Pinkberry offers just two yogurt flavors, plain and green tea, sprinkled with the customer's choice of fresh berries, granola, even Fruity Pebbles cereal, which is a strange addition considering they are touting health. We wonder if the store’s cult allure can overcome its price. While the average purchase is $5.50, a large green tea frozen yogurt with 3 toppings costs nearly ten bucks.
Background and Benefits
It is no secret that frozen yogurt consumption has been in a declining flux since 1991. Just check out the Stats from the USDA Economic Research Service. Despite this, Co-founders say “they turned a profit on their first store four months after opening it” (Fortune, 2008) with lines so long they had to send some customers home at 10:30 closing time. Even so, copycats are adopting the pulsating music and berry inspired treats so much so that trademark infringements have brought at least one legal mediation.
How Much Does a Pinkberry Franchise Cost?
There are only 21 Pinkberry locations in California and New York combined with 50 more planned by year end. I wonder where? The franchise fee is reportedly $40,000 but has not yet been verified. Start up costs will vary per location. Although Pinkberry won’t discuss sales, the silver lining declares one store could enjoy $250,000 a month on average based on 1500 customers a day. Idealistic? Maybe not in NY or CA. But what about Little Rock? Plan on the usual royalty structure for this newbie--a 5% royalty fee with another 2% for marketing.
What We Like
Not a lot actually. This one seems to be a California fad. The frozen yogurt craze came and went back in the 80‘s. It‘s trendy and that‘s not good for a long term business investment. After all, the bank might not understand if you have to close the doors because green tea yogurt went out of fashion. People rave about the taste calling it liquid heroine or Crackberry but at the current price for this tasty treat it might have to stay in California and NY where the per capita incomes are some of the highest in the nation. Can you say Location, Location, Location? Stay tuned for updates on this one. We could change our mind.
Pros
- Hype – Hype is great if you can maintain it. Flashy media so far is all this new franchise can boast about beyond the great taste.
Cons
- Overpriced – At $10 for a large, you need celebrity status to afford it. Competitors may just freeze out this franchise if they are not careful.
- Reputation – Pinkberry is already getting a reputation for being skimpy on toppings and angry consumers are complaining on line.
Pinkberry Franchise Information
Business Established: 2005Franchising Since: 2006
Start-up Cost: 40,000
Total Investment: Varies
