August 1, 2012
Grocery Brands Go Artisanal in NYC Yogurt Bars
Two yogurt giants recently opened their first retail stores, both in New York City, featuring fresh rather than frozen yogurt — albeit with different approaches. Chobani’s store offers an upscale take featuring "artisanal creations," while Dannon’s features a more rustic feel with a big push around customization.
In a press release, Dannon said Yogurt Culture Company, its store located at 41st. St. and Park Ave., offers "personalized fresh yogurt the way you want it, when you want it — tailored to your taste and individual nutrition preferences." Customers can choose traditional or Greek yogurt and add any amount of toppings for a set price of $5.49 for a 5-ounce cup.
But Dannon particularly played up the fact that most consumers have only experienced yogurt at home as a "pre-packaged consumption" and that fresh yogurt also offered a more a more tasty and nutritious option to "fast meals" options during breakfast and lunch. The yogurt is also sold as a layered parfait or a smoothie.
"Currently there aren’t any fresh yogurt shops in New York City and we feel this is a void truly worth filling," General Manager Asumoh Enyiema, whose store opened three week’s before Chobani’s.
Yogurt Culture Co’s yogurt is made frequently and in small batches, with all-natural milk from Hudson Valley and Pennsylvania farms.
At the Chobani "Mediterranean yogurt bar" on Prince Street in Manhattan’s trendy Soho neighborhood, orders are served in glass bowls made-to-order by in-house yogurt masters. Customers are given recipe cards with "seasonally-inspired, hand-selected, gourmet ingredients," according to a press release.
Guests can also purchase seasonal fruits from a "harvest table" located in the center of the store, and choose from a rotating assortment of Mediterranean specialty oils, nuts and more from its "Mediterranean pantry."
"This is the first time Chobani fans will be able to experience our brand in a Chobani-owned physical environment so it was important that the store design, overall experience and specific neighborhood reflect who we are," said Annette McGuinness, chief image officer for Chobani. "The physical space was crafted to be unique and special like our yogurt and SoHo was selected because it’s authentic, dynamic and global like Chobani is as a company."
All of the yogurt sold at Chobani SoHo will be shipped in daily from the company’s Central New York plant. Yogurt creations are priced at $3.75 for a small and $4.75 for a large.
The openings come as a number of frozen yogurt chains are growing rapidly across the country. No plans for additional openings are set for either brand.
- Chobani To Open First-Of-Its-Kind Mediterranean Yogurt Bar In NYC – Chobani – Chobani
- Personalization Beyond Imagination: The Yogurt Culture Company Introduces the Fresh Yogurt Revolution to New York City – Dannon
- Two Fresh Approaches to Yogurt Shops – The New York Times
- ‘Yogurt bars’ open in NYC amid Greek yogurt craze – The Associated Press/Google
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions: Do you see Chobani’s and Dannon’s yogurt stores as purely branding vehicles or is there a significant retail expansion opportunity? Are the expansion of frozen — and now fresh — yogurt store chains a threat to grocery yogurt brands?
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These are both branding vehicles and opportunities for significant retail expansion. Greek yogurt has skyrocketed and totally transformed the section in supermarkets. Out of nowhere a couple years ago, it is now 25%-plus of supermarket yogurt sales. Chobani has been climbing in triple digit for many moons. (The head of Chobani used to be a shepherd in Turkey when he was a boy. Really.) Very on-trend, with a healthy perception, and NYC is a perfect market to start with these retail outlets. Much untapped potential (look at Europe) that is finally ready to take off here. Good move by both companies.
Branded manufacturers are incurring increase difficultly getting new products on the shelf and communicating with consumers. A manufacturer’s store provides a controlled retail environment and direct consumer contact. The Apple stores illustrate what can be achieved. Ben & Jerry’s stores do a good job for the brand. As for a chain opportunity, the answer is purely the numbers. Sales, profits and return on investment are the deciders.
I think they will do well with these stores in the high income and urban areas. People will be drawn to the newness of it, and if they believe it is healthy, the success will follow. I love soft-serve yogurt stores (Menchies, Blizz), as they have no sugar added products for me, whereas Dairy Queen does not. <
>Premium yogurt is the buzz and should do well for years to come.
Fresh yogurt stores are a new retail concept to the market in the US. It is an expansion of product branding and a great retail expansion opportunity. I believe most consumers have really only experienced yogurt from the grocery store shelves. The new concept of fresh yogurt bars will expose consumers to a new way of consuming yogurt. I believe the expansion of frozen to fresh yogurt stores will be an addition to the grocery yogurt brands. For example, how do ice cream parlors affect grocery brands? I believe there is a space in the market for both retail and grocery brands of yogurt to exist.
“made-to-order by in-house yogurt masters” but “shipped in daily from the company’s Central New York plant”???!!!
BRANDING, BRANDING AND MORE BRANDING HERE. Not to mention RIP OFF, RIP OFF, RIP OFF. But didn’t someone once upon a time say “there’s a sucker born every minute”? So maybe there is a retail expansion opportunity after all in this market-led world in which we live.
I like the move. While there are some successful and growing yogurt store brands, there is still plenty of room for greater trust in the underlying product and in the quality of retail and food safety standards. Both these brands can capitalize on this and I believe it will compliment their grocery business.
I do think special care should be taken in retail expansion to not be blinded by a siloed outlet growth model and then have to cut back (like many retailers), but instead should plan growth in tandem with the grocery side of the business.
The question I’d like to hear views on is whether they should compete or collaborate in this space. Any views?