Yogen Früz

Yogen Früz
Franchise
Industry Restaurant
Founded Thornhill, Ontario, Canada (1986)
Founders Michael Serruya
Aaron Serruya
Headquarters 210 Shields Court, Markham, Ontario Canada
Key people
Aaron Serruya, President
Products Frozen Yogurt
Smoothie
Yogurt
Fruit Cup
Website yogenfruz.com

Yogen Früz is an Canadian chain of frozen yogurt and smoothie stores that also serves healthy alternative food products. The chain is run through company-owned, franchised, and non-traditional partnerships. The chain operates worldwide and has been rated one of the top 500 franchises for over 20 years. The global headquarters is in Markham, Ontario in the Greater Toronto Area of Canada.[1]

History

The Promenade Mall Yogen Früz store
Yogen Früz in Vaughan Mills (closed in 2014 due to the mall expansion)
Yogen Früz at Hillcrest

Yogen Früz was founded in 1986 by brothers Michael Serruya and Aaron Serruya, who opened the firm's first outlet, in August 1986 at The Promenade Shopping Centre in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. The umlaut over the "u" in the store's name is an example of foreign branding.

The store offered made-to-order frozen yogurt in cups as well as frozen shakes mixed with fresh fruit; it was successful, and within a year the company's first franchises opened in London, Ontario. By 1989 Yogen Früz franchised its 100th store. A younger brother, Simon, joined the company in 1989 at the age of 18, while their father sold his typesetting business to oversea offices in Europe.

In December 2005, International Franchise Corp. acquired Yogen Früz and CoolBrands International's franchise division.[2]

Today, the company serves proprietary probiotic frozen yogurt,[3] both mixed with fruit(s) and soft serve, and both dairy and non-dairy smoothies. It is the largest franchiser of stores serving primarily frozen yogurt, with over 1,400 locations operating in more than 46 countries.[4] The company aims to brand itself as a healthy-choice lifestyle product.

Yogen Früz developed a unique blending system which combines its frozen yogurt bars with freshly frozen fruits, allowing customers to choose their own custom blend. Custom frozen yogurt blends can be created into frozen yogurt cups[5] or smoothies.[6]

Yogen Früz has created frozen yogurt versions of favourite dessert treats called Ü Sensations, flavors under this label include Strawberry Cheesecake, Apple Pie, Chai Latte, Piña Colada, and more.

Yogen Früz menu items can be customized into low-fat, non-dairy, no-fat, or no sugar added desserts.[7]

Business strategy and organization

The firm frequently uses "master franchisees", who can obtain the rights either to open stores directly or sell franchise licenses to others. Master franchisees are granted for periods varying between ten and twenty years, and usually require the franchisee to open a minimum number of outlets each year.[8] Additionally, the firm uses a non-traditional method of expansion involving co-branding, which allowed for the mingling of Yogen Früz products with other known food services by way of "mini-counters" in established stores. As of 2008, master franchise agreements and co-branding remain the firm's main business.

The Serruya brothers initially sought expansion overseas rather than compete in the United States, because frozen yogurt dessert shops had already neared market saturation in the United States in the 1980s, and, unlike today, the average consumer was then neither familiar with nor accepting of the taste of yogurt.[8] In early 1995 Yogen Früz franchisees operated 170 outlets in Canada, which comprised 80 percent of the frozen yogurt market in Canada. As of 2007, Yogen Früz has over 1,200 stores operating in over 25 countries including the United States,[9][10][11]

Yogen Früz smiling ü logo

In 2008, the company announced its new store design and branding, which was designed to be applied to small and large outlets in both malls and free-standing stores.[12]

On January 14, 2010, Archeology Investments announced a master franchise agreement which grants rights to the company to open shops in Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.[13]

In February 2014, Diet & Lite Trading – an Abu Dhabi-based company and member of the Khalifa Fund – obtained the master franchise rights for the UAE.

Awards and recognition

.

Year Award[14][15]
1992
  • Frankie Award of Merit for excellence in franchise advertising
  • Ranked 4th in the ACE 100 Top North American entrepreneurs award
  • among the top 40 companies under 40 years of age by Entrepreneur Magazine
1993
  • Ranked 3rd in the ACE Top 100 North American entrepreneurs under 30 years of age award
  • Top Franchise in North America in the relevant category by Entrepreneur Magazine
1994
  • Top percentage growth company in Foodservice award from the Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine.
1995
  • Operators of the Year Award for 1995 and 1996 from Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine
  • Ranked 6th among the Top 30 Fastest Growing Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked 15th among the Top Franchises in North America by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked 16th among the Top Franchises Worldwide by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Top of the frozen yogurt category by Entrepreneur Magazine
1996
  • Ranked among the top 100 in Hospitality for Greatest Dollar and Greatest Percentage Increase from the Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine
  • Top 40 under40 Canadian Entrepreneur award given to Michael, Aaron and Simon Serruya by the Financial Post
  • Ranked 16th among the top franchises worldwide by Entrepreneur International Franchise Magazine
1997
  • Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for both Ontario and National categories
  • 19th Fastest Growing Company in Canada by Profit 100
  • Outstanding Business Achievement Award from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce
  • Frankie Award, Excellence in Franchise Advertising (2 Gold, 2 Silver)
  • Worldfest Houston Bronze Award for TV Commercial
1998
  • Ranked 3rd in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list, after McDonald’s and Burger King
  • Ranked 2nd among Fastest Growing Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked 1st in the Frozen Yogurt Category among the Top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
1999
  • Ranked 1st among all major franchise chains worldwide[16][17]
2000
  • Ranked 1st in the Frozen Yogurt Category among the Top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
2002
  • Ranked 1st in the Frozen Yogurt Category among the Top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
2008
  • Ranked among the top 50 fastest growing franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked among the top 100 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked among top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked among top 200 global franchises by Entrepreneur.com
  • Ranked among 117 best restaurant franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked among Canada's top 100 foodservice companies by Foodservice and Hospitality
2009
  • Frankie Award for top Web Design and Menu Board Design in Canadian franchising[18]
  • Ranked among top 200 global franchises by Entrepreneur.com
  • Ranked among top 120 restaurant franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked among Canada's top 100 foodservice companies by Foodservice and Hospitality
2010
  • Ranked 15th among the top 100 Global Franchises by Franchise Direct[19]
  • Ranked among top franchises on 2010 Fastest-Growing Franchises by Entrepreneur[20]
  • The Hot List - Top Franchises in the Hottest Sectors of the Economy by Entrepreneur's Startups
  • Ranked among top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Top restaurant franchises of 2010 by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked among Canada's top 100 Foodservice companies by Foodservice and Hospitality
2011
  • Ranked among top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Top restaurant franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Ranked among top 100 restaurant companies by foodservice and Hospitality
  • Ranked among top 100 global franchises by Franchisedirect.com
  • Top Global Franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • 33rd Annual Franchise 500 by Entrepreneur Magazine
2012
  • Ranked among top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Top 100 by FoodService and Hospitality
  • Top Franchises by FoodService and Hospitality
2013
  • Ranked among top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Today's hottest franchise oppprtunities by Entrepreneur Startups
  • Ranked among top 200 global franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
2014
  • Top 500 Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • 102 Fastest Growing Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Top 100 Global Franchises – 2014 Rankings by FranchiseDirect.com
  • Top Food Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Top 200 Franchise Systems by Franchise Time
2015
  • Top 100 Global Franchises - The Best Franchises Internationally by FranchiseDirect.com
  • Top Foodservice Chains by Foodservice and Hospitality
  • Top 50 Franchises In The World by Business Insider
  • Top 20 Franchises In The World by Business Insider
  • The Future 50 by CSP Magazine
2016
  • Top 100 Global Franchise by Franchise Direct

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. "Contact Us." Yogen Früz. Retrieved on March 15, 2014. "Yogen Früz headquarters 210 Shields Court Markham, Ontario L3R 8V2, Canada"
  2. "CoolBrands sells franchising division.". Ice Cream Reporter. 2006-01-20.
  3. Sugar, Fit (2007-05-22). "Latest Healthy Dessert Craze: Yogen Früz". Sugar Publishing Inc.
  4. "About Us". Yogen Fruz. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  5. "flavürs (we mix it)". Yogen Früz. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  6. "smoothies". Yogen Früz. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  7. "nutrition". Yogen Früz. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Klein, Karen E. (2008-03-10). "Can Yogen Fruz Gain a U.S. Following?". Business Week.
  9. "About Us". Yogen Fruz.
  10. "Store Finder". Yogen Fruz.
  11. "Busy year for Yogen Fruz.". Ice Cream Reporter. 2008-01-20.
  12. "Yogen Fruz Unveils New Store Design at Two Stores in Canada". Reuters. 2008-02-28.
  13. "World's Largest Frozen Yogurt chain open its door to Middle East". AMEinfo.com. 2010-01-14.
  14. https://theregistry.force.com/business/1U0000005E5IE#_ga=1.242199616.376443917.1423866646[]
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  16. Tiffany, Laura (1999-01-01). "Freeze Fame: How this year's No. 1 franchise, Yogen Früz, is getting its just desserts.". Entrepreneur Magazine.
  17. Mulhern, Charlotte (1998-01-01). "The Big Chill - The brothers behind Yogen Früz turn up the heat on a cool concept.". Entrepreneur Magazine.
  18. "Canadian Franchise Association Announces 2009 Frankie Award Winners". Canadian Franchising Association. 2009-05-08.
  19. "Expansion into Foreign Markets". Franchise Direct. 2010-04-18.
  20. "2010 Fastest-Growing Franchises". Entrepreneur.

Notations

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