Dive Brief:
- GoTo Foods is debuting its first original concept, the Cinnabon Swirl, a co-branded Cinnabon and Carvel outlet, the company announced Tuesday.
- The first Cinnabon Swirl will open on May 9 in Hillsboro, Oregon, according to a statement emailed to Restaurant Dive.
- The new concept has its own loyalty program, Swirl Rewards, which will offer consumers “exclusive offers, new flavor announcements, and more.”
Dive Insight:
The concept is not GoTo’s first foray into co-branding — the company has incorporated multi-brand restaurants into its development strategy since it was Focus Brands. But Cinnabon Swirl’s loyalty program indicates that GoTo wants the concept to have a brand identity of its own, despite serving the products of two extant brands.
According to the statement, Swirl’s “innovative and exclusive menu items swirl the best of Cinnabon and Carvel together.”
It’s not clear what precisely makes Swirl a new concept, as opposed to a co-branded store, though Cinnabon’s franchise disclosure document offers some hints. Cinnabon offers six different store concepts as franchises: three that are single-branded Cinnabon locations with varying degrees of complexity; one that’s co-branded with Auntie Anne’s; and two that are co-branded with Carvel.
The first Carvel option, called “Carvel Co-Branded Bakery,” sells Cinnabon products “in conjunction with those products authorized to be sold under the Carvel franchise system.”
The second, called Swirl, uses the Swirl brand trademark and “offers a unique menu that offers traditional Carvel and Cinnabon products in addition to hybrid menu items that combine products and ingredients from both brands,” according to the FDD.
Cinnabon’s store system has been growing recently, according to its FDD, rising from 935 total units at the start of 2022 to 1,030 at the end of 2024. Carvel’s growth over the same time period has been more modest, with unit count rising from 327 to 336 over that same period, according to its FDD.
Creating an original concept out of two existing brands could capitalize on the resonances between their menus; both are dessert concepts, though each is targeted towards a different daypart. Ice cream is seasonal, and hot baked goods likewise have limited appeal based on the weather, meaning the brands complement each other’s shortcomings. It’s possible that a concept that synthesizes the two brands will have a more even cash flow across the course of a calendar year.
GoTo is not alone in trying to join brands that serve different dayparts or calendar occasions. Dine Brands’ effort to revive Applebee’s fortune depends in some measure on its ability to develop co-branded units with IHOP. Fat Brands, too, is developing co-branded ice cream and baked goods locations.
