The LTO Lineup

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is launching four limited-time offers at its 600-plus locations starting Wednesday, Nov. 4, with the promotional window running through Tuesday, Jan. 5. Three of the four items are co-branded with The Hershey Company, marking a formal licensing partnership for the Wichita-based fast-casual chain.

The frozen custard additions are: a Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie Concrete blending vanilla custard with cookie dough and REESE'S Peanut Butter Sauce finished with HERSHEY'S Chocolate Chips; a HEATH Caramel Cheesecake Concrete layering double HEATH Toffee, caramel and cheesecake topped with cinnamon streusel; and a HERSHEY'S Snowfall Sundae built on vanilla custard with chocolate sauce, marshmallow sauce and chocolate chips under whipped cream. On the savory side, the French Onion Steakburger — two steakburger patties, melted Swiss, grilled and crispy onions, and a French Onion aioli on a toasted bun — returns after a previous limited run that generated strong guest demand.

Co-Brand Mechanics

Pairing a recognized confectionery name with a chain's dispensed-dessert program is a proven traffic driver in fast-casual and quick-service. For a frozen custard specialist like Freddy's, branded ingredient callouts give operators and franchisees a credible upsell story at the point of order. Rick Petralia, Executive Chef and VP of Training & Innovation at Freddy's, called the lineup a way to layer "classic, decadent flavors" onto the chain's existing custard platform while giving the French Onion Steakburger's fan base a seasonal reason to return.

The Hershey partnership also includes a promotional tie-in: guests who visit during the LTO window receive a buy-two-get-two offer on tickets to the Hershey theatrical film releasing Nov. 25, adding a loyalty-adjacent traffic incentive without a formal points-based mechanism.

Channel & Operator Context

All four items are available through drive-thru, dine-in, and pickup or delivery via the Freddy's mobile app — channels that align with how fast-casual chains increasingly route incremental check growth. For c-store operators tracking QSR-at-cstore competition in foodservice, Freddy's scale at 600-plus units makes it a benchmark for limited-time foodservice program execution in the broader away-from-home eating market.

Co-branded dessert and snack programs have gained traction across convenience and foodservice channels as operators look for name-recognition shortcuts to justify premium price points on dispensed beverages and frozen treats. Freddy's move with Hershey fits that pattern, attaching nationally known confectionery SKUs to a made-to-order custard format that single-store operators and QSR competitors alike struggle to replicate at scale.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.