Move over Pinkberry and Red Mango. And, well, the countless other frozen-yogurt brands that are racing to capture the fro-yo flag in the vast space between Los Angeles and New York.
A new player is gaining ground.
Actually, these folks are veterans of the fro-yo wars, going back to 1986, when founding brothers Aaron and Michael Serruya opened the first Yogen Früz in Toronto.
Now with close to 1,300 units worldwide, Yogen Früz features probiotic-rich yogurt that tastes like yogurt: a little tart. Back in 1986, Aaron Serruya, now president and chief executive of the brand, thought Americans wouldn’t like that style of yogurt. So the brothers cast their eyes abroad.
The chain grew rapidly around the globe, and, in 1994, went public. The company, then under CoolBrands International, acquired several other frozen-treat brands and branched out into licensed products and distribution.
But by 1999, the board decided to divest all assets and Serruya bought back his “baby,” Yogen Früz, along with sister brands I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt, or ICBY, Swensen’s, Golden Swirl, Bresler’s and Ice Cream Churn.
CoolBrands became a holding company run by brother Michael, which recently agreed to a $15.45 million investment in Jamba Juice parent Jamba Inc.
Meanwhile, Americans came to love yogurt. Serruya said it was finally time to bring Yogen Früz to the United States.
The first U.S. store opened last year in Chicago, and now 21 locations have opened in cities such as Washington, D.C., Miami, Beverly Hills, Calif., and San Francisco. Units are planned in Texas, Georgia, South Carolina and Hawaii, he said, and the goal is to open 50 to 100 franchises a year for the next five years.
As for the other brands, Serruya is rebranding 27-unit Swensen’s, with a new prototype set to open at the Mall of America in September. The 15-unit ICBY brand has become the company’s self-serve alternative. The 11 Golden Swirl units will be converted to ICBYs, and the five Bresler’s and 78 Ice Cream Churn stores will become Swensen’s.
Serruya said the current yogurt craze is coming in even faster than the one two decades ago, but this time his company is debt-free and well-financed. Sadly, however, in the current economy franchisees and yogurt-loving consumers may not be able to say the same. — [email protected]
