I interviewed Amit Kleinberger, CEO of Menchie’s, back in May of this year.  It was a pleasant conversation but I didn’t think the Q&A was particularly insightful.  I wish I had gotten Amit to share more candid, behind-the-scenes information about Menchie’s — not just general marketing-speak — but his passion for the business was evident.  To my surprise, that interview has become one of my most popular to date, and still gets a lot of pageviews to this day, six months later.  There’s something about Menchie’s that people love. I’m still not quite sure what it is, but the brand has certainly inspired a loyal following and generated significant interest from prospective franchisees.

The one thing that stood out from our conversation was Amit’s repeated use of the word “smiles”.  So when I read the headline on Franchising.com, “Man on a Mission: Building An Empire On A Foundation Of Smiles,” I knew the article would be about Amit Kleinberger.  (I was right!) The article is primarily about Amit’s management philosopy and style, but I did get a few interesting tidbits, like the statement I used as the title of this post, which shows Amit’s lofty long-term ambitions for Menchie’s.

When asked what his plans are for Menchies in the next 12 to 18 months, Amit responded in characteristic style:  “We are a guest-experience-focused company, so you can expect us to advance and innovate our Menchie’s in-store experience. We do not just sell yogurt, we provide an experience that is complete and flawlessly fun. Menchie’s will provide guests with the most interactive environment in the frozen dessert category. It’s not only about the product, it’s about coming into our stores and leaving with a big smile.”

“We are in the process of innovating and reinventing our product line, placing community before commerce, and focusing on the highest quality out there, ensuring that we have the leading product and experience in the marketplace. From a positioning standpoint, we will become the largest self-serve frozen yogurt retailer worldwide by June 2012. There will be a lot of international expansion in the next year, with openings in more than 10 countries. Our guests can expect improved guest care programs with further interactive features and guest touch points in our stores that will make them smile even more. Bottom line: the Menchie’s in-store experience will only get better in the year to come!”

To read the entire article on Franchising.com, please click here.

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