Why Pinoys scream for Cold Stone ice cream

While Filipinos haven’t gotten over the excitement of seeing their favorite Hollywood stars — Vin Diesel, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Nina Garcia — in person, there’s another American “celebrity” in town that’s sure to melt their hearts and palate as well.

And the good news is, it’s here to stay!

Cold Stone Creamery, an American-based ice cream parlor chain, formally opened its inaugural store last Tuesday at Serendra in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, giving ice cream connoisseurs in Manila a taste of the “smooth and creamy super-premium ice cream” the brand is known for.

Michael McGill, president of International at Kahala, flew all the way from the US for the soft launch. Cold Stone Creamery is a subsidiary of Kahala, one of the fastest growing franchising companies in the world.

“I think it’s really the right time for us to be in the Philippines since there’s an absence of a ‘super-premium ice cream brand’ here and the economy is doing great,” enthused McGill.

A celebrity ceremonial ice cream mixing marked Cold Stone Creamery’s opening.

Showbiz personalities Boy Abunda, Gretchen Barretto and Karylle whipped up ice cream delights on a frozen granite stone (kept at minus-nine degrees Centigrade), just like how Cold Stone Creamery crewmembers do it to the specifications of customers in the 1,400-plus stores in more than 20 countries worldwide.

Ice Cream the way you want it!

What started out as a search for the perfect ice cream that was neither hard-packed nor soft-serve by then friends Donald and Susan Sutherland resulted in a concept that would provide ice cream lovers in 15 countries worldwide the “ultimate ice cream experience.”

Well, that experience started the moment we entered Cold Stone Creamery. The energetic crewmembers greeted us with huge smiles on their faces — it was so warm and sincere it felt like we were being welcomed to a friend’s home. One of them directed us to a colorful menu board on which was written the variety of ice cream creations available. There’s the Founder’s Favorite, sweet cream ice cream with pecans, brownie, fudge, and caramel; Coffee Lovers Only, coffee ice cream with roasted almonds, health bar, and caramel; the Oreo Overload, sweet cream ice cream with chocolate chips, double Oreo cookies, and fudge; and a whole lot more.

Choosing which to order can be rather overwhelming for first-time diners. But samples are offered to narrow down your choices.

“Everyone who enters that door is treated as family,” noted McGill. “And smiling is contagious around here simply because we’re in the business of ‘making people happy.’”

At Cold Stone Creamery, you create your own happiness — in a cup or a cone! Unlike other ice cream parlors that provide customers with predictable and boring flavors, Cold Stone Creamery offers millions of delish ice cream combinations!

“At Cold Stone, we start off with a base of 20 ice cream flavors and a hundred mix-ins — candies, cookies, fruits, and nuts — available. Just choose the (ice cream) base, and throw in all the mix-ins you want to create the perfect cup,” said McGill.

Cold Stone’s name comes from the frozen granite stone used to mix “mix-ins” into various flavors of ice cream. The great thing about this concept is that you can go to Cold Stone Creamery as often as you like and not worry about taste fatigue. The ice cream possibilities are endless.

In fact, the popularity of Cold Stone Creamery inspired a Harvard Graduate School student to conduct a study to find out how many flavor combinations a customer would get when he/she dines at Cold Stone Creamery. The result? A whopping 11.5 million combos in its entire line!

“Well, we calculated that if you started eating Cold Stone ice cream from the day you were born and live until the ripe age of 90 years old, it would take 421 lifetimes — granted you eat two flavors a day — to taste them all!” noted McGill.

Cold Stone ice cream is made of the finest and freshest ingredients. The cream is luscious and, compared to other brands, the flavor is more defined. For instance, the Peanut Butter Cup Perfection I ordered was loaded with chunks of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, while the Strawberry Blonde my photographer fancied had luscious, fresh strawberries with strawberry swirls.

There are three sizes to choose from: Like It, Love It, and Gotta Have It!

Seen enjoying their Cold Stone ice cream were US Embassy Economic Counselor Joel Ehrendreich, Atty. Dong Puno and family, St. Luke’s chairman Robert Kuan, PSE president Hans Sicat, Alaska Milk chairman Fred Uytengsu, Jollibee’s Grace Tan Caktiong, CITEM executive director Rosvi Gaetos, Singapore Airlines’ Rita Dy, Jim and Missy Ayala, Johnlu and Marilou Koa, Cats Motors’ Grace Ang, Suysing’s Tina Tan, celebrity chef Jessie Sincioco, Unilab’s Cynthia Tan, Dr. Elton and Carolyne Tan Yu, Francis Lumen, Mary Anne Ojeda, Angeli Valenciano, Anthony and Maricel Pangilinan and Family, Saksi’s Vicky Morales, STAR president and CEO Miguel and Milette Belmonte, Bob Zozobrado, Pepper Teehankee, Philip Cu-Unjieng, Babe Romualdez, Rose Libongco, basketball star and actor/comedian Benjie Paras and family, Carlo Orosa, Audie Gemora, Alyanna Martinez, Valerie Bariou Bondoc, singer and music producer DJ Marcus and Amber, RJ Ledesma and wife Vanessa, Rima Ostwani, Luis Alandy, Spongecola’s Yael Yuzon, plus many more ice cream lovers.

“At Cold Stone Creamery, we deliver ice cream concoctions the way our customers want it!” added McGill.

In addition to customizing your own creation, Cold Stone Creamery also serves a variety of signature creations in smoothie, cake, and shake form.

“Our country’s warm climate makes ice cream a favorite product all year round and Cold Stone Creamery will elevate this indulgence into a delectable art form,” said Yuki Rosenfeld of Arizona Ice Cream Corporation, the franchise holder in the Philippines. “Cold Stone Creamery promotes and encourages a fun and friendly experience through personalized creations. We are proud and privileged to develop the brand in the Philippines.”

Operating over 1,400 stores worldwide — in the US, Japan, Korea, Puerto Rico, and now the Philippines — this year marks the 25th year of Cold Stone Creamery.

Well, nothing much has changed.

“Making the best ice cream for the world to enjoy remains our passion, and delivering happiness is our expertise,” enthused McGill.

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Cold Stone Creamery is now open at its first branch in Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, with telephone number 846-0460, and soon to open in Mall of Asia.

Visit www.coldstonecreamery.com for more details, or like www.facebook.com/coldstoneph.