Start a Beef Jerky Experience Franchise in 2025

Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $197K - $407K

Units as of 2024: 79 16% over 3 years

Beef Jerky Experience is a leading franchisor of grab-and-go restaurants that offer premium jerky. The company was founded in 1995 and offered franchising opportunities beginning in 2010. The company is headquartered in Kodak, Tennessee.

The company is known for being a paradise for meat lovers, offering many flavors and premium jerky varieties that include salmon, elk, venison, traditional beef, and even meat-free jerky for vegans. Over the years, the company has built a cult-like following as they expanded across the country.

Today, the company owns over 75 franchise stores across the country and offers retail franchise opportunities to interested franchisees.

Why You May Want to Start a Beef Jerky Experience Franchise

Franchisees of Beef Jerky Experience enjoy the backing of a nationally recognized brand with a proven track record. With over a decade of experience, Beef Jerky Experience provides its franchisees with a robust support framework and a system designed for growth. With Beef Jerky Experience, franchisees always have someone to turn to for a consultation when a need arises.

Beef Jerky Experience is different from other well-established retail franchise concepts because the company is committed to producing quality products. Apart from providing value to consumers, quality products ensure a longer shelf life that favors the franchisees. The franchisor strives to supply franchisees with quick-selling inventory, eliminating the need to invest in a warehouse.

What Might Make Beef Jerky Experience a Good Choice?

Currently, there is a massive market for healthy food products in the money giant that is the food industry. Jerky is known to be low-fat, low-calorie, and protein-heavy. This is why there are millions of people in the country that are eating up this nutritious snack. With an already established product in the market, you don't need the resources and time required to build a customer base from the bottom up.

To be part of the Beef Jerky Experience team, you should make sure you’re financially ready for an initial investment, including a franchise fee and potential startup fees. You’ll want to make sure you have enough capital available to cover possible ongoing fees as well. These ongoing fees might include royalty percentages, ad fees, and potential renewal fees.

How to Start Your Own Beef Jerky Experience Franchise

To start the process of becoming a franchisee, fill out and submit an inquiry form with the company. If you are a good fit, a representative from the company's franchise development team may call to schedule a webinar. If you both decide to proceed, Beef Jerky Experience will email you an application. Upon receipt and validation of the application, you will receive a Franchise Disclosure Document with more information about the franchise.

Carry out your due diligence by contacting existing franchisees. Beef Jerky Experience may invite you to attend discovery day to meet with the franchise representatives. If both parties decide to continue, the company will run financial and background checks on you. If you meet the required net worth and cash liquidity minimums and your background checks come back clean, the franchisor will have you sign a franchise agreement and begin the project construction. The final step is opening your exciting new Beef Jerky Experience for business.

Company Overview

About Beef Jerky Experience

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Miscellaneous Food/Beverage Businesses, Miscellaneous Full-Service Restaurants
Founded	1995
Parent Company	Beet Jerky Outlet Franchise Inc.
Leadership	Brittany Pardue, Operations Officer, Franchise Development Marketing & IT
Corporate Address	P.O. Box 250 Kodak, TN 37764
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2010 (15 years)
# of employees at HQ	19
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	79 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Beef Jerky Experience franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$49,900
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$196,750 - $407,400
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$400,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$125,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	20% off first-store franchise fee
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	6%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	2%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	5 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Beef Jerky Experience has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	2-16 hours
Classroom Training	2-8 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
# of employees required to run	2-4
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	No