Co-branding
The parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, Kahala, announced in February 2009 that it had reached an agreement with Canadian coffee shop chain Tim Hortons to open up to 100 co-branded stores in the United States after successfully testing two locations in Rhode Island. The strategic alliance will allow Tim Hortons to operate in more U.S locations, while allowing Cold Stone Creamery to expand into Canada. The most notable co-branded store opened in August 2009 when Tim Hortons will move into three Cold Stone Creamery locations in New York City, including its flagship Times Square location.
In June 2009, Cold Stone Creamery started testing the Canadian market by opening seven co-branded locations with Tim Hortons located in Toronto, Oakville, Mississauga, Hamilton, Pickering, Sudbury, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. They now have locations in every Canadian province except for Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Tim Hortons venture follows on the footsteps of a similar co-branding efforts in 2007 and 2008. Cold Stone franchisees in New York began partnering with Soup Kitchen International to sell soup in their stores beginning in late-2007. In 2008, the company signed an agreement with the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to open seven locations in the Western US. The venture is designed to bring in customers on a year round basis as opposed to the seasonal draws that each company experiences. The mingling of Cold Stone and Rocky Mountain led to more than 10% increase in weekly sales in Rocky Mountain stores after co-branding.
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