Pinkberry. Iceberry. Red Mango. No, these are not different colors of nail polish. They are players in a rapidly escalating-- and increasingly bizarre-- shootout between competing SoCal frozen yogurt brands.
Frozen yogurt ('fro-yo' to aficionados) has been around since brands like This Can't Be Yogurt and I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! entered the market in the early 80s. Yet, like many 80s trends, the dessert has experienced a revival.
Patrons of Pinkberry have been known to wait upwards of an hour for their frozen fix. Pinkberry's success has spawned a host of competing knock-off brands with names like Iceberry, Roseberry, Kiwiberri, and Snowberry (according to Fortune Magazine, "Pinkberry has sued Kiwiberri and its owner, John Bae, for trademark infringement.")
But like fro-yo itself, this story has a twist.
South Korea-based Red Mango opened its first US location in Los Angeles in June and positions itself as the originator of the current fro-yo frenzy, not Pinkberry. From www.redmangousa.com: "Red Mango did it first, and no one does it better. Founded over five years ago, Red Mango first introduced the healthy frozen yogurt trend that's sweeping the nation..."
If you think the company has a (chocolate) chip on its shoulder, you're right. Red Mango's U.S. president Dan Kim has stoked the fires even further saying his yogurt is "more authentic."
To this twisty story of frozen desserts, add a sprinkling of surprise: there are virtually no differences between these brands. Each brand positions itself as an upscale dessert restaurant and each offers frozen yogurt with similar toppings, some sweet options, but most focusing on healthier choices like fruit. But Red Mango and Pinkberry even feature the same two distinct flavors, original and green tea (Yogurberry offers only one flavor, but offers a larger menu including organic sundries, beverages, sandwiches, cookies, baked goods). What's more, some locations have opened within a few hundred feet of one another.
The three leading fro-yo brands, Red Mango, Pinkberry, and Yogurberry, have already parlayed their success to move beyond the SoCal market. Red Mango now has locations in six states, including two locations in NYC. Pinkberry boasts nearly thirty CA locations and five more in NYC. Yogurberry has only a few locations in CA, but nearly fifty throughout Asia.
And the explosive growth of SoCal fro-yo joints shows no signs of slowing down. sno:la opened last month and slated to open soon are Dolci Mango, Fruberry, Green Apple, and Canadian frozen yogurt mega-chain Yogen Fruz.
Will this largely localized trend translate to a nationwide revival of the frozen yogurt market? How long before Los Angeles reaches a saturation point for fro-yo and, when that happens, who will survive and how? We'll keep you posted as this microcosm of marketing develops. In the meantime-- and for the foreseeable future-- L.A.'s yogurt culture remains live and active.
References:
Pinkberry. 25 Sep. 2007.
Red Mango. 25 Sep. 2007.
Yogurberry: All Natural Non-Fat Frozen Yogurt. Green on Blue, Inc. 25 Sep. 2007.
Red Mango enters into strategic alliance with YoCream. 13 Sep. 2007. Food Business Review. 25 Sep. 2007.
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