Cold Stone Creamery announced plans to development additional ice cream franchises in Louisiana. It has plans to open five stores in 2005, and 15 additional Louisiana stores are projected to open in the next three to five years, say company officials. “We’re looking for entrepreneurs that are as passionate about ice cream as we are,” says Cold Stone Creamery development manager Tim McCarthy. “What better business to be in than the ice cream business?”
The company’s proven formula is a key contributor to a bite out of the $20.7 billion ice cream industry. Boasting $400,000 in annualized average unit volume, the highest of any super-premium ice cream concept, Cold Stone Creamery 2004 system-wide revenues exceeded $285 million, up 83 percent from $156 million in 2003.
Cold Stone Creamery continues to set new growth records and maintain its position as the nation’s fastest growing super-premium ice cream concept. Ranked No.12 in Entrepreneur magazine’s “Fastest Growing Franchises in America” (January 2005) and No. 4 in Restaurant Business magazine’s “Top 50 Growth Chains” (July 2004), Cold Stone Creamery’s potential has been realized by a surge of entrepreneurs eager to open their own Cold Stone Creamery franchises. In 2004, Cold Stone Creamery opened 362 new stores and has another 400 slated to open in 2005.
