From groupies to trendwatchers, foodies to celebrities, the Pinkberry buzz has been sweeping coast to coast since 2005. Check out the world’s most talked-about, deliciously tangy frozen yogurt swirling in the scenes.
06 29 07 | Fox 11 News Pinkberry was featured on Fox 11 News
06 2007 | MONOCLE In The Pink By Ann Marie Gardner
Preface Pinkberry yoghurt is one of those American franchise ideas – think soup, coffee and juice bars – that seem so obvious, you want to kick yourself for not having bought in at the beginning. The growth of the franchise has been explosive, from one Los Angeles store in January 2005 to 16 today, plus three in New York (five more by the end of summer) and, soon, six in London.
Pinkberry Korean-style yoghurt comes in two flavours – plain and green tea. It’s rather like Greek yoghurt with a hint of lemon. The fresh, tangy, strangely satisfying flavour grows on you. The snack, with only 25 calories a portion, is served with fresh fruit or crunchy toppings like Oreo cookies or Cap’n Crunch.
When Pinkberry opened in LA it was an overnight sensation. Queues formed around the block and customers drove for hours to get their fix. The city made $15,000 (€110,000) a month on parking tickets from customers. Bloggers obsessed over the secret of the recipe and the store was in profit within a month.
Then, last winter, three New York shops opened. Without any press, 800 customers came through each branch every day. As word of mouth spread, even die-hard New Yorkers queued on snowy days. By April, Pinkberry New York was serving 1,500 customers a day, compared to 3,000 a day in LA.
New Yorker Lisa Lozana treks downtown to Pinkberry several times a week from her Midtown office. “Now everyone in my office is addicted too,” she says as she manoeuvres 10 plain yoghurts with blueberries out the door and hails a cab.
Pinkberry co-owner (with Young Lee) Shelly Hwang explains: “The recipe is very specific. In Korea we drink yoghurt all the time. We wanted the same taste in the US but could only find it in that sour gelato from Italy. Part of the main product line comes from Italy, but we developed our product using natural ingredients and skimmed milk. To simplify the menu is key, and, second, good ingredients. Our fruit is so fresh because we pick it up at the airport before it reaches the wholesale market.”
So, with only two products, minimum staff training, a playfully modern store design and regular customers, Pinkberry franchises seem to be licenses to print money. But, Hwang says, “It’s misleading how much work and strategy there is behind it. My life is Pinkberry. If I focus on my business, I don’t need to worry about other competitors.”
Still, there is a slew of copycats – Kiwiberri, Snowberry, Berrigood – and also questions about whether Pinkberry copied Red Mango, which opened in Korea in 2002. Red Mango had 180 stores in Korea last year and although it has recently closed 50 franchises in Korea, it’s planning to move to the US in response to Pinkberry’s popularity. Red Mango has hired investment bankers to run the company, and market researchers and focus groups to do taste tests against Pinkberry. It has hired designers to change its interiors from Asian kitsch to something more like Starbucks.
Does Pinkberry have what it takes to go global? Franchisee Daihwan Choi, who by the end of summer will own eight franchises in New York and eight in LA, says, “It’s not an easy operation. With so many customers, you have to pay a lot more attention to customer service. It’s a great problem to have, though!”
Though there are many frozen yogurt shops vying for the crown, Pinkberry still beats out its creamier competition. The flavor is tangy with a subtle crunchy texture. Just two kinds of yogurt are sold, plain and green tea, and though it's not on the menu, the servers will swirl them together if you ask.
There's a well-edited selection of fresh seasonal fruits-raspberries, mangoes, bananas-in addition to cereals and chocolate chips.
The store is sparkling clean with ultramodern decor: think Ikea meets Design Within Reach.
Pinkberry's devoted fans flock to the store. Though dozens of new locations are popping up in Los Angeles and New York, lines still snake out the door.
05 16 07 | KIIS FM On-Air with Ryan Seacrest Ryan: Manny on the Streets live in Studio City with free, cold, frozen yogurt. Where are you bro?
Manny: Right here at the Pinkberry store. 12044 ½ Ventura Boulevard, corner of Ventura and Laurel Canyon. And if you want, Ryan’s buying Pinkberry for the first fifty people coming down, and if you’ve never tried it, just like myself, we’re going to try it together and have a kumbaya right here at the Pinkberry store. Corner of Ventura and Laurel Canyon, come on down! Manny on the streets and you’re on-air with Ryan Seacrest on 102.7 KIIS FM.
Ryan: I mean really there’s something in this stuff that makes you wake up in the middle of the night and want it. So when we come back with you, Manny, I want to speak to somebody who runs the shop.
Manny: I will put them on for you, so we can get down to the bottom of this.
Ryan: We’re live at the Pinkberry store, the frozen yogurt store in Studio City, and there are 16 locations…and these are becoming very popular. People will wait in line just to have this frozen yogurt. So what’s the hook, and why are people becoming addicted to this yogurt?
Do you remember when frozen yogurt first came out, like, ‘This can’t be yogurt,’ there’s a company called TCBY, I think it was, right? And it was quite the thing. This is now the new, very, very popular destination for people who want something to treat themselves, but it’s apparently healthy. Manny on the Streets, you’re giving away free Pinkberry this morning in Studio City, huh?
Manny: We are, and we are live in Studio City! (Cheers in background) Everyone’s getting their free Pinkberry over here, of course you can get the plain, or the green tea, and you can put a whole bunch of toppings on top. I have Heather Wilson, hold on.
Ryan: Heather, we’re still trying to crack you here. I know people who are addicted to this. What is in this that causes an addiction?
Heather: [Laughs] Well, I think it’s just the flavor, there’s nothing in it that’s not wholesome and fresh. It’s made with non-fat yogurt, and non-fat milk, I think it’s just the flavor.
Ryan: And you only have two flavors—there’s plain and green tea, right?
Heather: Exactly.
Ryan: How come not more choices?
Heather: I think they found a hit, and they’re sticking with it.
Ryan: And this is low in calories, no fat at all. We should remind, that this is not an advertisement; this is us strictly being curious.
Ellen K: They’re saying that you can’t call it frozen yogurt, because frozen yogurt has to be frozen—shipped frozen—and you make yours fresh on site, right?
Heather: Right. The state has rules on how things are made, and we’ve actually been working with the state to resolve these issues.
Ellen K: Well they’re ticked off.
Ryan: Well the state has a lot bigger issues than our yogurt.
Ellen K: [Laughs] Well yeah, they do, I would say they do, but still, this is an issue.
Heather: It’s an issue, and we’ve been working with them, and we believe that it does meet the requirements of frozen yogurt. We’ve been working diligently with the state to solve the issue.
Ryan: Will the state shut you down?
Heather: No, we don’t believe so. We’ve been working with them to deal with the issue.
Ryan: Because I saw an article in the [LA] Times or something about it.
Ellen K: They won’t take your name away, will they?
Heather: Well we certainly hope not! We’ve been working with them, and as I said, it’s made with yogurt and milk, and is wholesome and healthy.
Ryan: Well, if you do have to change names, Dingles is always available.
03 03 07 | KCRW Good Food Goes Green Host Evan Kleiman
Evan Kleiman has been the host of Good Food on KCRW since 1998. A longtime restaurateur and owner of Angeli Caffe on Melrose. She was the founder of Slow Food, Los Angeles and is an avid gardener.
Jennifer Steinhauer reveals how frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry makes its competitors green with envy.
A renowned proverb states that "All's fair in love and war." But what about frozen yogurt? The high-end frozen-yogurt chain Pinkberry is evoking a surprising amount of passionate drama –- from yogurt addicts who can't get enough of it to angry neighbors, traffic jams, copycats and corporate sabotage. Jennifer Steinhauer, Los Angeles Bureau Chief for the New York Times, wrote an article about the chain and calls the current frozen yogurt craze the "leg warmer of food trends." She gives us a little history about frozen yogurt's on-again/off-again popularity, tells us how Pinkberry's simplified approach and their trendy, minimally-designed interiors are attracting droves of customers, and exactly what all that corporate fuss is about!
