Spoon Me isn’t as old or as big as some of the other frozen yogurt franchises, but before long they are going to be one of the biggest players around. The Spoon Me brand was created to cater to a young, hip crowd, and its really working. Part of their motto is “good for the earth”, which they fulfill with organic cotton uniforms, biodegradable cups, garbage bags, and even spoons made of corn starch.
Spoon Me sells a high quality product is made up of natural, tart flavors. According to their website, its one of the healthiest of the yogurt offerings, with a traditional assortment of fresh fruit and dry toppings available.
The startup capital investment is $150k – 350k, which is in line with other frozen yogurt businesses.
Spoon Me is growing fast, so the opportunities for expansion depend on how quickly they grow. We do wonder how much longer they will be selling individual units instead of only larger development deals. For those that get in early, it should be a great opportunity.
Spoon Me Frozen Yogurt Franchise Official Site
Red Mango started franchising several years ago, and their early start on this hot trend has paid off. They are one of the largest of the new franchise frozen yogurt offerings.
As a franchisee, you would have the benefit of this company size. Name recognition in some markets would help you with some initial sales. Similar to Spoon Me, Red Mango offers a healthy, tart yogurt. Thats one of the best things about the company.
The Red Mango brand is more upscale (fireplace and sofa) and not so focused on a hip, young crowd.
The Red Mango franchising strategy has been to sell large-scale area development deals. Unfortunately, this causes a bit of a problem with new franchisee growth opportunity. Many of the best market areas aren’t being utilized, but they can’t be tapped because of capital restrictions by the area development franchisee. Its an opportunity that Red Mango has created for themselves. This mismanagement is probably one of the reasons that so many smaller offerings have been able to thrive.
Costs to open a Red Mango Franchise are a bit higher than others, and rumor is that the franchise fee is set to increase another $10k soon:
Estimated startup capital needs: $265k to $365k
Red Mango Franchise Official Site
Pinkberry is one of the pioneers of the fro-yo renaissance. They would be the biggest player around, had they started franchising earlier. Pinkberry is focused on more systematic growth, and because of that, they are only interested in multiple store area developments. The opportunity for growth is high, but as we believe this is a popular market for individual store owners, we rated it lower for opportunity potential.
The yogurt is tart, and they sport a wider flavor selection that some of the others.
The branding is minimal. The clean, bright designs are nice looking, but pretty unremarkable and frequently easily imitated by independent shops.
The cost to open a Pinkberry is on par for each store. But the multi-store deal requirements limit them to big players.
Estimated startup capital needs: $200k per store (multiple store minimum)
Pinkberry Official Site
Orange Tree is a fast growing example of the self-serve model. Customers fill their cups, add their toppings, and pay be the ounce. This has become popular lately in some parts of the country. Kids like it, but you have to watch out that your store doesn’t get messy.
The sweet yogurt is appealing to kids as well. Rather than the natural, tangy flavor of other shops, the sweet resembles low-fat ice cream more than yogurt.
The cost structure for Orange Tree is extremely simple. $500 franchise fee, $500 flat annual royalty. There are a lot of Orange Tree locations, but one can’t help but wonder- how is the franchisor supporting all those locations on such a slim budget? I haven’t gone down the process with them, but if I did I would be waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Do they nickle and dime for other services? Does their product cost a lot for franchisees to buy? How are they making money?)
Estimated startup capital needs: $150k to $250k. The franchise fee is low, but buying 7 ($72,000) yogurt machines instead of 2 ($24,000) really ads up.
Orange Tree Franchise Official Site
