In this FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on the TCBY franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for a TCBY franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for a TCBY franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned TCBY outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2016, 2017, and 2018, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section V – Presentation and analysis of TCBY’s financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2019 FDD, including information on the:

• 2018 average, median, high, and low gross revenue for the upper quartile, second highest quartile, third highest quartile, lowest quartile, and all 106 franchised traditional TCBY stores that reported their revenue for the full 52-week period ended June 29, 2019 and have not closed since June 29, 2019

Section I – Background Information

15 Things You Need to Know About the TCBY Franchise

Brings Back Fan-Favorite Holiday Flavors

1.  At the beginning of December 2019, TCBY kicked off the holiday season with the return of fan-favorite flavor Peppermint soft-serve alongside the festive, indulgent hand-scooped flavor Mint Chocolate Chunk. The minty duo of flavors will be served for a limited time only at participating TCBY locations.

2.  TCBY’s soft-serve Peppermint flavor is back as a better-for-you, low-fat, refreshing, and festive treat made with live, active yogurt cultures. A staple at TCBY, but a must-have during the holidays, Mint Chocolate Chunk is served hand-scooped and offers rich, dark chocolate chunks complemented by minty ice cream. Each flavor is a perfect option for consumers who want a taste of the festive season, without any guilt.

3.  According to Josh Kirschbaum, chief executive officer of Famous Brands International, “It wouldn’t be holiday season at TCBY without our nostalgic Peppermint flavor. The holidays are always hectic, but we hope families and friends alike can take a moment to come in, relax, and celebrate the season with TCBY.”

Celebrates 38th Year in Business with BOGO Offer

4.  On August 13, 2019, TCBY celebrated its 38 years of business by offering its fans Buy One, Get One for only 38 cents from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. During this time, TCBY customers were able to receive this offer and enjoy a special soft serve flavor, Birthday Cake Batter.

5.  TCBY was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1981 where it became the country’s favorite frozen yogurt shop and introduced a unique, low-fat, full-flavor frozen yogurt concept to customers. Today, TCBY is still the only dual soft serve and hand-scooped frozen yogurt franchise. The brand has built a legacy of great tasting, healthy frozen yogurts, while continuing to evolve to satisfy its ever-growing fan base with new flavors and toppings.

6.  Josh Kirschbaum, chief executive officer of Famous Brands International, said, “For 38 years we’ve had the pleasure of sharing delicious and healthy frozen yogurt with our fans, and for us it’s just the beginning. We hope to be part of family stories and traditions for generations to come. After all, TCBY has been a second home for our frozen treat fans for nearly four decades.”

Opens 25th Texas Location

7.  In mid-April 2018, TCBY announced the opening of one of its latest locations in Irving, Texas at the Toyota Music Factory complex. To celebrate the grand opening, TCBY offered customers their first 4 ounces of frozen yogurt free all day long on April 18th.

8.  Husband and wife duo Alkesh and Tina Jariwala opened their first TCBY location in Coppell, Texas three years ago and are excited to open their second store at Irving’s new entertainment hub. After working five years in the banking industry, Tina decided to search for a career that allowed her to spend more time with her two daughters. Alkesh has been a longtime fan of TCBY, taking frequent trips to the local brick and mortar as a child.

9.  With these memories in mind, the pair thought TCBY was the perfect business to open in their community and ventured into franchising. With one location under their belt, Alkesh and Tina look forward to helping Irving locals make memories of their own over a cup of TCBY frozen yogurt.

10.  According to Alkesh Jariwala, “I grew up with TCBY, so I am continuously honored to be a part of the brand and elated to open my second location in the area. TCBY has allowed my wife and I to lead by example for our daughters, and we look forward to having them inherit the business one day and become franchisee owners themselves.”

11.  Dustin Lyman, CEO of TCBY, added, “The expansion in Irving has provided a great opportunity to continue our legacy of serving delicious, healthy frozen desserts. It has been a pleasure working with Alkesh and Tina and we look forward to seeing their success at the Toyota Music Factory complex.”

Company History

12.  TCBY was founded in 1981 by Frank Hickingbotham in Little Rock, Arkansas. At the time, frozen yogurt shops were quite rare and Hickingbotham, who was an experienced entrepreneur, was looking for his next business venture. Inspiration struck when he and his wife discovered frozen yogurt for the first time at a Dallas Neiman-Marcus department store. According to company legend, after eating the treat, Hickingbotham exclaimed, “This can’t be yogurt!” This is where the name TCBY comes from.

13.  Hickingbotham began franchising TCBY in 1982 and by the end of the decade, the chain had grown to 1,582 stores. In 1984, TCBY changed the meaning of its initials to “The Country’s Best Yogurt” after a lawsuit was brought against the company by I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! Also, in the late 1980s, TCBY began expanding internationally.

14.  TCBY’s growth continued over the next few decades and in the early 2000s, the company was acquired by Mrs. Fields. The combined companies formed Mrs. Fields Famous Brands and relocated their headquarters to Broomfield, Colorado in 2012. While TCBY has had to close several stores in recent years, it is still one of the largest self-serve frozen yogurt chains in the United States.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

15.  TCBY did not rank on Entrepreneur’s 2019 Franchise 500 list.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of TCBY franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2019 FDD.

Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees

• Please click here for detailed information on TCBY’s initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2019 FDD.

Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets

Franchised

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  304
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  285
• Net Change:  -19

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  285
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  259
• Net Change:  -26

2018

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  259
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  226
• Net Change:  -33

Company-Owned

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  1
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  -1

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

2018

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2019 FDD) and Analysis

• As of the end of TCBY’s most recent fiscal year (June 29, 2019), there were 226 Stores in operation, all of which were owned by third-party franchisees.

• TCBY excluded from that group 22 Stores for which it did not have results for the full fiscal year (16 were excluded because their results for the full fiscal year were not available to TCBY, and 6 were excluded because they opened during TCBY’s last fiscal year).

• Of the remaining 204 Stores, TCBY excluded from the data set 98 non-traditional Stores (those that, for example, are only open part time, that operate seasonally, that are located in non-traditional locations such as gas stations, and that are operated as an add-on to another primary brand).

• Those Stores were excluded for two reasons: (1) because of the wide variation in factors that made them non-traditional and (2) because the focus of TCBY’s sales efforts from the date of the disclosure document is on selling franchises for traditional locations. As a result, TCBY does not make financial performance representations with respect to non-traditional Stores.

• The data used to formulate the information in this Item 19 was derived from the remaining 106 traditional Stores, including both retail Stores and Kiosks which, from a revenue perspective, do not experience material differences.

• To determine the average Gross Revenue for each group shown in the table below, TCBY took the group’s total Gross Revenue (as that term is defined in the Franchise Agreement that you will sign), then divided that number by the number of Stores in the group. For example, for the 106 Stores that made up the entire data set, TCBY added the Gross Revenue of all 106 Stores for the entire fiscal year (the 52-week period ending June 29, 2019), then it divided that number by 106.

• In the table below, TCBY also reports the results by quartile. Each quartile represents 25% of the 106 Stores that form the data set.

• For each group, the reported average Gross Revenue (as that term is defined in the Franchise Agreement that you will sign) is for the full fiscal year.

• Because the data set is comprised entirely of franchised Stores, the data is what those franchisees reported to TCBY or what the franchisees entered into the Store’s point-of-sale system and, consequently, reported to TCBY.

• For purposes of this Item 19, TCBY assumed the data they reported is accurate. It did not audit or otherwise verify the data reported to it.

• In the results below, TCBY also reports, for each group, the range and the median. The range reflects the low and high data point for each group. The median is the data point that is the center of all data points used for the group, except that, in a given group of Stores where there is an even number of Stores, the median is derived by adding the two numbers in the middle of the data set for the given group of Stores, then dividing that number by two.

• The table below is a historic presentation of Gross Revenue generated by the 106 franchised Stores in the data set described above during TCBY’s last fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2018 to June 29, 2019.

Upper Quartile