Existing Companies; Coldstone Creamery

Cold Stone Creamery is an American-based ice cream parlor chain. The company, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is owned and operated by Kahala Franchising, L.L.C.[1][2] The company's main product is super premium ice cream, or ice cream made with approximately 12-14% butterfat,[3][4] that is made on location and customized to order for customers at the time of purchase. Cold Stone has also expanded its menu with other ice cream related products such as ice cream cakes, pies, cookie sandwiches, smoothies, shakes and iced & blended coffee.
Since 2008, the company has been co-branding its locations with other chains in an attempt to increase its presence outside the United States and open up its business model from the traditional summertime season to a more rounded, year round one.

The company was co-founded in 1988 by Susan and Donald Sutherland (unrelated to actor Donald Sutherland), who sought ice cream that was neither hard-packed nor soft-serve. Publicity materials describe it as "smooth and creamy super-premium ice cream." Cold Stone Creamery opened its first store that year in Tempe, Arizona.[3] While the company was originally headquartered in Tempe, in 1997 the company moved its headquarters to Scottsdale, Arizona.[3] The company moved to its current headquarters in Scottsdale in 2005.[5] The original Cold Stone Creamery, store #0001, is still in operation today at the original location in Tempe.[6]
The company's business model is the same as the one originally created by Steve's Ice Cream's founder Steve Herrell. The company uses in-store made ice cream that is combined with mix-ins, candy or other items that is folded into the ice cream to make a new flavor. Cold Stone's name comes from the frozen granite stone, used to mix "mix-ins": candy, nuts, or other edibles into various flavors of ice creams.
In 1995, Cold Stone Creamery opened its first franchise store in Tucson, soon followed by a store in Camarillo, California, its first out of state. Almost 1,400 franchises are in operation. Cold Stone Creamery is now the sixth-best-selling brand of ice cream in the U.S. and now operates stores in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand,[7] Puerto Rico, Indonesia, Guam, China, Mexico, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. Cold Stone opened their first franchise in Europe in 2008 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Three more shops were later opened in other parts of the country. The company was also named the 11th fastest-growing franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine in January 2006. In June 2009 the company opened up its first location in Canada in the city of Mississauga, Ontario.
In May 2007, Cold Stone Creamery merged with Kahala Corp to form the company Kahala-Cold Stone, which collectively owns 13 brands. Doug Ducey, former president and CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, was named CEO of the new company.[8] Kevin Blackwell, the former CEO of Kahala, became chairman of the board and chief strategist. In September 2007, Ducey announced he was leaving the company.[9] Blackwell was named CEO.[10]

All ice cream creations are offered in three sizes: "Like It" (5 oz (140 g)), "Love It" (8 oz (230 g)), and "Gotta Have It" (12 oz (340 g)). There is also a kids' size (3 oz (85 g)). Also offered are shakes and smoothies, among them the Cold Stone PB&C, which was singled out by Men's Health Magazine in its list of most unhealthy American drinks for two consecutive years.[16][17] All ice cream is made in house using natural ingredients and waffle cones and bowls are baked daily. The company also has a line of ice cream cakes, pies, and most recently, ice cream cupcakes and ice cream cookie sandwiches, most of which are made on-site. Stores also offer the option of customizing these frozen desserts much like their ice cream creations.