The frozen yogurt (fro-yo) fever is heating up as the tart treat tries to lure consumers as a healthier alternative to ice cream.
The most recent one to jump onto the bandwagon is Korea-based Yogurberry, which will set up its first store in the next three months. Dubai-based Synergy holdings, which holds the master franchisee for Yogurberry in India has inked a deal with Raasha Leisure and Entertainment as the area franchisee for North and East India.
Yogurberry is not alone in chasing this ‘guilt-free’ indulgence category, which purveyors say is a hybrid of ice-cream (smoothness) and pro-biotic yogurt (base).
In April this year, UK-based Yogurtry launched the ‘hard serve’ (does not need to be consumed instantly unlike soft-serve) frozen yogurt, in India, through retail stores like Spencers, HyperCity and Godrej Nature’s Basket. “However, we realised that selling frozen yogurt tubs in retail, where frozen yogurt competes for shelf space with ice-cream, set yogurt brands like Danone and Amul did not create enough visibility,” says Michael Zelouf, partner and chairman, Yogurtry. To grab eyeballs Yogurtry plans to spawn a chain of parlours to retail its yogurt. The first parlour will sprout in Mumbai in October this year.
The fro-yo craze is not limited to stand alone chains. Premium coffee retailer Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has also introduced Frozen Swirl to its menu last month, after a successful run in Singapore and Malaysia. “Customers who visited our café used to ask for ice-cream to accompany the coffee. Thus, we decided to launch a low-calorie yogurt offering in two flavours: original tart and classic vanilla,” says Amit Maheshwari, general manager (operations), Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, India. The initiative is being piloted in four outlets and will be scaled up gradually.
Indians are only now getting a taste of frozen yogurt, a category which has taken off fairly well in the West. In mature markets like South Korea and USA, frozen yogurt accounts for 5-6 percent of the total ice-cream market. Cocoberry founder GS Bhalla expects similar figures for India in the next five to six years. In India, the frozen yogurt segment is nascent, industry watchers believe the market will touch Rs 295 crore and 4.6 million units in volume and value terms respectively, by 2015.
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Players are confident that with increasing disposable incomes, an evolving taste palette, and inclination towards health and wellness, these products will drive growth.
| THE FRO-YO PIE | |
| COCOBERRY | 32 outlets, 100 outlets by 2012 |
| YOGURTRY | First outlet in October, 100 outlets by 2012 |
| YOGURBERRY | First outlet in next 3 months, 150 outlets by 2016 |
| KIWI KISS | 5 outlets |
| BERRY COOL | 1 outlet |
Cocoberry, which introduced the product in India two years, has an aggressive roll out plan. It hopes to take the footprint of 32 outlets across the country, to 100 by end of next year.
Plans are ambitious but can brands woo consumers from Indian flavoured yogurt like Shrikhand and mainstream ice-cream brands which are competitively priced and attune to Indian taste buds?
Brands are playing it smart. Yogurtry, for instance has hired Mumbai based Katha Mediatix to help position Yogurtry as an aspirational brand that is healthy. The objective is to bring yuppies on board who will be early adopters and drive growth of the category. “Consumers that regularly eat ice-cream and dessert will be low hanging fruit, but eventually the aim is to position frozen yogurt as a ‘healthy product’ that can be consumed for breakfast, lunch and dinner on-the-go,” says Romeer Sen, director, Katha Mediatix.
In fact, Cocoberry has in its crosshairs women in the age group of 15-35 years, who are not only the largest chunk of fro-yo consumers globally but also in India. Some targeted activities are in the pipeline. “We will launch a health and wellness periodical end of the year to build the association of frozen yogurt as a healthy treat,” says Bhalla. Early this year, we also sponsored events like Ladies Golf Cup in the Thomas Cook Indian Golf league and the Delhi International Football League.
Pricing of frozen yogurt is similar to premium ice-cream and driving volumes will be a challenge. Cocoberry, for instance has introduced the Rs 25 cone to induce trials (a regular scoop costs Rs 54).
But bringing consumers on board is one half of the issue. The other is logistics and supply chain costs. Cocoberry, will soon add to its existing facility in North India by adding a distribution centre in West and South India.
Experts also claim sustaining the business on parlours alone is not viable in the long term and frozen yogurt chains need to look at alternate sources of distribution.
Yogurtry, which has tapped modern trade through its ‘hard serve’ yogurt, is grappling with the issue of a proper cold chain ecosystem. There was an instance when the retailer could not provide the required refrigeration temperature thus leading to damage of an entire batch of Yogurtry products. Thus, the company is working on ‘branded’ freezer boxes which can be placed in modern trade stores as well as office complexes.
Cocoberry, on the other hand is de-risking its business by introducing complementary products like frozen berries, drinkable yogurt and muesli that can be easily retailed through modern trade.