Yogurtland, a customer-created frozen yogurt chain with almost 120 locations in nine states (as well as stores in Japan and Mexico), plans to have 75 additional locations open or in development by the end of 2011. By 2015, the chain will have more than 550 total locations.
Besides expansion in existing markets, Yogurtland has targeted several new markets for growth including Chicago, Alabama, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Growth will come from a combination of single and multi-unit operators.
“Operating a Yogurtland franchise is fairly simple and the self-serve business model lends itself to controlled labor costs,” says Larry Sidoti, vice president of development and operations. “This allows our franchise partners to focus on providing excellent customer service and delivering the best tasting product in the industry.”
Typically located in regional neighborhood and lifestyle centers, strip malls, and entertainment venues with some locations in heavily trafficked malls, Yogurtland has also found success in a variety of non-traditional sites: the campuses of several major universities; Sony Studios in Culver City, California; Universal City Walk and Universal Studios in Hollywood, California, and soon-to-open locations at Anchorage International Airport in Alaska and Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California.
Yogurtland stores feature 16 flavors of self-serve frozen yogurt from a rotating menu of more than 50 selections that include both classic and exotic flavors, including no sugar added choices.
Customers become the architect of their frozen yogurt creation by mixing and combining flavors and topping their yogurt with a choice of nearly 40 selections that includes fresh fruits, nuts, cereals, candy, and more. Price is determined by the total weight of the customer’s cup.
“We have in-house research and development and product development teams that formulate our yogurt flavors,” Sidoti says. “The entire yogurt making process is under our control and all our flavors are unique to Yogurtland.”
