Yogen Früz


Yogen Früz is a 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.

History

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.
It is the largest franchiser of stores serving primarily frozen yogurt, with over 1,400 locations operating in more than 47 countries. The company aims to brand itself as a healthy-choice lifestyle product.
In 2016, Yogen Früz celebrated their 30 years in business, allowing customers to design the brand's new cup. The winner will have "their design featured on the company website and will be treated to five years’ worth of free frozen yogurt or a $1,000 scholarship."
Today, the company serves proprietary probiotic frozen yogurt, both mixed with fruit and soft serve, and both dairy and non-dairy smoothies. For its standard yogurt cup, there are various base yogurt options such as low-fat and non-fat. There are plenty of fruit options available for mix-in, such as strawberry, blueberry, kiwi, mango, peach, raspberry, watermelon, etc... Other mix-ins such as Oreos are also available to blend into the frozen yogurt.

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. 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. 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,
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.
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.
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

YearAward
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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Ranked among top franchises on 2010 Fastest-Growing Franchises by Entrepreneur
  • 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 Franchises by Franchise Direct
  • 2017
  • Top 100 Global Franchises by Franchise Direct
  • Top 100 Foodservice Chains by Foodservice and Hospitality
  • Top 200 Food-Based Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Top 200+ Largest Franchises by Franchise Times