Fro Yo Storms North West England

It’s that time of year when we get a little bit snowed under in the frozen yogurt industry, so please forgive me for not having updated too much in the last month or two. I suspect that this pace will continue throughout the summer, but we’ll see!

The interesting thing to note right now in the UK industry is how the North West is becoming its own little mini-hub of frozen yogurt outlets. Over the next few months we expect to see at least 3 new stores open up! Wilmslow, Alderly Edge, Liverpool One, Manchester Oxford Road … wow!

It was always only a matter of time before stores started to break the London mould. Up until recently there were only a few stores outside of  London. Cardiff, Leeds, Exeter, and Hale, but now things are really … ahem … hotting up in time for the summer.

I’ve been asked the question on several occasions in the last 6 months – is the market becoming too saturated? My answer was always the same. No! Sure, London seems to have loads of stores now, but it’s not the only big city in the UK, and certainly not in Europe. The European market is still very much in its infacny, and there is plenty of room for growth. We’re starting to see that happen outside of the major capitals now, and some of the stores are even good enough to compete with the big brand building going on in London. It’s excellent news for all of us in the industry!

Good luck!

 

Pinkberry Looking Abroad For Growth

I know. Like that’s a surprise?

The growth we’ve seen over the last 18 months in Europe alone has been phenomenal, so it’s not exactly rocket science to conclude that the bigger US chains will be looking to capitalize by setting up on this side of the Atlantic. Are they too late, though? We’re seeing a great deal of brand loyalty already in the UK, especially with the better known stores of Snog, Frae and YooMoo, so how do Pinkberry intend to muscle in on this market?

An interesting question. One I’m sure the Pinkberry executives are researching thoroughly.

This post was inspired by Leslie Patton writing for Bloomberg, after speaking to Pinkberry CEO Ron Graves;

When Pinkberry opened its first store in 2005 among the glitterati of West Hollywood, Chief Executive Officer Ron Graves recalls people lining up for hours to get their hands on the frosty yogurt dessert. (A small cup can cost up to $4.95.) The city issued $175,000 in parking tickets during a single month to Pinkberry customers, he says. Now a host of copycats has emerged just as the American frozen yogurt craze may be melting. Graves’s solution? Expand the 119-store, Los Angeles-based Pinkberry chain overseas, with new shops scheduled to open this year in Britain, Turkey, Morocco, and the Philippines.

“Consumer brands have to look at the landscape through a global lens, as opposed to the domestic lens that Starbucks started from 40 years ago,” says Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who joined the Pinkberry board in 2007. Currently, more than half of Pinkberry’s shops are in Southern California or Manhattan. By yearend, however, about one-fourth of the chain’s stores will be outside the U.S., says Graves. That’s more than twice the proportion now.

The push may help Pinkberry because there’s less competition abroad, says Ron Paul, president of restaurant tracker Technomic. In the U.S., pricey ice cream shop operator Cold Stone Creamery will add frozen yogurt to its menu this spring. Red Mango, a rival yogurt chain, this year plans to almost double its U.S. store count, to 200. Meanwhile, the number of frozen yogurt servings in U.S. restaurants fell 11 percent last year, according to researcher NPD Group.

A few things, then.

First of all, Cold Stone Creamery’s plans to add a frozen yogurt option to their offer is something we should all be keeping a close eye on. It will offer us an insight into how the consumer sees frozen yogurt. Is it really just a healthier alternative to ice cream, or have brands like Pinkberry and Red Mango done enough to make frozen yogurt stores a destination in their own right?

Secondly, as we approach the end of May, we should start seeing significant noise about new Pinkberry stores opening outside of the US. If their aim of having one quarter of their stores outside of the US by the end of 2011 is to be fulfilled, they’ll need to move fast. I’ve heard very little in the form of rumours that they’re on the verge of landing a UK site; though their Canadian competitors, YogenFruz could be coming soon to Birmingham. Are Pinkberry moving too slowly?

Finally, if the 11% drop in frozen yogurt servings last year is accurate, are we seeing the bubble starting to burst? While the recession will no doubt have played a part in declining sales of a premium end product, we should be keeping a close eye on the US market. We all saw the “smoothie” craze explode, then die. While I don’t believe it will be the same for soft serve frozen yogurt, we should watch carefully to protect ourselves against a similar fate for frozen yogurt.

So. Pinkberry? Coming soon? We’ll see!

I’m late to this Spanish party

Just a short one…

I like to think I have my finger on the pulse of the European frozen yogurt market, but I recently discovered a frozen yogurt shop  that I hadn’t heard about before. It’s been open almost a year, and by all accounts has had great success.

Llaollao in Valencia, Spain, looks like a great little shop. One that I intend to visit this summer! They claim to be Spain’s first frozen yogurt franchise, though I think CherryPop and O! My Good would contest this. Either way, yet more proof (as if it were needed), that frozen yogurt is taking Europe by storm.

(And on that note, more news coming soon on Pinkberry’s plans for World Domination…)

Tried and tested: frozen yogurt

Rose Prince of The Telegraph gives a quick review of Snog, Yog, SambaSwirl, and the North West of England’s first frozen yogurt store, Yogberries in Hale (who have a great cow-shaped-bench, by the way)!

Ouch, the morning after the night before! If you have been celebrating the big day, you might want to head out for a cure. And if the rumours are true, the newly wed Catherine may herself want to unwind with a swirl of frozen yogurt…

Check out what she had to say here.

Pinkberry Expand In Russia

Research by frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry, which shows that Russians are increasingly inclined to watch what they eat, helped convince the company to open its first outlet in Moscow on Tuesday, adding another American franchise to the city. 

“Moscow has a large consumption market with room to grow,” Pinkberry chief executive Ron Graves said at the cafe located at the Moskva-City business complex.

The steady growth of American snack and coffee shops will continue for the next several years, Deutsche Bank chief economist Yaroslav Lissovolik said. Increased household income levels and consumer demand make a favorable environment for the growth of such businesses.

“The Russian consumer is ready to graduate to the higher level of consumption,” Lissovolik said.

Another reason for the steady growth is lack of competition. Pinkberry is the first frozen yogurt venue with a sit-down cafe format in Moscow. Redberry and Freshberry serve products similar to Pinkberry, but they are kiosks in shopping centers and cinemas.

Pinkberry will open another store in Moskva-City in late spring at Afimall, also known as the Mall of Russia.

Pinkberry has 113 stores, mostly in the United States and the Middle East. The chain is starting to expand to other locations. The next location will be Istanbul, and later Europe and Asia, Graves said, but declined to give specific details.

This news comes from the World Franchise Associates. The last line is probably of most interest to those of us here in Europe. It was always going to happen sooner or later. The article also explains the huge interest coming from Russia at the moment, in sourcing frozen yogurt for import. Let’s call it the Pinkberry Effect. And let us all watch on eagerly to see if frozen yogurt survives the cold Moscow winter. If it does, it will be the final nudge frozen yogurt needs to become a global phenomenon.

Tesco Launch New Chilled Yogurt Range

UK grocery retailer Tesco has said that its launch of a new yoghurt line will undercut its branded competitors – including Yoplait, Danone and Muller – by as much as 20%.

The group’s new Yoo line, its first range of yoghurts, will offer some 21 varieties of yoghurt product.

The UK’s largest retailer said it plans to “reinvigorate” the yoghurt market by “coming in 11p cheaper than the price of an existing branded yoghurt, adding more fruit to an average pot than in the competing branded yoghurt” as well as using “100% British Milk and proudly displaying the Union Jack on its packaging”.

The range includes four different lines including Yoo…Fruity Thing – a split pot with yoghurt and a separate portion of fruit; Yoo…Yummy Thing – yoghurt and crunchy chocolate cereals; Yoo…Tasty Thing – low fat, smooth and stirred, layered yoghurts; and Yoo…Light Thing – a fat-free range.

The supermarket values the market at GBP1.2bn (US$1.96bn), but according to Nielsen, Uk sales of yoghurt dipped by 1% in the past year.

Tesco yoghurt buyer Matt Ward said: “The UK yoghurt market has been underperforming for several years so we asked shoppers how we could help make it better. The three key concerns were new products; better quality and better value. We’re confident that customers will see that we have addressed all those points with the launch of Yoo.”

Apologies for straying away from frozen yogurt to chilled yogurt, but as I noticed this on the shelves of my local Tesco earlier this week, I felt a great need to rant about All Things Tesco. All Things Supermarket, I suppose. It’s the way things go. They make you jump through hoops, and dance a merry dance for the chance to supply The Great Supermarket. They drive a bargain so hard that it is barely worth your while to supply them. They eventually stock your products. They give you the worst shelf space imaginable. They charge you obscene amounts to promote your products. They charge you for even the tiniest mistake, such as a late delivery due to a broken down vehicle. They grudgingly accept that your brand is growing, but this increase in sales means they demand lower prices. Eventually, as your brand succeeds with your own product that you’ve worked so hard to build, they bring out their own branded version, and stick your brand up on the top shelf, out of the way.

Worrying times for the rest of us, when not even Muller are immune from the ruthless own-branding of the product lines in our supermarkets. It’s hard to see how the smaller producers can ever survive to establish themselves.

Loseley (Ice Cream) On The Rocks Again

OK, so this isn’t strictly frozen yogurt related, but I was interested to see the news that Loseley – the luxury ice cream producer – seem to be in financial difficulty once again. It was only in 2008 that Loseley were saved from administration by a venture capital firm, Acuity Capital, who have this month decided not to invest further in the business, and to hand over control to the Foresight group. Foresight are not interested in putting further money into the business, and speculation is now rife that one of the main players in ice cream production could be set to take over the Cwmbran production site.

Interestingly the management at Loseley are blaming the large volumes of own-branded product for their downfall. It is becoming increasingly difficult for white label manufacturers to keep their heads above water, with competition as fierce as ever, and supermarkets driving prices impossibly low.

Loseley could just be the tip of the iceberg.

Remember kids, brand is key.