99 Spoons Crosses 350 Machines Sold and 200 Operators, Becomes Largest Frozen-Dessert Vending Company in the U.S.

August 25, 2026, 99 Spoons, a manufacturer and distributor of automated frozen-dessert kiosks, today announced it has surpassed 350 machines sold and now supports more than 200 independent operators across the United States and internationally, making it, by unit volume and operator count, the largest frozen-dessert vending company in the country. The company's footprint now extends into Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Puerto Rico, with additional international placements in progress.

The milestone is notable for what 99 Spoons has not done to reach it. There is no franchise fee. No royalties. No system to follow. No mandated use of any trademark. No required suppliers. Operators buy their machines outright, own their locations, and keep 100% of the revenue they generate. The only ongoing payment to 99 Spoons is a flat $49 per month software fee that powers real-time sales tracking, temperature monitoring, menu management, and technical support. Logistics services, including delivery, installation, setup, and in-person training, are all provided by third-party trusted service partners. Everything is optional. Supplies are available through a multitude of wholesale distributors around the country, none of which are mandatory.

Machines start around $17,000 to $18,499 depending on quantity, with additional costs paid to third parties for delivery, install, setup, training, and ongoing maintenance. Someone can get started for as low as $21,000 to $23,000 all-in. Once the model proves itself, operators can scale at whatever pace they want. 99 Spoons also hands out incoming location inquiries to its customers for free, helping them place the machines they already own and plan the next ones. Businesses that already have a facility of their own can explore the same equipment through the company's Direct to Business program.

The anti-franchise model

Where traditional soft-serve and frozen-yogurt franchises charge $30,000 to $50,000 in upfront franchise fees plus ongoing royalties of 6–8% of gross sales, 99 Spoons operates on a pure equipment-sale model:

• No franchise fee, no royalties, no revenue share. 100% of location revenue belongs to the operator.
• No system to follow. Operators run their business however they want. There is no mandated playbook, no required uniform, no corporate approval process for placements, marketing, or day-to-day decisions.
• No mandated trademark use. Many operators brand their own equipment and run it under their own name, their own social media pages, their own marketing, their own customer relationships. They build something they own outright, not a franchise unit tethered to head office.
• No territory lock-in. Operators can place machines wherever they secure a location, at home or across the country.
• Resale is unrestricted. Operators own the equipment outright and can sell it at any time without company approval.
• Third-party network with national distribution. Optional wholesalers, service technicians, location procurement specialists, and trainers are provided through vetted independent partners, always priced transparently, always paid directly to those vendors, never marked up by 99 Spoons.
• Free lead sharing. 99 Spoons receives inbound location inquiries daily and shares them with existing operators at no cost, helping them place machines they already own and plan future purchases.

Machines start at approximately $17,000 to $18,499 per unit depending on volume, with typical all-in operator startup costs of $21,000 to $23,000 including delivery, install, training, and initial supply. On an average $6.50 transaction, operators paying a typical 20% location commission net approximately $3.75 per cup after supplies and commission. Operators who own their own locations, including businesses that purchase machines for direct placement in their own facilities, net approximately $5.00 per cup on the same transaction, since there is no revenue split. Typical operator payback periods are measured in months rather than years, according to company data and third-party operator reports.

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Direct to Business

99 Spoons also runs a Direct to Business program, one built for businesses that want to own the machine themselves, that lets business owners purchase and place a kiosk in a facility they already own, including restaurants, hotels, gas stations, convenience stores, mini markets, and family fun centers, rather than routing through a third-party operator. Direct to Business customers receive the same equipment, software, training, and third-party partner network as any 99 Spoons operator, and pay no location commissions, no revenue share, no franchise fees, and no royalties. Because they own the location, they keep 100% of the revenue the kiosk generates.

For a facility owner, the program creates a new profit center inside an existing footprint, improves the customer or employee experience, and offers a differentiated amenity that competitors typically do not have, all without adding staff, since the kiosks are fully automated and require only about 30 minutes per week of restocking, cleaning, and routine service. Cloud monitoring, remote diagnostics, and menu and pricing controls are included; on-site labor is not required for day-to-day service. Details, use cases, and current pricing are available at 99spoons.com/direct-to-business.

Certified equipment, national and international footprint

99 Spoons machines are Intertek-certified and have passed health-department inspection in jurisdictions across the country. The 350+ machine footprint spans the United States and now includes deployments in Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Puerto Rico.

The most productive deployment categories, based on cups-per-day performance across the fleet, are hospitals, hotels, malls, military bases, universities, family fun centers, and tourist attractions. Every machine serves soft serve, frozen yogurt, açaí, and gelato and offers three toppings and three syrups, a mix-and-match menu that lets a single kiosk fit the traffic of a hospital cafeteria, a family fun center, a military base food court, or a tourist attraction concourse without changing hardware.

The cloud dashboard remotely monitors every machine in the field, flagging issues before they affect service and routing service calls through a national network of independent technicians, the same team that trains new operators supports them, with no third-party call centers.

Why it matters now

The automated vending category is one of the fastest-growing segments in unattended retail. The global smart vending machine market is projected to grow from roughly $29 billion in 2025 to nearly $90 billion by 2034, a CAGR of approximately 13% (Market Data Forecast). North America's smart vending segment alone is forecast to more than double, from $4.1 billion in 2024 to nearly $9 billion by 2032 (Kande VendTech industry statistics). Connected, IoT-enabled machines, the category 99 Spoons operates in, are growing meaningfully faster than the vending market as a whole (Mordor Intelligence).

Meanwhile, the global frozen dessert category continues to expand toward $45 billion by 2030 (Strategic Market Research), and automated kiosks are eating share from both traditional vending and quick-service ice-cream shops, driven by higher margins, no on-site labor, and consumer preference for premium, on-demand product.

"The reason our model is popular is simple," the company's founder added. "We believe we have the best equipment in the business. Our software stack is intuitive and makes operating the equipment efficient. There are no ongoing fees other than $49 a month for the software. Once trained, our operators don't need to follow a system, this business is easy enough that anyone can do it. Why would they pay us a royalty when they don't have to? We also let a lot of our customers brand their own equipment, which gives them a chance to build something they can market themselves, with their own social media pages and their own customers, not the franchise's."

About 99 Spoons

99 Spoons is the flagship brand of 99 Innovations, an S corporation. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes automated frozen-dessert kiosks and provides the software, training, and optional third-party partner network that supports its national and international operator base. Each machine serves soft serve, frozen yogurt, açaí, and gelato with three toppings and three syrups on every unit, a mix-and-match menu built to work across every location category the company serves. 99 Spoons has been in business for four years and is privately held.

For more information, visit https://99spoons.com/ or email sales@99spoons.com.

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