Cold Stone Creamery was founded by Susan and Donald Sutherland in 1988.  They founded their first store in Tempe, Arizona and the headquarters stayed there until 1997 when they moved their headquarters to Scottsdale, Arizona.  The original store is still in operation and they have kept the same model that they started with.  The first franchise store was opened in Tucson in 1995 and was soon followed by another store in Camarillo, California.  There are nearly 1,400 franchises in operation now and they are known as the sixth best-selling brand of ice cream in the United States.  They also operate stores in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Puerto Rico, China, Guam, Mexico, and many other countries.  Cold Stone Creamery merged with Kahala Corp in May of 2007 and in 2009 they came to an agreement with Tim Hortons in Canada to open 100 co-branded stores in the United States.

Cold Stone Creamery is known for the many ice cream creations they serve in three different sizes: Like it, Love it, and Gotta Have it.  These are 5 ounces, 8 ounces, and 12 ounces in size and they also offer a 3 ounce kids size as well.  They also serve different shakes and smoothies and all their ice cream is made in house using natural ingredients.  Cold Stone Creamery offers more than just ice cream in a bowl and you can get it in a Waffle cone or regular cone as well.  They also have dipped waffle bowls, ice cream cakes, cupcakes, cookie sandwiches, and pies.

Many Cold Stone Creamery franchises have been opened and they are still looking for more interested owners.  They were named as the fastest growing company by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2006 and are looking for more people to open stores.  The initial franchise fee is $42,000 and the total investment is between $294,250 and $438,850.  This includes money for training, real estate, signage, equipment, and more.