What Is A Cold Stone Creamery Franchise?

The Cold Stone Creamery^® ice cream franchise has captivated the sweet tooth of customers around the world, and it continues to be a bright brand in the $8 billion ice cream industry, according to IBIS World. Doing business for 30 years, Cold Stone^® has become a national institution, beloved for offering the Ultimate Ice Cream Experience^®. Our brand’s super-premium ice cream is made fresh in over 1,000 locations in the United States, and in hundreds of other locations around the world. As one of the pioneers of customization, Cold Stone Creamery allows customers to dream up their own ice cream treats, or choose from our wildly popular Signature Creations^™. Better still, our customer service is not only exciting, with songs, cheers and dances, but it creates memories that will last a lifetime.

Ice cream is America’s favorite dessert. Ice cream has been an American favorite since George Washington was president. Not only do we spend $8 billion a year on ice cream, but the “Real Dish on Ice Cream Survey” also revealed that 87 percent of Americans keep ice cream in their freezer on a regular basis, and the average American enjoys 48 pints of ice cream per year (Source: Yahoo Finance).

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A Scalable Business Model

Fad concepts offering the hot new desserts come and go, but ice cream will always be a part of American life. Not only is Cold Stone Creamery one of the nation’s premier ice cream franchises and a beloved institution around the world, but we are also proud to say that our business model has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs realize their dreams of small business ownership and take control of their own futures for nearly three decades.

Why does Cold Stone Creamery have staying power? Cold Stone Creamery has been designed to be easy to run and easy to scale. Our franchisees come to us with a passion for ice cream, an enthusiasm for our product and the desire to be a positive, meaningful force in their communities — and we teach them the rest.

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What Training & Support Do We Provide?

Franchising with Cold Stone Creamery^® means you’ll never be alone in your business. As one of the world’s premier ice cream franchises, the Cold Stone Creamery support network has launched hundreds of entrepreneurs without any experience in either the service industry or the restaurant industry into growing businesses in communities across the country and around the world. This is how we do it:

• Initial Training
  New franchisees attend KTEC (Kahala Training and Education Center). In addition, new franchisees spend two weeks in a store where we cover every aspect of their new business, including making the ice cream, preparing and serving Cold Stone Creamery products, managing inventory and supporting their business through savvy marketing.
• On-The-Job Training
  New franchisees spend 80 hours in a store to learn the ins and outs of the business, including how to correctly prepare and serve the brand’s products. Cold Stone Creamery also hosts monthly check-ins to help you meet your goals, to offer assistance and to ensure you have all the tools necessary to improve your business every day.
• Ongoing Training
  Cold Stone Creamery will meet with you regularly to help you and answer any of your questions, and are just a phone call away if you have questions. Every new franchisee also receives monthly check-in calls from a Regional Director of Operations or Area Developer.
• Ongoing Marketing Assistance
  Cold Stone Creamery franchisees have access to in-house marketing and public relations teams, which significantly reduces expenses. These teams help with national, regional and local marketing, along with public relations from the grand opening through the life of the business. We train franchisees to manage their stores’ social media accounts, including Facebook^®, Twitter^® and Instagram^® – and newer platforms such as Snapchat^®.

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Testimonials

“I love everything about Cold Stone Creamery and everything that Cold Stone Creamery stands for in terms of the quality of our product, our exceptional customer service and the place that we hold in our community. After almost 15 years as an owner, I still love to come to work every day. The fact that Cold Stone Creamery brings joy to people every single time they come in never gets old to me, and it’s not ever something I take for granted. My two daughters grew up in my Cold Stone Creamery, and it’s been a blessing to make a great life in a family business.”
– Karen Weldon, owner of a Cold Stone Creamery franchise in Millbury, Massachusetts

“Before Cold Stone Creamery, the extent of my knowledge about the service industry was ordering off the menu. Luckily, the Cold Stone Creamery executive team has made an exceptional support platform that makes it easy to learn the business. They also really listen to their franchisees, and there’s a great culture of collaboration and involvement. Of course, our product is really superior to anything else in the local area, and after more than a decade in business, we’re still growing. I still love seeing people of all ages line up for ice cream – it’s still a big thrill and a lot of fun.”
– Karen Harmon, owner of a Cold Stone Creamery franchise in Wilmington, North Carolina

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Our Ideal Candidate

Cold Stone Creamery requires no previous experience in either the restaurant industry or the service industry, only the desire to follow our business model and the ability to be a passionate advocate for Cold Stone Creamery in your community. Community and customer service oriented with a desire to spread smiles via ice cream.

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Next Steps

Ready to bring a Cold Stone Creamery franchise to your community? We are looking forward to hearing from you and are excited that you’re interested in bringing Cold Stone Creamery to your community as we rapidly expand across the nation and around the world!

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