hoping for a 9-to-5 retail rhythm will find the dessert parlour day a poor fit, peak trading typically runs from late afternoon until close.

Leadership View on Expansion

Public commentary from the leadership team gives a useful sense of the brand's current ambition.

The MD has also pointed publicly to a multi-year pipeline that prioritises UK drive-thru and grab-and-go formats alongside the classic dine-in parlour, plus a measured international roll out across the Middle East. Interview coverage in trade media through late 2025 framed the period as a corner turned for the business, with operational discipline, NPD and tech investment combining to lift unit economics across the network (MCA Insight, November 2025).

Interested in exploring more opportunities in this sector? Take a look at other food franchise opportunities available on Franchise Hunt.