C S P October 2013 225

RaceTrac is trying it. So are

Casey’s, Love’s, The Pantry and

Pilot Flying J, not to mention

a good number of regional chains and

independents.

Reflecting the trends toward snacking,

customization and better-for-you foods,

soft-serve frozen-yogurt is appearing in

c-stores around the country as retail-

ers hope to ride the wave started by the

restaurant industry nearly 10 years ago.

They’re rolling in shiny new machines,

setting up vast toppings bars and training

customers to understand the pay-by-the-

ounce concept.

In the restaurant industry, the frozen-

Segment resurgence a win for c-store impulse sales

By Abbie Westra || awestra@cspnet.com

Ounce Pounce: Customers serve themselves at Swirls n Sweets, where the frozen yogurt costs 45 cents per ounce.

Frozen-Yogurt Revival

C S P October 2013 227

yogurt segment continues to grow as

operators are attracted to its small foot-

print, low labor requirements and quick

ROI. Despite market saturation in some

cities, consumers continue to gravitate

toward the segment to satiate their sweet

tooth in a healthy, economical way.

For c-stores, the risks restaurateurs

face—buying the real estate, making it a

destination—are minimized: You already

have the store, and the hundreds of other

SKUs on your shelves make frozen yogurt

more likely to be an impulse sale than a

traffi c driver, at least to start.

But today’s frozen-yogurt concepts

have evolved since the 1980s craze, and

c-stores will be challenged by the quality,

fl avor profi les and price point consumers

have come to expect. A successful pro-

gram will rely on a strong operational

plan and aggressive marketing.

Steady GrowthFrozen yogurt’s resurgence began around

2005, when Red Mango and Pinkberry

began infi ltrating the marketplace. Not

your mom’s TCBY, these new concepts

surprised consumers with a tart flavor

profile, funky toppings from Nutella

to mochi, and a self-serve, pay-by-the-

ounce format.

While the typical demographic of

these concepts is the 16- to 34-year-old

female, the segment actually sees a broad

base of ages and genders, says Darren

Tristano, executive vice president of Tech-

nomic Inc., Chicago. Its popularity and

growth can also be attributed to timing:

The by-weight format was perceived as

an economical indulgence through the

recession, and the health halo certainly

helped, too.

For the operator or franchisee,

Tristano likens the segment’s attraction

to Subway: There are so many of them in

large part because “you can open a store

with small square footage, low labor and

a small upfront investment,” he explains.

“You don’t need a lot of revenue to get to

profi tability.”

While most c-stores will

opt to slide a few frozen-

yogurt machines into

their foodservice

o r d i s p e n s e d -

beverage offer,

Warrenton Oil

Co., which runs

33 stores under

the FastLane ban-

ner, opted to go all in

and open its own stand-

alone frozen-yogurt shop.

About a year ago, the Warrenton,

Mo.-based chain opened Swirls n Sweets,

a brand it developed internally. It went

into an endcap of the company’s building

that houses a FastLane c-store and—tip

of the hat to Tristano—a Subway.

“We work to bring both brands

together by taking samples of yogurt

to the pumps to draw awareness to the

yogurt shop,” says Laura Wacker, direc-

tor of foodservice. The shop features a

fun, energetic design with a pink, yellow

and green color palette, crisp whites and a

curving, tiled wall showcasing the built-in

Taylor frozen-yogurt dispensers. There is

plenty of seating and six machines, for a

total of 18 fl avor choices. Flavors vary from

traditional strawberry with real fruit pieces

to more unique offerings such as Ooey

Gooey Cinnamon Bun.

Guests customize their treat at

the 30-item toppings bar, which

includes fresh-cut fruit, sauces, assorted

candy toppings and nuts. “Children love

the gummy bears and worms, while the

adults go for the more indulgent toppings

such as caramel turtles, peanut butter

cups and malted-milk-ball top-

pings,” says Wacker.

T h e s t a n d - a l o n e

Swirls n Sweets opened

last September, and

ear l ier this year

FastLane brought

a scaled-down ver-

sion into one of its

c-stores. Three hun-

dred square feet were set

aside near the front, which

houses four machines, 12 fla-

vors (including twist combinations) and

a 30-topping bar.

Customers pay 45 cents per ounce and

have the choice of a 16- or 20-ounce cup

or a waffl e cone. The company continues

to monitor both concepts to see how to

expand the concept to other locations.

Meanwhile, in Savannah, Ga., Enmark

Stations Inc. is testing a self-serve frozen-

yogurt program in 10 of its 62 stores.

Two locations were new builds that had

the frozen-yogurt program designed

into the fl oor plan; at the other locations,

slow-moving products or programs were

“Actively promoting frozen yogurt in c-stores

plays a vital role in attracting new customers,

resulting in repeat visits and increased

check averages.”

Sustaining Growth: Nearly 10 years after the trend began with West Coast chain Pinkberry, the

self-serve frozen-yogurt segment continues to grow.

C S P October 2013 227

phased out to make room for the new offer.

Enmark uses Italian-made Bras

B-Cream machines, which take up about

12 inches of linear space each. Toppings

use another 2 to 5 linear feet depending

on the store, says Matt Clements, director

of marketing.

Like FastLane, Enmark offers a wide

variety of flavors, from the traditional to

the trendy, such as birthday-cake-flavored

frozen yogurt. Toppings include hot syr-

ups, cold fruit, nuts, sprinkles, cereals

and candy.

So far, the company sees the program

as a success. Clements anticipates the

chain will adjust to have more machines in

higher-volume stores and take machines

out of slower-moving locations.

Getting the Word OutWhile c-stores can rely on a frozen-

yogurt program as an impulse purchase,

it can—and should—become a destina-

tion through thorough marketing and

promotions.

A couple of Enmark’s stores have

become a destination for self-serve frozen

yogurt; for the rest, “it’s purely impulse,”

says Clements.

“We haven’t done a lot of outside

marketing,” he says. “That’s when we’ll

know if these machines are going to be

long term.”

Enmark’s frozen-yogurt customers

span all demographics, says Clements,

from women and children to blue-collar

workers. The offering is found in various

markets, from suburban to small town,

though the busiest location happens to

be very close to a high school.

High school kids are an important

demographic for FastLane, too, and the

chain takes advantage of that with its

Sprinkle on the Spirit promotion. Students

from two local schools are encouraged to

show their spirit by using the sprinkle mix

with their school’s colors. The school that

uses the most sprinkles over a period of

time wins a trophy displayed in the store.

The store also offers a 20% discount on

Thursdays for customers who wear the

school colors into the store.

FastLane is building awareness through

daily specials, including Fill-A-Cone for

$2 on Tuesdays and free pints with a $10

purchase on Saturdays. (It sells pints to

help offset waste.) FastLane and Swirls n

Sweets work together by offering Fro-Yo

and Fuel Friday. The fuel customer gets

a 20% discount at Swirls n Sweets on Fri-

day when they bring in their fuel receipt.

Swirls n Sweets is also part of the chain’s

loyalty program, in which customers

get KickBack points for purchases that

can be redeemed at either location.

On its busy Facebook page (where

it’s clocked in nearly 1,000 fans),

Swirls N Sweets is promoting a new

birthday party package: For $45, a

customer receives a large pizza, fountain

drinks, frozen yogurt, candy bags and bal-

loons for eight people, as well as service

from a “party hostess.”

“Actively promoting frozen yogurt

in c-stores plays a vital role in attract-

ing new customers, resulting in repeat

visits and increased check averages,” says

Patricia Bennett, senior director of global

marketing for Rockton, Ill.-based Taylor

Co., which manufactures frozen-yogurt

machines along with other foodservice

equipment.

“As customer demand for healthier

foodservice offerings and speed of service

increases, store operators are creating

new ways to differentiate themselves from

other foodservice establishments,” says

Bennett. “Increasingly, they’re turning to

us as a way to meet that demand while

also growing store traffic.”

The Right Stuff Before creating engaging promotions

and sending staffers to the pumps with

samples, retailers must analyze their

C S P October 2013228

Oh No: ‘Bro-Yo’?In the Venn diagram of frozen yogurt and breastaurants (yes, there is such a Venn

diagram), Cups is at the center. An odd mix of Pinkberry and Hooters, the chain

is aimed at male consumers, or “bro-yo,” as Darren Tristano of Technomic says.

Employees wear hot-pink tank tops, and the logo features two bountiful cups of

frozen yogurt.

“It’s more of a clublike experience with an edgy vibe. We have loud dance music

with lighting and murals that give us a look and feel that is very different from the

normal yogurt bar or ice-cream shop,” founder Rick Barbrick said in a press release.

30 Flavors: Swirls n Sweets’ toppings bar includes 30 items, such as fruit,

candy and nuts.

C S P October 2013230

space and make the proper

purchasing and operational

decisions.

▶ Customers and compet i t ion . Take

note of your competi-

tive landscape and the

store demographics.

Will frozen yogurt be a

differentiator, or is it so

different for your market

that consumers won’t be

interested?

▶ Space allocation. Understand your desired layout,

be it in a new store or an existing

location. New builds allow you to plan

space accordingly, while adding frozen

yogurt to an existing location may be an

opportunity to get rid of a low-perform-

ing offering.

Pay close attention to where in the

store you place the program. As close to

the checkout as possible is ideal because it

is more likely to be noticed by customers

and it allows employees to keep a close

eye on it. But even if you position it deep

in the store near the fountain, proper sig-

nage—from the pump to the doors to the

checkout—is critical.

▶ Equipment and product. A good

equipment manufacturer should help

you understand the capacity and number

of units needed based on projected vol-

umes. Choosing a piece of equipment will

also depend on the type of product you

use, be it ready-to-dispense frozen yogurt,

or powders that require a little extra labor.

“Knowledge is everything when it

comes to these machines. Not that they’re

temperamental, but things happen,” says

Wacker of FastLane. She recalls one day

in which something on a machine wasn’t

properly closed, which locked up all the

machines and ruined the day’s product.

While the number of units you need

and the capacity per machine will depend

on your own store traffic, success will be

determined by how it holds up to traffic

volumes. You want each cup to be consis-

tent in temperature and texture.

“Choose a model that can consistently

produce quality products, draw after

draw—even during your busiest day-

parts,” says Bennett.

▶ Labor. As with any fresh-food offer-

ing, TLC from employees is critical for

both promotion and maintenance of

the program. Team members need to be

properly trained on cleaning the equip-

ment as well as keeping the area clean

and appetizing.

“It’s about training and creating

awareness,” says Wacker. The stand-alone

Swirls n Sweets location naturally has

dedicated staff, and the chain is ensur-

ing that all c-store employees are cross-

trained for the in-store location.

▶ Price point. Finding the

right price point may be a sticky

proposition for convenience

retailers, says Tristano of

Technomic. The frozen-

yogurt consumer is used

to paying upwards of $6

for a sweet treat—but with

that higher price point

comes an elevated experi-

ence. Value-pricing frozen

yogurt may hurt the quality

perception, but with a higher

price point must actually come

a high-quality experience, which

includes cleanliness, product quality

and unique, modern branding.

The biggest surprises for both Wacker

and Clements have been related to cus-

tomer perception and education. “Many

of our customers have not been in

yogurt shops and are not familiar with

pay-by-the-weight,” says Clements. “So

there has been a little bit of a learning

curve with that.” They alleviated the

problem by sending employees over to

explain the process while the customer

prepares his or her yogurt. “Our price

is clearly posted, but there have been

instances where customers thought the

entire cup was 39 cents.”

At FastLane, “We opened with just

one size cup (20 ounces) and we had

to bring a smaller cup by customer

request—even though it is self-serve and

the customer determines the amount ...

they want,” says Wacker. “I think it was

just a visual perception, but we listened

to our customers and took action.”

Another benefit c-stores have over

traditional frozen-yogurt concepts is the

potential to grow check averages. Once

the offering evolves from impulse to des-

tination, retailers can use it to leverage

other foodservice items and more. n

Dispensing Riches: FastLane has opened a stand-alone Swirls n Sweets location, as well as an in-store program.