The New Lineup
Jeremiah's Italian Ice is entering the holiday dessert window with a five-item limited-time offering running November 1 through December 31 at participating locations across its 175-plus-unit footprint. The centerpiece is Hot Chocolate Ice, a brand-new flavor debuting exclusively within the collection and serving as the base for four of the five builds.
The Holiday Flavorites Collection layers that Hot Chocolate Ice with Vanilla Soft Ice Cream, Mini Marshmallows and Crushed Peppermint Candies in various combinations. The Frozen Hot Chocolate Flavorite pairs the new base with soft serve and marshmallows; the Peppermint Bark Flavorite swaps in crushed peppermint; and the Candy Cane Hot Chocolate Flavorite stacks all three toppings together. A Peppermint Bark Jelati Cake — the brand's sliceable layered format — rounds out the hot-chocolate-forward builds. A Peppermint Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich, featuring peppermint ice cream between Oreo cookies, completes the five-item roster.
Why It Matters
Limited-time offerings have become one of the primary traffic drivers in the broader frozen-treat and foodservice segment, particularly during Q4 when frozen-dessert chains historically face softer demand from cold weather. Seasonal menus with familiar flavor cues — hot cocoa, peppermint bark, candy cane — give operators a reason to pull lapsed guests back into the store and drive incremental check growth through bundled or shareable formats like the Jelati Cake.
For a franchise system ranked No. 211 on Entrepreneur's 2026 Franchise 500 and cited by Technomic among the top 500 U.S. chain restaurants, a tightly themed LTO also reinforces brand identity at the unit level. Michael Keller, CEO of Jeremiah's Italian Ice, framed the release around experience: "Our Holiday Flavorites give guests a fun, festive way to celebrate the season while enjoying the bold flavors and frozen treats that make Jeremiah's unique."
Growth Context
The Orlando-based chain, founded in 1996 and franchising since 2019, now operates or has in development more than 175 locations concentrated in the Sun Belt — Florida, Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee. That southern-state footprint matters for a frozen-treat concept: even in November and December, ambient temperatures in those markets support dessert traffic in ways that colder regions do not, making the holiday LTO a more viable same-store sales lever than it might be for a northern-heavy system.
For c-store and convenience-adjacent foodservice operators watching the frozen-dessert category, Jeremiah's seasonal push illustrates the growing competitive pressure from fast-casual and QSR-adjacent concepts that now compete for the same impulsive, low-consideration treat purchase once dominated by the forecourt fountain and roller-grill set. The Holiday Flavorites Collection is available while supplies last through December 31.
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.
