Cold Stone Creamery

Cold Stone Creamery, Inc. is an American international ice cream parlor chain. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company is owned and operated by Kahala Brands. The company's main product is premium ice cream made with approximately 12–14% butterfat, made on location and customized for patrons at time of order. Cold Stone has also expanded its menu with other ice cream-related products, including: ice cream cakes, pies, cookie sandwiches, smoothies, shakes, and iced or blended coffee drinks. 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 transform its business model from seasonal to year-round. There are about 1,300 locations in 20 countries worldwide. History The company was co-founded in 1988 by Donald and Susan Sutherland, who sought ice cream that was neither hard packed nor soft-serve. Cold Stone Creamery opened its first store that year in Tempe, Arizona. The original Cold Stone Creamery, store #0001, is in operation today near the same intersection (southwest corner of McClintock and Southern) as the original Tempe location. The store moved from the original location to the current location in the early 1990s. The company has maintained the same concept created by Steve Herrell who founded Steve's Ice Cream. Patrons first select what flavor of ice cream they would like and then choose from a number of mix-ins to be folded into the ice cream. Mix-ins include candies, nuts, brownies and syrups. Cold Stone derives its name from the frozen granite slab that employees use to fold mix-ins into the ice cream.