November 21, 2009
QSRmagazine.com : restaurant articles : industry news
[2009-11-04] Beautiful Brands International (BBI) announced an agreement to open two FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafés near the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and in Mooresville, North Carolina. The agreement marks the first FreshBerry cafes slated to open in North Carolina.
"We're excited about entering this market and building on a pattern of success we've demonstrated globally," says David Rutkauskas, Beautiful Brands founder, president, and CEO. "The Charlotte/Mooresville region is a thriving area and perfect for our licensed franchisee. I believe our business model will translate very well in this area as we take the fresh, creamy taste of FreshBerry to a whole new group of frozen yogurt lovers."
FreshBerry frozen yogurt is all-natural, low fat, low calorie, and high in protein and calcium. The FreshBerry menu features all-natural frozen yogurt selections with fresh fruit toppings ranging from strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and other fruits to granola, toasted almonds, coconut, and chocolate chips. The store also features a smoothie bar, yogurt by the pint or quart, and FreshPops.
"FreshBerry is perfect for thriving metro areas and college campuses," says newly licensed franchisee, Matthew Ganis. "That's why, after hearing of the success of FreshBerry in South Carolina near the College of Charleston, we decided to open near the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and also in Mooresville. Not only will people there absolutely love the taste of our creamy, delicious, all natural frozen yogurt, they'll love how it fits into a healthy lifestyle."
The FreshBerry concept was created by Rutkauskas and his wife Camille. The first FreshBerry café opened in January 2008 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Today there are seven FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafés open and over 255 units in development across Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, California, Arizona, New York, Nevada, Florida, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Egypt.
"I was sold on the taste from the first time I tried it," Ganis says. "There's nothing like this in North Carolina. I believe we've found a terrific niche market in Charlotte and Mooresville and look forward to opening our first cafe within the next six months."
