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MAY 2015 • FOODSERVICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES • 119 Case Study: U-Swirl, Durango, Colo. L ike many foodservice segments, frozen yogurt has experienced its ups and downs over the years. From the heydays of the '80s and '90s to what many con- tend is now an oversaturated market, it would seem that banking on these concepts could be risky. Franchisors face not only substantial support requirements, but also require sizeable store counts to properly fund the business. "In 2012 and 2013, the frozen yogurt segment was oversaturated, and growth just stopped," says Alan Stribling, president of U-Swirl, based in Durango, Colo. He previously served as CEO of Phoenix's Yogurtini. "Once that started hap- pening, the fee revenue was gone, and many companies couldn't afford the administrative staff needed to support franchisees." During this period Durango, Colo.-based Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, an international franchisor, confectionery manufacturer and retail operator, saw an op- portunity to consolidate its own brand, Aspen Leaf Yogurt, with the Yogurtini and U-Swirl brands. "The folks at Rocky Mountain realized competing with other frozen yogurt shops directly wasn't a good business model, so the company moved to acquire controlling interest in U-Swirl, purchased Yogurtini and put all of the brands together under the same corporate structure. Since U-Swirl had the largest number of locations and was publicly traded, they decided to keep the operations under that name," Stribling says. Overnight, the company went from overseeing 3 individual chains with limited store counts to handling about 90 stores. Not only did this allow the company to increase its footprint across the country, it also provided the means to combine administrative resources and signifcantly reduce operational overhead. Throughout the subsequent months, the acquisi- tion model took hold, with U-Swirl purchasing Josie's, CherryBerry, Fuzzy Peach and Yogli Mogli. "Last summer, Rocky Mountain saw the need for making some changes to U-Swirl's administrative team and decided to take control of U-Swirl," Stribling says. "As a result, all acquisitions were put on pause last July in order to rework the business model and change the company's focus." The plan kicked back into high gear last September, with Rocky Moun- tain taking over U-Swirl and Stribling becoming the company's president. A complete restructuring of U-Swirl's sup- ply chain included new partnerships and unique pricing arrangements. Left: U-Swirl's culture shift focuses on sup- porting its franchisees and concentrating on proftable markets. Above: CherryBerry was purchased by U-Swirl last year.