Atlanta-based ice cream cake company expansion includes Maryland

<p>Carvel currently sells its ice cream cakes in Maryland at a store in Fullerton and in grocery stores, but the Atlanta-based company plans 15 new stores in the state in the coming years.</p><p>During the 1990s, the company focused on distributing through supermarkets and club stores but, under new ownership since 2001, it is starting to spread franchises into markets beyond the Northeast.</p><p>New stores will feature self-serve sprinkle towers, cake-making stations and interactive toys for children.</p><p>Nationwide, the company has 480 franchise locations and 7,000 food-service locations. It plans 85 more franchises by the end of this year.</p><p>Franchise growth is common with newer companies, not older ice cream names like 70-year-old Carvel, said Lynda Utterback, executive director of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association.</p><p>Carvel is depending on the popularity of soft-serve ice cream and a family oriented demographic to drive its new stores, said Ray Torres, the company's regional vice president for franchise development.</p><p>Torres declined to release sales data. According to the Hoovers' Web site, Carvel's 2003 sales totaled $73 million.</p>