October 06, 2025

Under the Radar: The ice-cream brand loved by Warren Buffett, Mark Cuban – What should we know about Dairy Queen’s aggressive international expansion plans?

26 minutes

It’s all about ice-cream and fast food today as we turn the spotlight on one of America’s most beloved brands. This brand is also well-loved by billionaires, more notably value investor Warren Buffett and Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban.

You might have by now guessed that I am talking about International Dairy Queen, a company known globally for its soft-serve treats like the Blizzard and the Dilly Bar.

Founded in 1940, International Dairy Queen or the parent company of American Dairy Queen Corporation and Dairy Queen Canada has grown to a global quick service restaurant player.

The firm is also famously known as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, having been acquired in 1998.

Currently, the firm develops, licenses and services a system of over 7,700 Dairy Queen restaurants over 20 countries. But the firm doesn’t seem to stop there and appears to be on a charm offensive to expand internationally.

For one thing, the firm had in 2022, through American Dairy Queen Corporation and private equity firm FountainVest Partners, unveiled plans to open up 600 Dairy Queen restaurants in China by the end of the decade.

Then came July 2024, when International Dairy Queen teamed up with FountainVest Partner’s franchise ownership company CFB Group to open what’s said then to be the first DQ Blizzard & Burgers restaurant in Shanghai in Asia.

So what was the rationale behind the firm’s aggressive expansion moves? And how far will the company’s international business bolster sales as global trade tensions and tariffs weigh on consumption in the US?

Beyond international expansion, International Dairy Queen is also said to be placing a stronger emphasis on hot food, versus the dessert treats it was once famous for. But why is this the case?

On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Dr. Brandon Guthrie, Director of International Development, Dairy Queen.

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By MONEY FM 89.3