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Yogen Früz
Opens First Puerto Rico Location at the
Centro Comercial Los Prados
1,100-Store Chain Targets 1,000 U.S. Locations
over Next Decade
PUERTO RICO — Yogen Früz, a frozen yogurt chain
with 1,100 stores in over 20 countries, is launching a bid for
a major scoop of the American fro-yo market including the territory
of Puerto Rico, with the opening of its first Puerto Rican store
on May 24th, 2008, located at Centro Comercial Los Prados (Avenida
Boulevard Los Prados Carretera 156 hacia Aguas buenas Caguas,
Puerto Rico).
The new Caguas store is one of several locations expected to
open across the U.S. this year (including Puerto Rico), introducing
Yogen Früz’s signature create-your-own yogurt/fruit
blends to Puerto Rican consumers.
Blend It, Top It & More
The menu is anchored by Yogen Früz’s “Blend
It” — a combination of low-fat, non-fat or no-sugar-added
frozen yogurt and any of 16 varieties of flash-frozen fresh fruit
mixed in the company’s proprietary machines while customers
watch — as well as a “Top It” option featuring
plain yogurt with a choice of 18 toppings from fruit to granola,
carob chips and Cap’n Crunch. Other menu selections
include dairy and non-dairy smoothies, fresh fruit cups, and
parfait-style breakfast yogurt layered with fresh berries.
The low-fat and non-fat yogurt as well as the dairy smoothies
are packed with added probiotic cultures that have been shown
to promote a healthy digestive system, improve mineral absorption,
fortify the immune system, manage lactose intolerance and even
help lower cholesterol. Yogen Früz has more than 17
million live probiotic cultures per gram, compared to as few
as 69,000 for other brands, making a healthy snack alternative
even healthier.
“New frozen yogurt vendors are sprouting as fast as new mobile
phones, but none of them have Yogen Früz’s combination
of menu variety, probiotic benefits, critical mass and market experience,” said
Aaron Serruya, who started the company with his
brother Michael in 1986. “We’re entering the
U.S. market with distinct advantages that we believe will allow
us to quickly dominate the space.”
Sweet Success
Yogen Früz opened its first store in Toronto in 1986 when
the Serruya brothers were 19 and 20. Aaron had seen frozen
yogurt stands in Florida and enlisted Michael in a plan to import
the idea to Canada. The siblings approached several U.S.
chains for the Canadian franchise rights, but they were turned
away because of their age. Undaunted, they pooled their
own funds, added money borrowed from their father, invented the
Yogen Früz name, and went to work developing their own version
of the fro-yo phenomenon.
The first location in a Toronto mall caught on so quickly that
they were able to start franchising. The first franchise
unit opened a year later in London, Ontario. By 1989, the
brothers had 100 stores in Canada. In November 1991, they
expanded to Indonesia with their first master franchisee. By
the mid 1990s, they were selling master franchise territorial
rights in Europe and Latin America.
The U.S. has always been on the Serruyas’ road map, but
at first American tastebuds weren’t ready for what Yogen
Früz had to offer. The Yogen Früz product has
the distinctive tart undertones of natural yogurt. Twenty
years ago, the frozen yogurt that took the U.S. by storm was
flavored to mimic ice cream. Today, tastes have changed.
“Over the last four years, natural yogurts like Dannon’s
Activia have been the fastest-growing food category in U.S. grocery
stores. This has familiarized American consumers with tarter
yogurts, and that’s what today’s yogurt stores are
delivering,” said Aaron Serruya. “The timing
is right to build a U.S. presence.”
About Yogen Früz
Yogen Früz is a world leader in the frozen dessert category,
with 1,100 locations operating in over 20 countries. Yogen Früz
pioneered the frozen yogurt category in Canada when it opened its
first store in 1986. It remains a category leader with its
broad menu, unique blending system, added probiotic cultures, distinctive
store design and more than two decades of global operation. For
more information, visit www.yogenfruz.com. |
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