Beautiful Brands International announced today a 120 unit agreement with Saudi based, United Food Company, to begin franchising FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Café to the Middle East and North Africa. The landmark deal represents BBI’s largest franchise agreement to date.
“Camille and I are delighted to form this partnership in the Middle East region to bring a healthy and delicious frozen treat to an untapped market,” says David Rutkauskas, Beautiful Brands Founder, President and CEO.
“We recognize this as a tremendous opportunity to grow our brand internationally and deliver the unique taste of FreshBerry to millions of new fans.”
Beautiful Brands International, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company with more than 25 years of restaurant franchising experience, recently signed the landmark agreement with United Food Company (member of A. Abunayyan group), a leading restaurant multiunit operator based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The deal will implement franchise development in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Egypt. United Food Company will open the first 6 stores this summer.
BBI also announced further plans to grow FreshBerry domestically via its Beautiful Brands International franchise development division. The move is part of an ongoing strategy to expand in markets in New York City, Orlando, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles County, Tulsa, Orange County, Reno, Chicago, and Charleston. Beautiful Brands reported a record first quarter and the company states the second quarter has been just as strong.
“There’s no question FreshBerry has international consumer appeal and strong global brand potential,” says David Rutkauskas. “We are absolutely thrilled to partner with the United Food Company. They are clearly recognized as one of the leaders in international franchise food operations, holding a master license and providing support for the Pizza Inn brand across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia regions.”
The first FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Café opened in January 2008 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Today there are 5 FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafés open and over 155 units in development across Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, California, Arizona, New York, Nevada, and throughout the world.
“United Food Company is proud to be FreshBerry’s first partner to take the brand internationally. We think the product, the brand and the management team are exceptional and we’re looking forward to a very successful partnership,” says Khushru Mistry, CEO United Food Company.
The United Food Company which started in 1991 is a division of the A. Abunayyan group, a visionary corporation based in Saudi Arabia that has nearly 60 years experience in providing integrated solutions from conception to completion in all major energy sectors.