Ice cream is right for any season, and really, you might be convinced to make a meal of it.
Cold Stone might just be the best place to go for ice cream. But what don't you know
about this popular eatery? This is the untold truth of Cold Stone Creamery.
If you've ever visited Phoenix or even Tucson, Arizona, you know it gets hot. We're talking
really hot. And what could be better on a scorching summer day than the ideal ice cream
cone?
Founders Donald and Susan Sutherland opened the first Cold Stone Creamery in 1988. The
shop debuted in Tempe, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. The Sutherlands had spent time exploring
the world for the perfect ice cream, but after years of searching, they weren't finding the
ideal balance between hard-packed ice cream and the ever-popular soft serve.
So, to solve the problem, they opened a mom-and-pop shop of their own, boasting the best ice cream
they'd ever had.
It definitely took a while for the idea of Cold Stone to catch on, but the Sutherlands
held on strong. For 15 months, the couple saw very few customers until a local newspaper
featured the ice cream shop and sang its praises. It was only a matter of time before customer
visits and ice cream sales began to soar, making the business a near-instant success.
"I can't think of a sweeter way to go."
The question that comes up about Cold Stone Creamery all the time is, what's with the
name? And it really is quite simple. Every Cold Stone location actually does have an
incredibly cold stone on site.
The slab of stone is made of granite and is kept frozen at a chilly 16 degrees Fahrenheit.
Granite is incredibly heat-resistant, along with being pretty much impossible to chip
or scratch, so it makes a perfect candidate to get cold and stay cold, providing a slab
of literal cold stone for ice cream to be mixed upon.
When you order a treat at Cold Stone Creamery, you're not just getting a scoop with candy
or fruit poured on top. The whole goal behind Cold Stone is to offer the ideal ice cream
treat with flavor mixed into every bite.
Once you place your order, your ice cream will be scooped and thrown onto the granite
stone, and you can then choose which ice cream add-ins you want in the mix.
The employee mixes up your ice cream right in front of you, and the granite stone keeps
it cold throughout the entire process, eliminating any potential for serving up melty ice cream.
Made fresh
Donald and Susan Sutherland wanted to be sure they were offering a premium product. And
for them, that meant the ice cream they were scooping needed to be made fresh in their
store every single day.
Since opening in 1988, Cold Stone has made good on that promise, delivering ice cream
that's actually made in each of its individual stores.
According to Cold Stone, the ice cream served up is made in small batches with a mixture
of high-quality cream, sugar, and additional flavors. Staff members make the ice cream
in the back of each store using an ice cream machine, ensuring that it's fresh when a customer
comes in to grab a scoop with their favorite mix-ins.
And because they make the ice cream right in-store, it also means that you can request
larger custom sizes to be mixed up for you to take home too.
Cold Stone Creamery was built on the idea of serving up the perfect dish or cone of
ice cream. But it's not just about the delicious ice cream. It's all about the toppings as
well.
Cold Stone offers an option to make your own ice cream creation, and providing that you
get exactly what you want in your scoop, you're in for the ultimate dessert experience. While
many ice cream shops offer you the ability to top a cone with rainbow sprinkles or M&M's,
the mix-ins at Cold Stone are definitely next level.
Ice cream lovers can opt to add toppings like peanut butter cups, apple pie filling, ground
cinnamon, frosting, pineapple, and even pieces of cake to their ice cream to really up the
ante.
And while most customers might typically only choose two or three toppings, one customer
decided to try them all by adding every single mix-in to their ice cream. They added 24 toppings
to the mix. Talk about going all out!
So, what exactly is the perfect ice cream? For Cold Stone Creamery founders, it was the
ideal combination of traditional hard-packed ice cream balanced with just a touch of soft-serve
ice cream. But it certainly isn't as simple as mixing the two together and calling it
a day. In fact, when it comes to Cold Stone's signature ice cream, it all boils down to
the fat content.
Cold Stone Creamery ice cream is considered "super-premium" ice cream. Sounds exquisite,
right? According to the International Dairy Foods Association, in order for an ice cream
to be considered super-premium, it needs to have a higher fat content in comparison to
regular ice cream, along with utilizing incredibly high-quality — and in this case high fat
— ingredients.
Cold Stone's Sweet Cream ice cream is made using real cream, nonfat milk, sugar, corn
syrup, and whey. And all of those ingredients amount to a whopping 21 grams of fat in the
one-scoop size, which is approximately five ounces.
A typical half-cup serving of ice cream often ranges from seven to 13 grams of fat. As delicious
as this ice cream is, apparently, super-premium is another word for super high in fat.
Going into a Cold Stone ice cream shop can be a little overwhelming. With at least ten
staple flavors, along with rotating seasonal and store-specific special flavors, and even
several sorbets, the combination possibilities are mind-boggling. And with flavors like French
toast, cheesecake, coffee, and the ever-popular cake batter and sweet cream, there's a delicious
option for everyone.
But with so many flavors, along with the fact that the ice cream is made fresh in the store,
it might make you wonder how exactly the company pulls it all off in those little shops. Well,
Cold Stone certainly has a clever plan set in place.
Similar to what some bakery owners do when they need to make a huge variety of cookies,
Cold Stone ice cream flavors all start with a base. The company uses four bases for all
of its flavors, using sweet cream ice cream, chocolate ice cream, sorbet, and yogurt to
craft all of the rest of its flavors.
Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream uses a base of sweet cream ice cream with cheesecake flavoring
and strawberry puree added, while the peppermint mocha ice cream combines a base of chocolate
ice cream with peppermint extract and instant coffee. Talk about ice cream efficiency.
It took a while for Cold Stone’s unique business model to become widely understood
in the general public, but eventually, it did. Donald and Susan Sutherland definitely
had a bit of help along the way, and it just so happens, the CEO who led the company to
growth and success later became Arizona's governor.
Doug Ducey, who worked for Procter and Gamble earlier in his career, later moved on to help
the Sutherlands get Cold Stone Creamery off the ground. He was brought on board in 1995,
later becoming CEO in 2000. In 2007, Cold Stone Creamery sold to Kahala Group, and by
that time, the company had more than 1,000 franchises under its umbrella.
It's no surprise that slurping on a milkshake is going to mean packing on the calories.
After all, milkshakes are a combination of ice cream, milk, and a smattering of equally
sweet and fatty ingredients. Of course, they're going to pack a punch.
But not every milkshake on every menu is considered to be the most calorie-laden drink in America.
A 16-ounce chocolate milkshake from Burger King will add 700 calories to your day. Milkshakes
from Dairy Queen are also full of calories. But a Reese's chocolate peanut butter dream
shake from Cold Stone?
We're talking about one thousand one hundred forty calories for a 12-ounce, and a whopping
one thousand seven hundred forty calories for a 20-ounce. Sure, it comes with delicious
chocolate ice cream and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups mixed in, but is it worth all those calories?
You decide.
We all know that when a service industry employee does a fantastic job, a tip is well deserved.
And typically, we feel good about adding a few more bucks to the tab to tell them they
did a good job. But it's not often that you get something in return.
Well, things are a little different at Cold Stone Creamery when it comes to tips, and
employees are required to sing when a few bills are dropped in their tip jar.
Applying to Cold Stone is pretty much like applying to work at any other franchise. You
fill out an application, go into an interview, and put your best foot forward. But according
to one interviewee, employees were also required to sing during their interview.
For Cold Stone Creamery, it's all about the entertainment that singing adds to the experience,
creating a festive atmosphere. So, when you tip an employee at Cold Stone for a job well
done, they won't wait to sing to thank you with a gleeful smile and a song.
Yep, ice cream scientist is a real job title. Or, at least it is at Cold Stone Creamery.
And we're pretty sure every ice cream lover would go crazy for this job. But as it turns
out, it's still kind of a lot of work to get there.
"The way I come up with new ice cream is I look at classic desserts and see how I can
translate them into ice cream."
Dr. Maya Warren became an ice cream scientist for Cold Stone Creamery in 2014, after she
was on TV reality show “The Amazing Race” the same year. Cold Stone actually reached
out to her, offering a job she couldn't refuse. And who wouldn't want to eat new ice cream
flavors all day?
Warren has a Ph.D. in Food Science, with a focus on frozen desserts, and she is devoted
to Cold Stone’s unique ice cream vision, such as how they work with additional flavor
add-ins like extracts and instant coffee. The next time you enjoy your ridiculously
delicious creation at Cold Stone, you probably have an ice cream scientist to thank.
The beauty of Cold Stone Creamery is that you can choose from a huge variety of ice
cream flavors and pair them with a ton of toppings for the best possible concoction.
And for a while, you could even add crickets to your ice cream. Umm, dead ones, of course.
Think about it: Cake batter ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and crickets. Or perhaps
you'd prefer a concoction of peanut butter, chocolate, and crickets.
In 2001, Cold Stone wanted to hop on the Survivor bandwagon, embracing the popularity of the
wild television show that had debuted in late 2000. So, to do that, the company added chocolate-covered
crickets to the line-up of custom toppings in all of its 142 stores at the time. Talk
about a unique custom creation.
It's well-known that parties and cake go hand in hand, but so does the classic combo of
cake and ice cream. What if you could have a create-your-own-ice-cream station at your
wedding or birthday party? Turns out, you totally can.
Cold Stone Catering offers the option to set up the ultimate sundae bar for party or wedding
guests to create their own decadent treat. Or, you can combine cake and ice cream into
an ice cream cake customized with your favorite flavors and, of course, sprinkles.
Cold Stone makes all of its ice cream cakes, ice cream cupcakes, cookie sandwiches, and
pies on site. You can choose yellow, red velvet, or devil's food cake, then add in ice cream
and mix-ins. After this, an on-site decorator will make the ultimate cake for you. And yes,
you can even have them put together a custom option to beautifully suit your wedding.
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