Phillip Chang Takes Yogurtland Global

What frozen-yogurt eaters really want is the freedom to buy precisely the right amount of each flavor and topping, Phillip Chang decided. Five years later, the self-serve-by-weight concept has people lining up at 150 Yogurtland locations while rival chains are closing stores.

“Control, choice and creativity should always be in the hands of our guests,” is how Yogurtland describes the experience it’s selling along with 16 flavors of active-culture yogurt in each store.

The Anaheim-based frozen-yogurt chain now has stores in seven states, Mexico and Japan. It plans to have 550 stores in four years. Each franchisee pays Yogurtland a $35,000 franchise fee plus 8% of gross monthly sales in royalties and marketing fees. Figuring average annual sales of $800,000 per store, Chang should be seeing revenues of around $38 million a year by 2015.

Yogurtland is the third major frozen yogurt chain founded by a Korean American entrepreneur. The concept of stores that combine live and active-culture frozen yogurt in exotic flavors with an ultra-modern, translucent-plastic Asian aesthetic sensibility in decor was pioneered in 2005 by Pinkberry, followed in 2006 by Yogurtland and 2007 by Red Mango. As of mid-2011 Yogurtland’s self-serve concept has helped it leapfrog the other two in total outlets. Pinkberry has an estimated 100 stores in 25 states while Red Mango has about 130 outlets.

Phillip Chang opened his first Yogurtland store in February 2006 in Fullerton, California. He brought to it the experience he had gained with his 2001 launch of BobaLoca which currently has 33 outlets in Southern California. Chang began his professional career as a systems programmer. Between 1994 to 2001 his Prime Computer Consulting firm built out and operated business solutions for a number of corporate clients. He majored in mathematics and computer science in college.