Irvine’s Yogurtland survives froyo craze

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Q. So is pricing different per store?

A. About 75 percent of the chain is tied to that pricing, but we do have different pricing outside the region.

Q. What is the average price most people spend?

A. $3.85.

Q. Do you have a test kitchen in Irvine?

A. We do have a test kitchen, a lab and a store inside the office. It's really a cool place. It's impressive to bring franchise candidates here. It gives VIPs, and people who come to see us, a sense of what our stores are.

Q. There's been a lot of controversy over what constitutes true frozen yogurt. Can you explain how your product is made?

A. We invest a lot of our money into R&D and product development. We have an R&D guy who travels to Hawaii to look into bananas. We use real macadamia nuts from Australia that are double-roasted and ground into macadamia butter. We use real ingredients. That's the big push. We're not hiding anything. We create all the formulas in our lab. All details (of how it is made), I can't really talk about that.

Q. So everything is authentic. No artificial coloring?

A. Unless it is not available, real is first and foremost – even if it costs more.

Q. Are you certified by the National Yogurt Association'sÃ¯Â¿Â½ Live and Active Cultures seal (see note below)?

A. Yes.

Q. Your rivals often say that self-serve frozen yogurt concepts tweak the yogurt so it weighs more, thus resulting in a higher pricing. Can you address that?

A. We don't do anything that messes around with our consumers. We have 17- and 18-year-olds running these stores. The last thing I want them messing around with is how much air to put in a machine. I'm not looking to jack up pricing. I'm looking to do volume. We don't need to play games. We have a successful company and we're not going to put it in jeopardy.

Q. With your accelerated growth plans, do you think you'll be the biggest frozen yogurt chain in the U.S. by 2015?

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