Cinnabon's Sweet Surge: 30 Percent U.S. Growth

A 30 Percent Surge

Cinnabon is racing out of the mall and into just about every channel that sells coffee and a craveable snack. The brand opened 348 franchise locations last year, up from 91 in 2024 and 53 in 2023, producing a net increase of 308 units despite closures. By December 31, 2025, the chain counted 1,338 U.S. stores, a 30 percent year-over-year jump. Leadership projects another 95 openings in the current fiscal year, and its most recent franchise disclosure document lists 359 signed agreements yet to open.

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Protecting The Brand's Soul

Urvi Patel, senior vice president of brands at GoTo Foods and brand president for Cinnabon, has been explicit about protecting the brand’s soul while widening its reach. Her connection is personal. At age eight she asked her mother to throw her birthday party at T.J. Cinnamons, the precursor to today’s network. “I was born with this sweet tooth,” she said.

The playbook has held steady on product identity while moving beyond malls and airports into convenience stores, travel centers and dual-branded standalone locations with Carvel, Auntie Anne’s and Jamba. That shift lines up with a convenience channel where foodservice and merchandise sales at U.S. convenience stores reached $341.2 billion in 2025, a 1.7 percent increase over 2024 and the 23rd consecutive year of inside-sales growth, with foodservice accounting for 28.5 percent of in-store sales.

Formats That Fit The Venue

The mechanics behind the rollout are pragmatic. Much of the western expansion has flowed through travel-center partnerships. At Maverik sites, franchisees can build full-service Cinnabon bakeries or run an express bakery that bakes a limited selection on-site. Pilot Travel Centers, the largest partner with over 170 locations, carries a modified mall bakery menu built around the signature oversized roll, six-packs designed for the road and seasonal roll variants topped with Hershey’s candies or Oreo. Dual-branded standalone stores with Carvel, Auntie Anne’s and Jamba widen dayparts and co-marketing opportunities. These variations let owners right-size capital and labor to the venue, while national delivery platforms push the brand beyond the fuel forecourt.

Operators See Strong Demand

On-the-ground operators say the demand is there. “We haven’t seen a slowdown in any of our franchise engagement or our development opportunities,” Patel said. Gemma Patterson, senior director of restaurant relations at Pilot Travel Centers, called pairing Cinnabon with coffee partners in limited-time offers “a great opportunity to [partner] two great brands,” and said Cinnabon ranks among Pilot’s top sellers in combination orders. Kevin Bush, chief strategy officer and executive chairman at Fresh Dining Concepts, whose Cinnabon count rose from 25 to 47 units in 2025, described mall performance as strong and added, “We really love our mall snack business,” pointing to a portfolio that mixes malls and travel centers for balance.

A Sizable Pipeline, Western Gains

The pipeline behind that confidence is sizable. Cinnabon’s latest franchise disclosure document cites 359 signed agreements awaiting build-out and forecasts 95 openings during the current fiscal year. From 2023 through 2025, the brand’s net unit count rose from 979 to 1,338, with openings outpacing closures by more than six to one last year. Growth has been most pronounced in the West. Utah added 120 bakeries, Idaho 61, Nevada 27 and Washington 17.

Traffic And Treats Endure

Wider traffic trends are also working in the brand’s favor. Industry groups report in-store foodservice contributed 38.9 percent of gross profit in 2025, the highest share in the channel’s history. Enclosed malls are not the drag they once were either. Visits to enclosed malls grew nearly 2 percent in the first half of 2025 year-over-year, a tailwind for snack concepts that thrive on impulse. On the consumer health front, one in eight adults now uses GLP-1 medications, yet National Restaurant Association research shows these users maintain above-average restaurant usage, a sign that the desire for treats persists.

Watching The Risks

There are real unknowns. A 2026 PwC survey found that 21 percent of U.S. households now include a current GLP-1 user, up from 9 percent in early 2025, and many operators are watching for shifts toward smaller portions or protein-forward choices. As the 359 signed agreements move toward opening, market saturation and local competition could affect conversion rates. Mall foot traffic may be rising on average, but performance varies by region and property class, which puts a premium on disciplined site selection.

Nostalgia, Innovation, And Reach

For now, the brand’s mix of nostalgia and product innovation gives it room to maneuver. Bite-sized BonBites, CinnaSweeties and enhanced beverage programs create on-the-go and shareable occasions, while a channel-agnostic approach across travel centers, convenience, malls and standalone units spreads risk and expands reach. If leadership keeps tuning formats to the venue and watching health trends and local market conditions, the forecast of 95 new openings and a 359-unit pipeline looks less like a sugar rush and more like sustained momentum.