Menchie’s began its franchising initiative three short years ago, following the wildly successful opening of its first store in Valley Village, California, a year earlier. Menchie's attributes its success to the creation of a unique in-store experience that promote smiles and revolutionary tastes and a virtual online engagement that affords loyal fans more access to Menchie’s whenever they want it. The unsurpassed brand position that Menchie’s now firmly maintains has catapulted the concept to become the fastest growing self-serve frozen yogurt franchise worldwide. With the opening of Menchie’s West 19th Street Center in Houston, the brand celebrates a major milestone moment, reaching its 100th store. “Menchie’s offers an unparalleled store experience which creates lasting memories by making every guest smile – and this has helped us expand to 100 stores worldwide,” says Amit Kleinberger, CEO of Menchie’s Global Headquarters. “Menchie’s fans see us as their second home. Our focus has always been on community before commerce, and we deliver on that promise by going the extra smile.” The incomparable combination of a one-of-a-kind in-store experience, trendsetting tastes, and effective ongoing marketing programs that command trial and repeat visits have put Menchie’s into a class of its own in the frozen yogurt category. This winning formula has attracted a talented collection of franchise investors the world over. “Enthusiasm from investors also reflects the company’s mission to ‘make you smile,’” Kleinberger says. “In 2011, we’ve opened nearly 40 stores already and plan to open about another 30 before the end of the year. Reaching the century mark in three short years clearly confirms the undeniable craving for Menchie’s and we’ll see that result in our reaching 250 stores in the next 12 months.” Menchie’s Canadian master franchisor recently completed agreements to add 38 Menchie's franchises in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta over the next five years. Additionally, Menchie’s has contracts for locations in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.