Australian cookie franchise Mrs Fields has joined forces with New Zealand Natural Ice Cream to develop co-branded stores in Australia.

Andrew Benefield, managing director of Mrs Fields, said the product synergies between the two brands made it a logical partnership.

"I believe that co-branded outlets still need to have an offer that makes sense to consumers. Cookies and ice cream are a natural fit," he said. "There are lots of complementary products we can develop such as ice cream sandwiches, affagatos and brownie sundaes."

The new combined operations would also be instrumental in helping the franchisee smooth the daily and seasonal sales curve, he suggested.

"Ice cream is obviously a popular item in summer as are cookies in winter. However they are also complementary during the course of a single day as coffee and cookies are strong in mornings, and ice creams and smoothies are big in the afternoon. Both have a very similar frozen goods supply chain, making it an easy fit into rear of house operations."