STRATEGIC PARTNERS
June 21, 2011
Beautiful Brands International (BBI), parent company of Tulsa-based FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt, has announced an agreement with owners of Tulsa-based CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt Bar, and Dallas and Robyn Jones, to franchise and market CherryBerry alongside FreshBerry across the globe. Both companies, combined, operate more than 100 locations and have stores under contract in 38 states and 8 countries.
“We’re thrilled to join CherryBerry in this venture and expand our footprint with the combined strength of our management talent and franchise expertise,” said David Rutkauskas, Beautiful Brands founder, president and CEO. “Essentially we are creating a super chain and leveraging our buying power with vendors, suppliers and landlords. Our combined efforts will provide us with the platform to pursue more growth and capture a substantial share of the self-serve and full-serve frozen yogurt markets.”
As part of the agreement, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt Bar will utilize BBI’s organizational and support system to market and franchise the brand on a national and global scale. BBI’s support will include product development, marketing, real estate, architecture, legal, franchise sales, and other aspects of franchise development.
Before CherryBerry began working with BBI, the company was issuing licenses to spur its growth. But now, through Beautiful Brands, CherryBerry is starting to expand through franchising. Both frozen yogurt concepts will continue to operate independently of each other.
“Working in tandem like this gives us the ability to build a stronger unified effort for expansion and growth,” said Dallas Jones. “The result, I believe, will be an unprecedented alliance of two unique franchise concepts and a model for success that will continue to gain traction in the fro-yo industry.”
CherryBerry Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt Bar offers 12 premium rotating healthy and fat-free frozen yogurt flavors and more than 50 toppings. The store features self-serve yogurt stations, plus a toppings bar. Pricing is by the ounce.
In addition to serving a variety of frozen yogurt flavors, FreshBerry’s menu features smoothies, yogurt by the pint or quart, and FreshPops.
