The Partnership
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is deploying a branded-ingredient co-marketing playbook for its winter limited-time-offer window, inking a partnership with The Hershey Company to introduce three frozen custard items alongside the return of its French Onion Steakburger. The lineup goes live at participating locations nationwide on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, and runs through Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2027 — a nine-week promotional period timed to the holiday dining surge.
The Hershey collaboration puts recognizable consumer brands directly into Freddy's custard program, a strategy increasingly common among fast-casual chains seeking to reduce new-product trial friction. The three items are: a Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie Concrete (vanilla frozen custard blended with cookie dough and REESE'S Peanut Butter Sauce, topped with HERSHEY'S Chocolate Chips); a HEATH Caramel Cheesecake Concrete (vanilla custard blended with a double portion of HEATH Toffee, caramel sauce and cheesecake, finished with whipped cream and cinnamon streusel); and a HERSHEY'S Snowfall Sundae (vanilla custard topped with HERSHEY'S Chocolate Sauce, marshmallow sauce and chocolate chips, crowned with whipped cream and a cherry).
The Savory Return
The French Onion Steakburger — two steakburger patties with melted Swiss cheese, grilled onions, crispy onions and a French Onion aioli on a toasted bun — is back after a prior run generated enough guest demand to warrant a seasonal encore. Balancing a fan-favorite savory LTO against three sweet co-branded items gives the chain a dual-track promotional story that can drive traffic from both burger-first and dessert-first guests, a differentiation that underpins Freddy's positioning within the fast-casual burger segment.
"These HERSHEY'S-inspired treats offer fresh takes on the timeless combinations of chocolate, peanut butter and caramel, while the return of our French Onion Steakburger gives guests the opportunity to enjoy a savory fan favorite," said Rick Petralia, Executive Chef and VP of Training & Innovation at Freddy's.
Channel and Promotional Mechanics
The LTOs will be available through drive-thru, dine-in, and pickup or delivery via the Freddy's mobile app — a channel mix that reflects the chain's investment in digital ordering infrastructure across its more than 600 locations in the United States and Canada. Freddy's is layering a film-marketing cross-promotion onto the window: guests who visit during the promotional period receive a buy-two-get-two-free ticket offer for Hershey, a feature film releasing in theaters Nov. 25, 2026. Such entertainment tie-ins have become a measurable traffic tool for quick-service and fast-casual operators looking to extend reach beyond traditional food-media channels.
The Wichita-based franchise concept, founded in 2002, holds a No. 6 ranking on Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers + Shakers and a No. 85 position on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500. Co-branded ingredient partnerships like this one are consistent with how operators at Freddy's scale seek to reduce menu development costs while leveraging the awareness equity of established CPG names — a dynamic explored in depth in recent foodservice co-branding trend coverage.
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.
