Kono USA – the franchisor that introduced the popular pizza-in-a-cone concept to the United States – announces a partnership with Ghirardelli that will add four exclusive treat cones to its menu.
The dessert line, part of the "Made With Ghirardelli" program, is available at all "The Original" Kono Pizza and Kono-To-Go franchise locations.
The new treat cones - each original recipe created by the chefs at Kono USA and approved by Ghirardelli - include:
Triple Chocolate made with Ghirardelli chocolate and graham cracker crumbs
Caramel Nut Satisfaction made with Ghirardelli chocolate and caramel and chopped peanuts
Coco-Nutty Delight made with Ghirardelli chocolate, shredded coconut and sliced almonds
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake made with cheesecake, Ghirardelli white chocolate sauce and raspberry pie filling
Currently, "The Original" Kono Pizza and Kono-To-Go locations offer customizable breakfast, deli, pizza and dessert cones, all filled with fresh, quality ingredients inspired by original Italian recipes and baked in just three minutes in the brand's proprietary oven.
"Ghirardelli's quality products and standard of excellence perfectly align with our own," says Carlo Ruggiero, co-founder of Kono USA. "Our customers get excited every time we offer a new kind of cone, but the ''Made With Ghirardelli'' line is going to put them over the top."
Kono USA co-founder David Ragosa noted that the new line of dessert cones are a great way to introduce the company's new tagline, "Fresh Eats, Treats & Sweets" as the brand continues to grow. In fact, the company has more than 40 franchise locations in various stages of development by the end of the first fiscal quarter in 2016.
"Our pizza cones are a core product and always will be," Ragosa noted. "But as we continue to expand our menu, we are becoming more of a one-stop shop for either a meal during any part of the day, a perfect snack between meals, or a treat to satisfy a sweet tooth. The new treat cones in our ''Made With Ghirardelli'' line are a sweet addition to our menu."
In addition to a corporate-owned kiosk location in the Newport Centre Mall in N.J., the first two Kono Pizza franchised kiosks opened in 2015, and additional multi-unit deals were signed in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Atlanta and Dallas with locations in various stages of development. The first two Kono To-Go locations are slated to open in mid-April in Dallas and Baltimore.
Chris Eklem, Vice President for the Professional Products Division at Ghirardelli, added, "The Ghirardelli Brand has earned a premium image by offering the highest quality chocolates for over 150 years. We are happy to work closely with Kono Pizza to enhance their already high quality offerings with our premium chocolate and caramel."