Operations

A masterclass in munchies: Why Kahala Brands is betting big on twist and scoop

Kahala Brands is pairing Cold Stone Creamery and Wetzel’s Pretzels under one roof as a strategic co-branding initiative designed to reduce franchisee overhead, capture new dayparts and unlock growth in previously inaccessible retail markets.

Photo: Kahala Brands

July 10, 2026 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

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What happens when you marry a piping-hot, fresh-baked pretzel with a scoop of super-premium ice cream? For Kahala Brands, the answer isn't just a masterclass in satisfying the eternal human craving for salty and sweet — it's the cornerstone of an aggressive new growth strategy in the quick-service restaurant industry.

By bringing Cold Stone Creamery and Wetzel's Pretzels under one roof, the multi-brand franchisor is capitalizing on an immediate, forceful consumer appetite for "snackability." But this co-branding initiative is far more than a clever culinary matchmaking game; it's a calculated real estate and operational play designed to conquer multiple dayparts, slash overhead for franchisees and unlock high-growth markets that neither brand could comfortably conquer alone.

Jay Goldstein, vice president of franchise development for parent company Kahala Brands, said the company has other co-branded units pairing smoothies and coffee with sandwiches and candy and they "performed admirably." When they had the option to marry Cold Stone Creamery and Wetzel's Pretzels, the reaction was immediate and forceful.

"People just really like that pairing," Goldstein said in a phone interview. "Based on that initial reaction, we just kind of put all the cards on the table and said let's go for it."

Co-branding helps Kahala Brands go into markets that are perhaps too small to support one brand. There's also diversification for franchisees, operational efficiencies, shared utilities and rents that make co-branding a boon for a franchise operator.

Goldstein said co-branding is a complementary guest experience as well, driving traffic across multiple dayparts. There are also mature markets without a tremendous amount of growth opportunities.

"Franchisees can still enter that market and do co-brands and scale that way, rather than the traditional 'let's open up eight or 10 Cold Stones' when a market can't support that any longer," Goldstein said.

How does Kahala Brands avoid diluting brand equity and ensure both brands maintain their individual personalities in a shared space?

"Think of it as when you go to the mall and you walk into the food court. Each individual brand has its own identity, its own trade dress, menu items, menu panels, things of that nature," Goldstein explained. "We're taking the exact same approach on the interior of our stores. So, it'll be easily identifiable that there are multi-brands in the store from the time you walk in with outdoor signage and signage on the pylon for the shopping center, etc. So, customers know what's there. And then when they walk in, they can direct themselves to either of the businesses that'll be supported by separate staff and separate marketing. … We don't think it's going to be a dilution at all. It's going to be kind of an encapsulation and an expansion."

Opening a co-branded unit does bring forth some additional costs in relation to equipment, furniture and fixtures, but not nearly what it would cost if a franchisee were to open each of those stores individually. It's less costly to open the dual brands.

"The expectation is the ROI stays the same as if you were having one brand, simply because there's an a higher initial investment," Goldstein said. "It's yet to be seen how much the additional sales volume impacts that ROI."

Photo: Kahala Brands

Operations

Goldstein said there are three components when it comes to franchising. There are brand-new franchisees entering the system, there are existing franchisees looking at opening new locations and, finally, existing Cold Store franchisees looking to add Wetzel's Pretzels to their currently operating Cold Store stores.

The dual branding gives people an additional daypart and expanded product lines.

"Think of yourself as a daily consumer," Goldstein explained. "Some days for lunch you might choose to have a snack instead of a sandwich or something that you may have brought from home. And people aren't necessarily going to consider ice cream as a snack that they would replace their meal with for lunch, but a pretzel or a pretzel dog and a nice glass of lemonade certainly will fit that bill. So, it's attracting more customers in dayparts that we don't typically sell a lot of traditional ice cream product. And then, as people recognize multi-brands in the space, they then come more frequently because they can get multiple different product lines."

Training between the two brands is vastly different because the shelf life of a frozen ice cream product and a fresh-baked pretzel are different. Kahala Brands trains at the unit at which an employee was hired and then cross-training occurs.

"The owner is taught from the very beginning that the mindset is you're operating two separate businesses within one space, and as your staff becomes more proficient, you'll be able to have more economies of scale by sharing the labor," Goldstein said.

There are shared spaces within a co-branded unit, such as the triple-bay washing sink, of which a franchisee needs one, not two. Wetzel's Pretzels is customer-facing, so the mixer, the dough making and the oven are out where the customer can see things being made.

Cold Stone is the opposite, with fresh-made ice cream produced in the back of the house and then displayed and served in the front of the house. Wetzel's doesn't require a lot in the back, while Cold Stone is sharing a refrigerator, freezer space and dry storage space with Wetzel's.

At the moment, the dual brands are operating separate tech stacks, but Kahala Brands is working through integrating so that eventually it will be one system, or at least have the ability to ring up both brands under one POS system.

Wetzel's has thrived in malls, while Cold Stone has better luck streetside, Goldstein said.

"So, by combining the two brands, each brand now can explore the types of venues that it didn't traditionally go into, where Wetzel's had tried, not incredibly successfully, to be more street-side, now they can be inside of a Cold Stone, and that's where the brand expansion is coming from and more brand recognition when it's co-branded inside of a Cold Stone. On the opposite side, Cold Stone doesn't traditionally go into a regular interior mall space, but Wetzel's does, and Wetzel's has a lot of relationships with malls across the country and the larger retailers, and they can now come to us with a little bit of a larger space that Wetzel's couldn't necessarily look at before because it would price them out," Goldstein said, "but with the co-brand opportunity, it's more affordable and something that can be captured by a franchisee now."

There are nearly 20 co-branded units in development.

Goldstein said the company doesn't have a target per se, as they look for the right franchisee in the right circumstances, "but it's not for everyone, and we wouldn't tell someone no, you can't be a franchisee because you're choosing not to co-brand," Goldstein said. "Certain markets will have better opportunities than others and we wouldn't want to exclude someone because they choose to or can't do a co-brand."

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the Pizzamarketplace.com and QSRweb.com editor for Connect Media. An award-winning journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and, yes, she can tell you where to find the best pizza slices in the country.

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