Cold Stone Tim Horton combo tackle Manhattan.

Cold Stone Creamery is extending its co-branding campaign with the popular Canadian coffee-and-doughnut shop chain Tim Hortons to New York City. Three of the existing Cold Stone shops in Manhattan will become co-branded shops, including Cold Stone's flagship store in Times Square. The move is part of a co-branding strategy announced in March 2009, which has already involved the rebranding of 40 restaurants across North America. Kevin Blackwell, chairman and CEO of Kahal Corp., the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, explained that combining the new stores with existing Cold Stone locations will offer customers dining choices throughout the day. "The addition of Tim Hortons allows us to offer our customers even more fresh and delicious options morning, noon and night," said Blackwell in a statement. "The conversion of our flagship store to a Tim Hortons-Cold Stone co-brand represents the continued success of the co-branding initiative."

David Clanachan, chief operations officer for U.S. and international for Tim Hortons Inc., said in a statement, "The ongoing co-branding program with Cold Stone Creamery is a good way to test the market. We're encouraged by the success of existing co-branded test locations in the U.S. and Canada and look forward to extending the Tim Hortons commitment to freshness, quality and affordability to New Yorkers."

The expressed aim for the companies in co-branding is to leverage complementary traffic patterns and creating cost efficient opportunities for further growth of both brands. Cold Stone customer traffic and sales are predominantly in the evening market while Tim Hortons creates a substantial portion of its traffic and sales in the morning and lunch dayparts.

Tim Hortons has 3,500 locations, of which 500 are in the U.S. Cold Stone operates more than 1,450 locations in ii countries worldwide. The co-branding plan called for existing Cold Stone Creamery and Tim Hortons locations in Michigan, Western New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Maine, and Connecticut to be identified and reconfigured to offer both brand concepts.

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