November 20, 2009
QSRmagazine.com : restaurant articles : industry news
[2009-11-16] Beautiful Brands International (BBI) announced the signing of an agreement with John and Linda Lenzmeier to open at least two new FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafés within the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill area of North Carolina. The agreement also taps John Lenzmeier as lead development agent for the 50-unit FreshBerry franchise development deal.
"John's business background is a perfect match for our expansion strategy in North Carolina," says David Rutkauskas, Beautiful Brands founder, president, and CEO. "There's no question his operations expertise and franchise marketing skills will dramatically help us expand our footprint statewide and strategically increase our growth potential."
With over 20 years experience as an entrepreneur and business investor, Lenzmeier has already committed substantial capital to aggressively expand the FreshBerry footprint in North Carolina and capitalize on the 9 million-plus people in the state who make up the FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt market potential. BBI and the Lenzmeiers have slated March 1 for the opening of the first store in the Triangle area.
"I anticipate the growth of the franchise to reach 50 stores in North Carolina within the next three to five years," Lenzmeier says. "The key to our recipe for success is the simplicity of the business model. First, we start with an excellent product, then open in a great location, next develop a customer focused friendly staff, and then manage your food and labor costs. I firmly believe FreshBerry is the complete package for anyone looking for a solid franchise investment in an untapped industry segment."
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'm thrilled to be a strategic partner with BBI in growing the FreshBerry brand in North Carolina," Lenzmeier says. "North Carolinians want to eat healthier, and sometimes that's difficult. But, with FreshBerry as a healthy snack alternative, we make it easy for them to eat right, especially with all the delicious local produce that's available in NC. There's nothing like the combination of fresh fruit toppings on delicious low fat, low calorie frozen yogurt."
