Cold Stone Aims to be Hip in Japan

Ice Cream Chain Uses Word of Mouth as Part of Bid for an Urban Image

As seen in the Wall Street Journal December 14th, 2006

TOKYO - Cold Stone Creamery, known as the provider of desserts to the masses in shopping malls across the U.S., is trying to convey a different image in Japan:  ice creamery to the ultra cool.

As the U.S. ice cream franchiser pushes into Asia, it is cultivating a following of young urbanites who the company hopes will help position its mix-and-match ice cream as fashionable.  Shunning traditional advertising, Cold Stone is giving out samples in upscale shopping areas and trying to get trendsetting young women to spread the word about its desserts.  It is snatching up posh retail space near Louis Vuitton and Versace stores and sponsoring fashion shows.

In Japan where Cold Stone has eight stores, the company is targeting customers like 17-year old Mii Aoki.  She waited in line for an hour at the Cold Stone in Tokyo's posh Roppongi Hills shopping center, along with a crowd of 20-somethings weighed down with shopping bags.  "It just has this image that made me want to try it," said Ms. Aoki

Cold Stone is hoping to generate a consumer base among edgy high school students as well as fashion-conscious "office ladies" – as many young, single, female professionals are known.  These "influencers" hold enormous sway in Japan and often make or break new products.  What's more, because the Japanese are famously discerning, trends from food to fashion that are considered cool here quickly spread to other parts of Asia.

The events Cold Stone has sponsored in Japan, including a fashion show for young women called the Tokyo Girls Collection, have attracted the local media, helping to boost a fashion-forward image.  One TV program mentioned Cold Stone as the best new dessert of the summer.  Fashion magazines staged photo shoots at the store.

Young Japanese consumers have been notoriously finicky when it comes to food fads, so there is always the risk that they will move on to the next thing.  But Cold Stone has high ambitions of continuing to expand throughout Japan and the rest of Asia.

And just like employees in the U.S., Japanese workers chant songs like "Hi Ho, Hi Ho!  It's Off to Work We Go!" – as they prepare customers' orders.