franchise industry restaurant founded thornhill ontario canada 1986 founders michael serruya aaron serruya headquarters 210 shields court markham ontario canada key people aaron serruya president products frozen yogurt smoothie yogurt fruit cup website yogenfruz.com yogen fr z is an canadian chain of frozen yogurt and smoothie stores that also serves healthy alternative food products . the chain is run through company owned franchised and non traditional partnerships . the chain operates worldwide and has been rated one of the top 500 franchises for over 20 years . the global headquarters is in markham ontario in the greater toronto area of canada . 1 contents 1 history 2 menu 3 business strategy and organization 4 awards and recognition 5 see also 6 references 6.1 footnotes 6.2 notations 7 external links history edit the promenade mall yogen fr z store yogen fr z in vaughan mills closed in 2014 due to the mall expansion yogen fr z at hillcrest yogen fr z was founded in 1986 by brothers michael serruya and aaron serruya who opened the firm s first outlet in august 1986 at the promenade shopping centre in thornhill ontario canada . the umlaut over the u in the store s name is an example of foreign branding . the store offered made to order frozen yogurt in cups as well as frozen shakes mixed with fresh fruit ; it was successful and within a year the company s first franchises opened in london ontario . by 1989 yogen fr z franchised its 100th store . a younger brother simon joined the company in 1989 at the age of 18 while their father sold his typesetting business to oversea offices in europe . in december 2005 international franchise corp. acquired yogen fr z and coolbrands international s franchise division . 2 today the company serves proprietary probiotic frozen yogurt 3 both mixed with fruit s and soft serve and both dairy and non dairy smoothies . it is the largest franchiser of stores serving primarily frozen yogurt with over 1 400 locations operating in more than 46 countries . 4 the company aims to brand itself as a healthy choice lifestyle product . menu edit yogen fr z developed a unique blending system which combines its frozen yogurt bars with freshly frozen fruits allowing customers to choose their own custom blend . custom frozen yogurt blends can be created into frozen yogurt cups 5 or smoothies . 6 yogen fr z has created frozen yogurt versions of favourite dessert treats called sensations flavors under this label include strawberry cheesecake apple pie chai latte pi a colada and more . yogen fr z menu items can be customized into low fat non dairy no fat or no sugar added desserts . 7 business strategy and organization edit the firm frequently uses master franchisees who can obtain the rights either to open stores directly or sell franchise licenses to others . master franchisees are granted for periods varying between ten and twenty years and usually require the franchisee to open a minimum number of outlets each year . 8 additionally the firm uses a non traditional method of expansion involving co branding which allowed for the mingling of yogen fr z products with other known food services by way of mini counters in established stores . as of 2008 master franchise agreements and co branding remain the firm s main business . the serruya brothers initially sought expansion overseas rather than compete in the united states because frozen yogurt dessert shops had already neared market saturation in the united states in the 1980s and unlike today the average consumer was then neither familiar with nor accepting of the taste of yogurt . 8 in early 1995 yogen fr z franchisees operated 170 outlets in canada which comprised 80 percent of the frozen yogurt market in canada . as of 2007 yogen fr z has over 1 200 stores operating in over 25 countries including the united states 9 10 11 yogen fr z smiling logo in 2008 the company announced its new store design and branding which was designed to be applied to small and large outlets in both malls and free standing stores . 12 on january 14 2010 archeology investments announced a master franchise agreement which grants rights to the company to open shops in dubai oman qatar bahrain and kuwait . 13 in february 2014 diet & lite trading an abu dhabi based company and member of the khalifa fund obtained the master franchise rights for the uae . awards and recognition edit it has been suggested that portions of this section be split out into another article titled list of awards . discuss december 2015 . this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message year award 14 15 1992 frankie award of merit for excellence in franchise advertising ranked 4th in the ace 100 top north american entrepreneurs award among the top 40 companies under 40 years of age by entrepreneur magazine 1993 ranked 3rd in the ace top 100 north american entrepreneurs under 30 years of age award top franchise in north america in the relevant category by entrepreneur magazine 1994 top percentage growth company in foodservice award from the foodservice and hospitality magazine . 1995 operators of the year award for 1995 and 1996 from foodservice and hospitality magazine ranked 6th among the top 30 fastest growing franchises by entrepreneur magazine ranked 15th among the top franchises in north america by entrepreneur magazine ranked 16th among the top franchises worldwide by entrepreneur magazine top of the frozen yogurt category by entrepreneur magazine 1996 ranked among the top 100 in hospitality for greatest dollar and greatest percentage increase from the foodservice and hospitality magazine top 40 under40 canadian entrepreneur award given to michael aaron and simon serruya by the financial post ranked 16th among the top franchises worldwide by entrepreneur international franchise magazine 1997 young entrepreneur of the year award for both ontario and national categories 19th fastest growing company in canada by profit 100 outstanding business achievement award from the ontario chamber of commerce frankie award excellence in franchise advertising 2 gold 2 silver worldfest houston bronze award for tv commercial 1998 ranked 3rd in entrepreneur magazine s franchise 500 list after mcdonald s and burger king ranked 2nd among fastest growing franchises by entrepreneur magazine ranked 1st in the frozen yogurt category among the top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine 1999 ranked 1st among all major franchise chains worldwide 16 17 2000 ranked 1st in the frozen yogurt category among the top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine 2002 ranked 1st in the frozen yogurt category among the top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine 2008 ranked among the top 50 fastest growing franchises by entrepreneur magazine ranked among the top 100 franchises by entrepreneur magazine ranked among top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine ranked among top 200 global franchises by entrepreneur.com ranked among 117 best restaurant franchises by entrepreneur magazine ranked among canada s top 100 foodservice companies by foodservice and hospitality 2009 frankie award for top web design and menu board design in canadian franchising 18 ranked among top 200 global franchises by entrepreneur.com ranked among top 120 restaurant franchises by entrepreneur magazine ranked among canada s top 100 foodservice companies by foodservice and hospitality 2010 ranked 15th among the top 100 global franchises by franchise direct 19 ranked among top franchises on 2010 fastest growing franchises by entrepreneur 20 the hot list top franchises in the hottest sectors of the economy by entrepreneur s startups ranked among top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine top restaurant franchises of 2010 by entrepreneur magazine ranked among canada s top 100 foodservice companies by foodservice and hospitality 2011 ranked among top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine top restaurant franchises by entrepreneur magazine ranked among top 100 restaurant companies by foodservice and hospitality ranked among top 100 global franchises by franchisedirect.com top global franchise by entrepreneur magazine 33rd annual franchise 500 by entrepreneur magazine 2012 ranked among top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine top 100 by foodservice and hospitality top franchises by foodservice and hospitality 2013 ranked among top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine today s hottest franchise oppprtunities by entrepreneur startups ranked among top 200 global franchises by entrepreneur magazine 2014 top 500 franchises by entrepreneur magazine 102 fastest growing franchises by entrepreneur magazine top 100 global franchises 2014 rankings by franchisedirect.com top food franchises by entrepreneur magazine top 200 franchise systems by franchise time 2015 top 100 global franchises the best franchises internationally by franchisedirect.com top foodservice chains by foodservice and hospitality top 50 franchises in the world by business insider top 20 franchises in the world by business insider the future 50 by csp magazine 2016 top 100 global franchise by franchise direct see also edit list of frozen yogurt companies references edit footnotes edit contact us . yogen fr z. retrieved on march 15 2014 . yogen fr z headquarters 210 shields court markham ontario l3r 8v2 canada coolbrands sells franchising division . . ice cream reporter . 2006 01 20 . sugar fit 2007 05 22 . latest healthy dessert craze yogen fr z . sugar publishing inc. about us . yogen fruz . retrieved 2013 01 17 . flav rs we mix it . yogen fr z. retrieved july 10 2016 . smoothies . yogen fr z. retrieved july 10 2016 . nutrition . yogen fr z. retrieved july 10 2016 . a b klein karen e. 2008 03 10 . can yogen fruz gain a u.s. following . business week . about us . yogen fruz . store finder . yogen fruz . busy year for yogen fruz . . ice cream reporter . 2008 01 20 . yogen fruz unveils new store design at two stores in canada . reuters . 2008 02 28 . world s largest frozen yogurt chain open its door to middle east . ameinfo.com . 2010 01 14 . https theregistry.force.com business 1u0000005e5ie ga 1.242199616.376443917.1423866646 permanent dead link archived copy . archived from the original on february 18 2015 . retrieved february 18 2015 . tiffany laura 1999 01 01 . freeze fame how this year s no. 1 franchise yogen fr z is getting its just desserts . . entrepreneur magazine . mulhern charlotte 1998 01 01 . the big chill the brothers behind yogen fr z turn up the heat on a cool concept . . entrepreneur magazine . canadian franchise association announces 2009 frankie award winners . canadian franchising association . 2009 05 08 . expansion into foreign markets . franchise direct . 2010 04 18 . 2010 fastest growing franchises . entrepreneur . notations edit clark gerry january 2000 . bringing back the brand . dairy foods . fisk holly celeste september 1996 . just desserts yogurt is but the tip of the iceberg for yogen fruz . entrepreneur . hamstra mark 1996 03 25 . yogen fruz diversifies with icbiy buy . nation s restaurant news . hamstra mark 1996 12 16 . yogen fruz is warming up to u.s. stock market . nation s restaurant news . chu showwei freeze play canadian business december 26 1997 p. 77 . feinberg phyllis cold war thaw reached in frozen treat proxy fight pensions & investments september 20 1999 p. 8 . resistance melts away at eskimo pie firm to be broken ; yogen fruz claims victory plans bid for core assets financial post september 9 1999 p. c3 . mchutchion john yogen fruz takes on six countries toronto star july 2 1996 p. d4 . rojo oscar yogen fruz expands chain toronto star october 18 1994 p. d9 . rubin sandra a cool smooth investment hamilton spectator july 29 1995 p. c11 . steinhart david restructuring holds key to evolution of yogen