Cold Stone Creamery China Opens First Sub-Franchised Location In Hangzhou, China

50 More Stores Set to Open by 2016

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Jan 27, 2015, 05:03 ET

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Cold Stone Creamery^™ (www.ColdStoneCreamery.com) Master Franchisee for China, Shanghai Cold Stone Ice Cream Corporation (SCSICC), achieved an important milestone recently by opening the first sub-franchised Cold Stone Creamery location. YOUCAN, the sub-franchisee group, opened the location in the Hangzhou Zhejiang Province, China.

"YOUCAN will develop the Zhejiang Province for SCSICC, but that is only the beginning," said Kevin Lin, president of Cold Stone Creamery's-China operations. "Based on the success of the first province, we expect to enter into additional provinces in 2016."

SCSICC's first sub-franchisee group, YOUCAN, is a diversified company whose business scope includes ice cream sales and manufacturing, e-commerce and third party logistics. Established in 1992, YOUCAN has annual revenues over $10.6 B.

"SCSICC currently operates nearly 60 Cold Stone Creamery locations across China and through this sub-franchisee model, SCSICC will accelerate its store development in China which is projected to grow to over 100 locations by 2016," said Eddy Jimenez, senior vice president of international operations and development for Kahala Brands™, the parent-company of the Cold Stone Creamery brand.

SCSICC opened their first Cold Stone Creamery locations in China and Taiwan in 2007 and have experienced rapid market growth since.

In nearly 30 years, SCSICC has developed more than 30 related enterprises. Most of these enterprises represent worldwide brands, such as Starbucks Coffee^®, Mister Donut^®, Carrefour^®, Takkyubin^™ (express door-to-door delivery service), Afternoon Tea^® and many others.

SCSICC operates stores in Taiwan where the company also owns their own dairy to support the production of pre-packed Cold Stone Creamery ice cream products locally.

The Cold Stone Creamery brand has continued to make strong key moves into the international market in recent years. The international growth of Cold Stone Creamery began in November 2005 when the company opened its first international store in Tokyo, Japan. Today, Cold Stone Creamery stores are operating in nearly 300 international locations and over 25 different countries, including the Philippines, Cyprus, Kuwait, Qatar, Trinidad, Nigeria, Egypt and Indonesia.

About Cold Stone Creamery

Cold Stone Creamery delivers the Ultimate Ice Cream Experience through a community of franchisees who are passionate about ice cream. The secret recipe for smooth and creamy ice cream is hand-crafted and made fresh in each store, and then customized by combining a variety of mix-ins on a frozen granite stone. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Cold Stone Creamery is a subsidiary of Kahala Brands™, one of the fastest growing franchising companies in the world, with a portfolio of 15 quick-service restaurant brands. Cold Stone Creamery operates more than 1,500 locations in 26 countries.

About "Made Fresh"

In Cold Stone Creamery locations across the world, our ice cream is hand-crafted in small batches – one flavor at a time. We start with the highest quality cream, sugar and flavorings to make our ice cream fresh in the back of each of our stores. This small-batch process ensures our customers receive the richest, creamiest, most delicious ice cream when they visit Cold Stone Creamery.

For more information about Cold Stone Creamery, visit www.coldstonecreamery.com.

For more information about Kahala Brands, visit www.kahalamgmt.com.

For more information about SCSICC, visit www.7-11.com.tw.

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SOURCE Cold Stone Creamery