After years of sharing its handcrafted ice cream sandwiches and other treats with scores of fans throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, CREAM has taken center stage as one of the fastest-growing dessert franchises in the country with 22 locations.
In 2015, CREAM experienced levels of growth and success unmatched in its five-year history. Last year, the San Francisco–based company more than doubled its brand footprint, opening 13 new shops and bringing its delicious offerings to several cities throughout Southern California, as well as Las Vegas.
“Twenty-fifteen was an incredible year for CREAM, and we’re just getting started,” says cofounder and CEO Jimmy Shamieh. “The explosive growth of our brand will help us double our network in 2016 and set the stage to enter a series of new markets in rapid succession.”
Expansion in the coming year will be driven by franchise deals already set to bring more than 60 new CREAM stores to various parts of California, Nevada, and Florida. CREAM plans to have at least 25 new locations up and running by the end 2016.
Since CREAM’s debut in 2010, thousands of consumers have been flocking to indulge their sweet tooth with the concept’s evolved version of the nostalgic ice cream sandwich. With a menu of over 20 ice cream flavors, 17 kinds of cookies and 15 toppings, the mix-and-match opportunities at CREAM—which is an acronym for “Cookies Rule Everything Around Me”—are seemingly endless. You can order a classic with a hefty scoop of French Vanilla ice cream between two Chocolate Chip cookies. You can get a little more creative and go with a Double Chocolate Chip cookie on top, Peanut Butter on the bottom and Salted Caramel ice cream in between, topped with Oreo cookie crumbs.
While the ice cream sandwiches are the main draw, CREAM also has milkshakes, floats, scoops of ice cream, and other treats, such as “The Cream Taco,” a taco shell shaped waffle cone loaded with three scoops of ice cream and toppings.
CREAM also offers an array of catering options for consumers who wish to stray from the standard fare for events and parties.
“The growing popularity of comfort food has presented our brand with the phenomenal opportunity to strengthen our market share across the country,” Shamieh says. “There has never been a better time to capitalize on this booming industry and we look forward to another huge growth year as we further expand our national footprint.”
With a franchise fee of $30,000, the total investment to own and operate a CREAM ranges from $196,000 to $412,000.
