Carvel is an American ice cream franchise owned by Focus Brands. Carvel is best known for its soft-serve ice cream and ice cream cakes, which feature a layer of distinctive 'crunchies'. It also sells a variety of novelty ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches.\nCarvel operates a chain of more than 500 franchised ice cream outlets. It has locations in 25 states mostly in northeastern part, Puerto Rico, and some Middle Eastern countries, found in high-traffic areas such as airports, malls, and sports arenas. The company also sells ice cream cakes in more than 8,500 supermarkets.Since 2001, the corporation has been owned by Roark Capital Group and operated as part of Focus Brands. As of 2018 there were 371 Carvel franchises worldwide.