The LTO Lineup
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is adding four limited-time menu items starting Nov. 4, leaning on a co-branding partnership with The Hershey Company to anchor its Q4 daypart push. The promotional window runs through Jan. 5, covering the full holiday stretch when fast-casual traffic typically softens and operators rely heavily on seasonal LTOs to sustain check averages.
The three frozen custard offerings are the Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie Concrete — vanilla custard blended with cookie dough and REESE'S Peanut Butter Sauce, finished with HERSHEY'S Chocolate Chips — the HEATH Caramel Cheesecake Concrete, and the HERSHEY'S Snowfall Sundae, a chocolate-sauce-and-marshmallow build topped with whipped cream and a cherry. On the savory side, the returning French Onion Steakburger layers two steakburger patties with Swiss cheese, grilled onions, crispy onions, and a French Onion aioli on a toasted bun — a format that drew strong guest demand during its previous run.
Brand Partnership Mechanics
The Hershey tie-in extends beyond product formulation. Guests who visit a participating Freddy's location during the promotional period receive a buy-two-get-two-free ticket offer for Hershey, a theatrical release set for Nov. 25. The cross-promotion gives Freddy's drive-thru and in-restaurant transactions a conversion hook during the pre-holiday period, while Hershey gains foodservice visibility across Freddy's 600-plus locations in the U.S. and Canada. All four LTOs are available via drive-thru, dine-in, and off-premise channels through the Freddy's mobile app.
For fast-casual operators, ingredient co-branding with a recognized confectionery name is a proven tactic for accelerating limited-time offer trial without heavy media spend. Embedded brand equity in the ingredient — REESE'S, HEATH, HERSHEY'S — allows the chain to communicate flavor cues quickly at the point of sale, particularly relevant in a drive-thru-heavy mix where menu board dwell time is constrained.
Competitive Context
Freddy's sits in the upper tier of the fast-casual burger segment, ranked No. 6 on Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers + Shakers and No. 60 on Technomic's Top 500. At more than 600 units, the brand occupies a scale tier where franchisee-level marketing support and systemwide LTO execution become increasingly important levers for same-store sales momentum. The holiday-season custard push also reinforces the chain's positioning as a dual-platform concept — steakburgers and premium frozen desserts — differentiating it from single-format QSR burger competitors.
Rick Petralia, Executive Chef and VP of Training & Innovation at Freddy's, framed the lineup as a balance of novelty and familiarity: "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." The dual-track approach — new dessert SKUs plus a returning entrée — is a low-risk LTO architecture that limits supply chain complexity while broadening trial occasions across dayparts.
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.
