Whats your take on these little joints? What do you like/dislike about the one in your area? Im thinking about opening one in my area and looking to get some feed back. Already know alot about the product, equipment, and the running of the business, but was looking to get some more personal info. Maybe favorite favors or why you like one place better than the next.
If your not familiar with this conecpt its a yogurt store where you fill your own yogurt cup with as much yogurt and toppings as possible. Then it is weighed at the register and you are charged by the ounce. Some major players in the business are Yogurtland, U-Swirl, and Menchies.
Thanks.
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To remove first post, remove entire topic.
Whats your take on these little joints? What do you like/dislike about the one in your area? Im thinking about opening one in my area and looking to get some feed back. Already know alot about the product, equipment, and the running of the business, but was looking to get some more personal info. Maybe favorite favors or why you like one place better than the next.
If your not familiar with this conecpt its a yogurt store where you fill your own yogurt cup with as much yogurt and toppings as possible. Then it is weighed at the register and you are charged by the ounce. Some major players in the business are Yogurtland, U-Swirl, and Menchies.
Dude, this fro yo craze come's up every decade. Was hot in the mid 80's, mid 90's and then now. Its last's for about 2-4 years . If you're gonna buy a franchise, buy a Subway or 7-11. GL to you.
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Dude, this fro yo craze come's up every decade. Was hot in the mid 80's, mid 90's and then now. Its last's for about 2-4 years . If you're gonna buy a franchise, buy a Subway or 7-11. GL to you.
One just opened near me in Annapolis Mall in Annapolis, MD. For some reason I'm always tempted to go in and look at all the luscious fruit, but I haven't purchased anything yet. My point is that, even for someone who likes yogurt and always has plenty of disposable income, it's not necessary and not "one of those things" that I think people go out of the way for. Now SMOOTHIES, that's a different story. People love smoothies. IF I can stop gambling or at least could have been sensible with my winning s I could've had 2 Orange Julius's already (shakes head at lack of own discipline). Good luck to U Sir.......
Bigkat
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One just opened near me in Annapolis Mall in Annapolis, MD. For some reason I'm always tempted to go in and look at all the luscious fruit, but I haven't purchased anything yet. My point is that, even for someone who likes yogurt and always has plenty of disposable income, it's not necessary and not "one of those things" that I think people go out of the way for. Now SMOOTHIES, that's a different story. People love smoothies. IF I can stop gambling or at least could have been sensible with my winning s I could've had 2 Orange Julius's already (shakes head at lack of own discipline). Good luck to U Sir.......
Dude, this fro yo craze come's up every decade. Was hot in the mid 80's, mid 90's and then now. Its last's for about 2-4 years . If you're gonna buy a franchise, buy a Subway or 7-11. GL to you.
Too many of them here
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Quote Originally Posted by geopackiv:
Dude, this fro yo craze come's up every decade. Was hot in the mid 80's, mid 90's and then now. Its last's for about 2-4 years . If you're gonna buy a franchise, buy a Subway or 7-11. GL to you.
Research online, go and watch an average location and do a customer count.
Consider that a mall location is a premium price lease wise.
Also, look into some offering circulars from these companies and see what their cost of goods are, what their franchise fees and royalties are.
My first and second thought are that it is buying a job at best.
I have done all the research necessary to open one of these stores. I know what the costs of goods are, as well as the franchise fees and royalties are. I am not buying into any franchise, I am using the concept and starting my own business from scratch.
I was looking for personal experiences from one store to the next. Why ppl go to one over the other. I have been to over 50 locations around the nation for all the major franchises to compile data and research. I am looking for some other peoples point of view.
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Quote Originally Posted by wallstreetcappers:
Research online, go and watch an average location and do a customer count.
Consider that a mall location is a premium price lease wise.
Also, look into some offering circulars from these companies and see what their cost of goods are, what their franchise fees and royalties are.
My first and second thought are that it is buying a job at best.
I have done all the research necessary to open one of these stores. I know what the costs of goods are, as well as the franchise fees and royalties are. I am not buying into any franchise, I am using the concept and starting my own business from scratch.
I was looking for personal experiences from one store to the next. Why ppl go to one over the other. I have been to over 50 locations around the nation for all the major franchises to compile data and research. I am looking for some other peoples point of view.
Dude, this fro yo craze come's up every decade. Was hot in the mid 80's, mid 90's and then now. Its last's for about 2-4 years . If you're gonna buy a franchise, buy a Subway or 7-11. GL to you.
There are about 75 Sub-way locations in a 60 mile radius of Baton Rouge, probably more, there is 1 soft serve yogurt location in my area, and will no affect my business.
And if the craze comes up in every decade I'm pretty sure thats a good sign.
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Quote Originally Posted by geopackiv:
Dude, this fro yo craze come's up every decade. Was hot in the mid 80's, mid 90's and then now. Its last's for about 2-4 years . If you're gonna buy a franchise, buy a Subway or 7-11. GL to you.
There are about 75 Sub-way locations in a 60 mile radius of Baton Rouge, probably more, there is 1 soft serve yogurt location in my area, and will no affect my business.
And if the craze comes up in every decade I'm pretty sure thats a good sign.
One just opened near me in Annapolis Mall in Annapolis, MD. For some reason I'm always tempted to go in and look at all the luscious fruit, but I haven't purchased anything yet. My point is that, even for someone who likes yogurt and always has plenty of disposable income, it's not necessary and not "one of those things" that I think people go out of the way for. Now SMOOTHIES, that's a different story. People love smoothies. IF I can stop gambling or at least could have been sensible with my winning s I could've had 2 Orange Julius's already (shakes head at lack of own discipline). Good luck to U Sir.......
Bigkat
Why would someone go out of there way for a smoothie and not yogurt if thats what they wanted. This is obviously your personal opinion. I hate smoothies, but eat ice cream, yogurt, and gelatto. And smoothies are expensive shit. You can walk into a frozen yogurt store and walk out with a huge cup for about $4.
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Quote Originally Posted by bigkat:
One just opened near me in Annapolis Mall in Annapolis, MD. For some reason I'm always tempted to go in and look at all the luscious fruit, but I haven't purchased anything yet. My point is that, even for someone who likes yogurt and always has plenty of disposable income, it's not necessary and not "one of those things" that I think people go out of the way for. Now SMOOTHIES, that's a different story. People love smoothies. IF I can stop gambling or at least could have been sensible with my winning s I could've had 2 Orange Julius's already (shakes head at lack of own discipline). Good luck to U Sir.......
Bigkat
Why would someone go out of there way for a smoothie and not yogurt if thats what they wanted. This is obviously your personal opinion. I hate smoothies, but eat ice cream, yogurt, and gelatto. And smoothies are expensive shit. You can walk into a frozen yogurt store and walk out with a huge cup for about $4.
This started on the west coast in the states and is slowly making its way across the nation. There are over 250 stores in L.A. county alone. There is 1 in my area. 1 store in about 60 miles.
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Quote Originally Posted by KQC:
Too many of them here
This started on the west coast in the states and is slowly making its way across the nation. There are over 250 stores in L.A. county alone. There is 1 in my area. 1 store in about 60 miles.
I would spend HOURS sitting on a bench watching SEVERAL locations..the busy ones, the not so busy ones.
So do you have a biz plan, the recipes, the equipment, the contacts to build, the store design, the POS, the legal requirements, the raw goods?
If you have the Franchise Circular from some of the names you mentioned, comb them over..find out how much they estimate as build out, then DOUBLE it because you dont have the system in place these franchises do..and plan on a year plus of negative cash flow.
Do you have enough cash to build out AND run a negative cash flow and not have it hurt your standard of living?
Are you prepared to RUN the store for the first few years and not have a side job?
I have quite a bit of background in QSR and Ive researched franchising and running places, not this theme but the concept and the requirements are the SAME regardless of the concept.
I would suggest working for one of the big players for SIX months..learn from the inside.
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lsu,
I would spend HOURS sitting on a bench watching SEVERAL locations..the busy ones, the not so busy ones.
So do you have a biz plan, the recipes, the equipment, the contacts to build, the store design, the POS, the legal requirements, the raw goods?
If you have the Franchise Circular from some of the names you mentioned, comb them over..find out how much they estimate as build out, then DOUBLE it because you dont have the system in place these franchises do..and plan on a year plus of negative cash flow.
Do you have enough cash to build out AND run a negative cash flow and not have it hurt your standard of living?
Are you prepared to RUN the store for the first few years and not have a side job?
I have quite a bit of background in QSR and Ive researched franchising and running places, not this theme but the concept and the requirements are the SAME regardless of the concept.
I would suggest working for one of the big players for SIX months..learn from the inside.
I've been in the ice cream biz for 20 years now, one heads up brand knowledge and a great product are the keys.
If your going to start your own brand make sure its top quality and get ready to give out a shitload of free or very cheap samples to get people hooked on it.
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I've been in the ice cream biz for 20 years now, one heads up brand knowledge and a great product are the keys.
If your going to start your own brand make sure its top quality and get ready to give out a shitload of free or very cheap samples to get people hooked on it.
Hey lsufasteddie... I can give you a strictly consumers point of view here. We have 3 - 4 of these joints within a 10 minute drive of my place (since I live in a Southern California Beach city) but I have only been to one. Why only one? Because it is the closest to us and we like to walk up to get the kids a treat once in awhile. This location is also appealing to the consumer because it is in a strip mall and next to several other conveniences: a coffee shop, a grocery store, a drug store, a pizza joint, a sandwich shop and a bank. So we can literally walk up and take care of several things at once. We'll get a sandwich, get the kids some yogurt, us some coffee, pick up a perscription if we need to and do some shopping. It is easy and quick enough that I can be home in time for the puck to drop.
Hope that this helps and good luck to you!
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Hey lsufasteddie... I can give you a strictly consumers point of view here. We have 3 - 4 of these joints within a 10 minute drive of my place (since I live in a Southern California Beach city) but I have only been to one. Why only one? Because it is the closest to us and we like to walk up to get the kids a treat once in awhile. This location is also appealing to the consumer because it is in a strip mall and next to several other conveniences: a coffee shop, a grocery store, a drug store, a pizza joint, a sandwich shop and a bank. So we can literally walk up and take care of several things at once. We'll get a sandwich, get the kids some yogurt, us some coffee, pick up a perscription if we need to and do some shopping. It is easy and quick enough that I can be home in time for the puck to drop.
Thanks for all the feedback. One of the true assets to this board year in and year out.
I have most of the details that you mentioned above already worked out. I have tasted, sampled, and tested many of the frozen yogurt products available by many different distributors in the game, and I think I have found the best solution in the regard.
The equipment, POS system, contacts to build, business plan, and legal are all in order. We are struggling with a store design (bc there are so many options) and name of the business, probably our biggest decision that we haven't figured out yet.
Negative cash flow and the running of the store also are not a problem. Thats that joy of business.
And no while we don't have the resources that the franchise would offer, we have local knowledge of contractors/proper authorities as well as many years of restaurant experience including everything from washing dishes to owning multiple large scale restaurants at a time. And since we are not contending with a franchise our initial opening cost is less than 25% than that of the franchise that opened in my area.
Thanks again.
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Street,
Thanks for all the feedback. One of the true assets to this board year in and year out.
I have most of the details that you mentioned above already worked out. I have tasted, sampled, and tested many of the frozen yogurt products available by many different distributors in the game, and I think I have found the best solution in the regard.
The equipment, POS system, contacts to build, business plan, and legal are all in order. We are struggling with a store design (bc there are so many options) and name of the business, probably our biggest decision that we haven't figured out yet.
Negative cash flow and the running of the store also are not a problem. Thats that joy of business.
And no while we don't have the resources that the franchise would offer, we have local knowledge of contractors/proper authorities as well as many years of restaurant experience including everything from washing dishes to owning multiple large scale restaurants at a time. And since we are not contending with a franchise our initial opening cost is less than 25% than that of the franchise that opened in my area.
I've been in the ice cream biz for 20 years now, one heads up brand knowledge and a great product are the keys.
If your going to start your own brand make sure its top quality and get ready to give out a shitload of free or very cheap samples to get people hooked on it.
No reason to give away free merchandise if your product is top quality. Not saying promos and ad. giveaways aren't in oder but the product should speak for itself. You can give away as much as you want but if it's not good product a consumer is not coming back for more.
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Quote Originally Posted by pezeveng:
I've been in the ice cream biz for 20 years now, one heads up brand knowledge and a great product are the keys.
If your going to start your own brand make sure its top quality and get ready to give out a shitload of free or very cheap samples to get people hooked on it.
No reason to give away free merchandise if your product is top quality. Not saying promos and ad. giveaways aren't in oder but the product should speak for itself. You can give away as much as you want but if it's not good product a consumer is not coming back for more.
No reason to give away free merchandise if your product is top quality. Not saying promos and ad. giveaways aren't in oder but the product should speak for itself. You can give away as much as you want but if it's not good product a consumer is not coming back for more.
think he meant flavor samples... people will want to sample all of them before they decide... old ladies and teens are the worst
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Quote Originally Posted by lsufasteddie:
No reason to give away free merchandise if your product is top quality. Not saying promos and ad. giveaways aren't in oder but the product should speak for itself. You can give away as much as you want but if it's not good product a consumer is not coming back for more.
think he meant flavor samples... people will want to sample all of them before they decide... old ladies and teens are the worst
LSU- like WSC , I have investigated Many QSR concepts , with and without partners.
From 1988-1993- college TCBY was all the rage .. now it's virtually out of business along with Carvel ice cream.
Their is a brand here in Northern Va that does well- Milwaukee's Best Frozen yogurt and Kline's drive in .. both are mom/pop and generally do well in the spring/summer .. that's it ..
Smoothie places like Robek's and Smoothie King are going strong but Baskin Robbins and Cold Stone seem to have cooled off..
Tropical Smoothie Cafe was on a franchising kick..
Personally, I would sell more than Yogurt .. GL
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LSU- like WSC , I have investigated Many QSR concepts , with and without partners.
From 1988-1993- college TCBY was all the rage .. now it's virtually out of business along with Carvel ice cream.
Their is a brand here in Northern Va that does well- Milwaukee's Best Frozen yogurt and Kline's drive in .. both are mom/pop and generally do well in the spring/summer .. that's it ..
Smoothie places like Robek's and Smoothie King are going strong but Baskin Robbins and Cold Stone seem to have cooled off..
Tropical Smoothie Cafe was on a franchising kick..
i went to the new spot at the mall today and they were on fire! i went right home to the corporate website to get franchising info (and I hate the idea of franchising), and looks like they are opening another one at lsu northgate. these places will blow cold stone and tcby away.
pm me when you get a chance.
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lsu,
i went to the new spot at the mall today and they were on fire! i went right home to the corporate website to get franchising info (and I hate the idea of franchising), and looks like they are opening another one at lsu northgate. these places will blow cold stone and tcby away.
i went to the new spot at the mall today and they were on fire! i went right home to the corporate website to get franchising info (and I hate the idea of franchising), and looks like they are opening another one at lsu northgate. these places will blow cold stone and tcby away.
pm me when you get a chance.
like $350k - $1.3m to open one....got to be kidding me!
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Quote Originally Posted by pistol07:
lsu,
i went to the new spot at the mall today and they were on fire! i went right home to the corporate website to get franchising info (and I hate the idea of franchising), and looks like they are opening another one at lsu northgate. these places will blow cold stone and tcby away.
pm me when you get a chance.
like $350k - $1.3m to open one....got to be kidding me!
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