By LISA  JENNINGS

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LOS ANGELES (May  11, 2009 ) —With the summer months just around the corner, frozen-yogurt purveyors are in a heated race to bring their treats to new markets in time to enjoy the seasonal jump in sales.

In recent weeks, both 73-unit Pinkberry and 48-unit Red Mango, two pioneers in the tart-treat category, have ramped up franchising efforts as they work to beat each other to new locales. Not far behind, 42-unit Yogurt-land is nipping at their heels with ambitious plans.

Earlier this month Pinkberry announced plans to break into new markets, aided in part by a $9 million infusion from investors.

After years of concentrating on growth in Southern California and New York, Pinkberry earlier this month announced plans to bust into new markets in a big way with both international and domestic expansion—aided in part by a new $9 million infusion from investors.

The Los Angeles-based frozen yogurt chain May 1 announced $9 million in new funding, which company officials said comes from both current and new investors, though the source was not identified. It is the first known significant funding since 2007, when the privately held company received $27.5 million from private-equity firm Maveron LLC, which was co-founded by Starbucks Corp. chairman Howard Schultz.

“Raising capital and forming partnerships of this caliber in the face of a tough economy are significant milestones,” said Ron Graves, Pinkberry’s chief executive, in a statement. “Our current, as well as new, investors have reiterated their confidence in Pinkberry and provided funding that will continue to fuel our growth.”

Red Mango, based in Sherman Oaks, Calif., recently began a franchise campaign with the goal of opening 550 locations over the next five years.

Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based Red Mango, Pinkberry’s archrival, also is poised for growth. The company recently launched an aggressive franchise push with the goal of opening 550 locations over the next five years. And the 42-unit self-serve Yogurtland chain, based in Anaheim, Calif., is projecting it will more than double its unit count before the end of 2009.

News of expansion for the yogurt category comes at a time when the segment appears to be contracting in Los Angeles, a city that some say has become over-saturated by the proliferation of fro-yo concepts since Pinkberry opened in 2005.

A Pinkberry location closed in the Westwood neighborhood near UCLA, the third to shutter in recent months. The location, however, is being taken over by a Yogurt-land franchisee who is planning to open that chain’s 43rd unit there.

Graves declined to comment on the closure, but the company announced plans for its first foray overseas.

Pinkberry has partnered with M.H. Alshaya Co. to open 35 stores in nine countries in the Middle East, the first of the 73-unit chain’s locations to open outside the United States.

Alshaya is a franchise retail operator of more than 45 retail brands throughout the Middle East, including restaurant concepts such as Starbucks, Le Pain Quotidien, Pizza Rustica and Noodle Factory.

By LISA  JENNINGS

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Mohammad Alshaya, the Alshaya group’s executive chairman, said: “Alshaya is proud to be Pinkberry’s first partner to take the brand internationally. We think the product, the brand and the management team are exceptional, and we’re looking forward to a very successful partnership.”

At the same time, Pinkberry is making an aggressive push into new markets with several domestic partnerships.

The chain has signed an agreement with HMSHost, based in Bethesda, Md., to open locations in airports across the country. The first airport location is planned for Terminal 1 within Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, in late summer, said Susan Goyette, a spokeswoman for HMSHost.

Goyette said the company would not reveal the number of Pinkberry locations planned or their locations for competitive reasons.

The deal marks HMSHost’s first agreement with operators of what Goyette described as “the new style of frozen yogurt,” referring to Pinkberry’s tart flavors. She noted, however, that HMSHost operates some of long-time frozen yogurt maker TCBY’s airport locations, which offer more traditional frozen yogurt flavors.

Pinkberry officials said they also plan to open more locations in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas, with at least 30 franchised locations planned there. The company would not reveal the franchise partners.

Pinkberry earlier this month announced plans to expand beyond Southern California and New York.

The first Pinkberry outside of Southern California or New York was a company-owned unit that opened in January in San Jose’s Santana Row.

Meanwhile, fro-yo competitors have been quick to stake claims in new markets where the Pinkberry brand has not penetrated.

Launched two years ago, Red Mango, the second largest tart frozen-yogurt chain, currently includes units in California, New York, Washington, Illinois, Hawaii, New Jersey, Nevada and Utah, and this year will move into Texas, where the company’s franchise arm is based. About 40 new locations are scheduled to open in 2009 in various states, almost all outside the Los Angeles area.

Like Pinkberry, Red Mango also received a significant investment with the buy-in of a private-equity firm. Last year, the company received $12 million from CIC Partners, a group that included former Taco Bell Corp. chairman John Antioco, an industry veteran.

Also like Pinkberry, however, Red Mango and other fro-yo operators have shuttered locations in the Los Angeles area, including four for Red Mango in recent months, which the company blamed on poor real estate decisions.

In hot pursuit is Yogurtland, a chain launched in 2004 that features self-serve yogurt priced at 30 cents per ounce. Yogurtland now operates in California, Arizona, Texas and Hawaii and the company is looking at international expansion, said Alexis Eldridge, Yogurtland spokeswoman.

Unlike Pinkberry and Red Mango, which offer only a small number of flavors, Yogurtland offers 16 flavors, including the tart offerings and traditional yogurt more similar to that of TCBY.

Almost entirely franchised, the Yogurtland chain is expected to surpass 100 units before the end of the year, said Eldridge, but the growth will come from filling out existing markets.—ljenning@nrn.com