Cold Stone turning up the heat on ice cream market

Cold Stone Creamery has met its store expansion goals in Taiwan this year in less than eight months of operation, and is expecting revenues to top NT$10 million (US$310,000), the local operator of the US brand said yesterday.

With two stores opening in Tai-chung and Kaohsiung this month, Cold Stone will have six stores in Taiwan, said James Hsieh (謝健南), vice president of President Chain Store Corp (統一超商).

Cold Stone wants to have a total of 14 stores by the end of next year, said Hsieh, who is also president of Cold Stone.

"Finding the right business model and adjusting supply and demand were Cold Stone's biggest challenges during the first year," Hsieh told a press conference.

Despite rising costs such as the increased minimum wage, Cold Stone is not planning to adjust its prices, he said.

All of Cold Stone's materials are imported from the US, although the company "is considering developing more local flavors," he said.

Ann Yeh (葉曉菁), chief operation officer of Cold Stone, said the company has embraced domestic and foreign holidays by offering special flavors, such as chestnut ice cream for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and a chocolate-pumpkin waffle called "Jack-O-Waffle," which proved to be a big hit around Halloween.

"Unlike the limited ice cream flavors that are being offered on the market, Cold Stone has broken the rule by offering up to 12 million customized flavors," she said.