BEAUTIFUL BRANDS: UnhappyFranchisee.Com Email to The Journal Record
April 20, 2013
For the past several years, Beautiful Brands International (BBI) persuaded several media outlets to portray it as a vibrant, growing international “franchise powerhouse,” even as it became increasingly obvious that BBI’s franchise efforts and franchise partner program are anything but an entrepreneurial success story.
Once they were confronted with the truth by UnhappyFranchisee.Com, both Tulsa World and Franchise Times reported on BBI’s woes. However, The Journal Record continues to communicate misleading information on BBI despite having had the truth delivered to them on a silver platter.
UnhappyFranchisee.Com sent a detailed email to The Journal Record President & Publisher Mary Melon on February 13, 2013 (see below).
Melon instructed TJR writer Ray Tuttle (author of some of the most gushing BBI fiction) to look into the allegations.
Mr. Tuttle emailed UnhappyFranchisee.Com: “Thank you for alerting me to BBI, these practices and the projections. You raise good points and something that needs attention. After reviewing the website, I’d be interested in speaking with you.”
Not only did Ray Tuttle not get in touch with UnhappyFranchisee.Com, he demonstrated his dedication to faithfully serving the public relations interests of BBI by publishing some of the same false statements in “Beautiful Brands sues anonymous Internet critic” even after we informed him of their inaccuracy.
For example, Tuttle he repeated the false claim that “BBI has 297 locations around the world, including franchised units for CherryBerry Self-Serve Yogurt Bar, Camille’s Sidewalk Café, Rex’s Chicken and FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafe.”
Having read my email, Mr. Tuttle knows that BBI does not have “297 locations around the world” and that BBI has no ownership stake in CherryBerry Self-Serve Yogurt Bar. Mr. Tuttle and The Journal Record continue to mislead readers by inflating BBI’s franchise sales and unit counts, and deceptively attributing locations that belong to other companies to BBI.
Here’s the email that we sent to The Journal Record, which Mary Melon and Ray Tuttle apparently have chosen to disregard.
Date: Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 11:50 AM
Subject: Your coverage of Beautiful Brands, corrections and criticism
To: mary.melon@journalrecord.com
Cc: ted.streuli@journalrecord.com, kirby.davis@journalrecord.com, ray.tuttle@journalrecord.com
Ms. Melon:
Since 2007, The Journal Record has published approximately 67 positive articles and news items about Beautiful Brands International (BBI) and its CEO David Rutkauskas. Over time, this one-sided portrayal of BBI has likely communicated to your readers that BBI is both an inspirational success story, and a company that they can feel comfortable investing with either as a franchise owners or as one of their “partner” brands.
In recent investigations, I have found a wide disparity between the facts about Beautiful Brands International, and the statements made in your numerous articles and news items. I believe that The Journal Record may have been provided with inaccurate and misleading information regarding BBI, which you have then passed along to your readers as verified fact. I believe that BBI may, in turn, use the reprints of your articles as a 3rd party endorsement and a way to obfuscate the troubled and, IMHO, possibly dubious nature of their enterprise.
I believe TJR’s coverage of Beautiful Brands does damage to your publication’s credibility and journalistic ethics, and may even be creating legal liability. I am writing to request not that you take my word for it, but that you have your executive or editorial staff look into this matter and decide for yourselves, that you issue corrections and clarifications for your most recent story, and that, in the future, you provide more balanced and accurate coverage of BBI and the purported “success story” of David Rutkauskas.
Here are a few examples of misleading and/or downright incorrect representations made about BBI in your recent article “It’s a Beautiful Brands world: Franchiser crossing borders and breaking records” by Heidi Brandes:
1/21/13, The Journal Record reported: “Beautiful Brands has 297 locations in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Florida, North Carolina, Minnesota, Colorado, Missouri, Texas, South Carolina, Nebraska, Iowa and Oklahoma.”
Beautiful Brands “has” three franchise brands: Camille’s Sidewalk Café (29 US locations), FreshBerry frozen yogurt (16 US locations), and Rex’s Chicken (2 US locations). If you add the U.S. locations on the three websites, you will see that BBI has 47 domestic locations, not 297 as you claim.
1/21/13, The Journal Record reported: “In 2012 alone, BBI opened 114 stores and has 79 new stores under construction. It has a total of 297 locations around the world, including franchised units for CherryBerry Self-Serve Yogurt Bar, Camille’s Sidewalk Café, Rex’s Chicken, and FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafe.”
BBI does not own CherryBerry. The CherryBerry Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) prospectus does not have any mention of any ownership by BBI, and does not list Rutkauskas among its management team. It seems that BBI is solely a service-provider to CherryBerry, a vendor of sales-support services, a franchise broker. It would be inaccurate and misleading for a franchise broker to refer to its client’s locations as part of his/her company.
As far as I can tell, Camille’s is a chain in decline (only 137 or so ever opened and most of those have closed), FreshBerry’s domestic growth is flat, and Rex’s Chicken has gone nowhere. Adding in a growing outside company to the mix might give the illusion that the company is growing, but is not accurate. Additionally, Ms. Brandes uses the same number for global locations as domestic locations (297).
“Now 12 brands and growing…”
I don’t believe BBI “has” 12 brands. August 30, 2012, The Journal Record stated: “Beautiful Brands International’s franchised brands also includes Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe, FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafe, Rex’s Chicken, Caz’s Chowhouse, Dixie Cream Donut Co., Ludger’s Bavarian Cakery, Sushi Freak, Top That! Pizza, Roxberry Juice Co., Smallcakes A Cupcakery, MyCamille’s and Fresco Wood Fired Italian Kitchen.”
Of those 12 brands, half are no longer BBI partners (Caz’s Chowhouse, Dixie Cream Donut Co., Ludger’s Bavarian Cakery, Sushi Freak, Top That! Pizza, Smallcakes A Cupcakery) and two appear to be concepts that were never developed (MyCamille’s, Fresco Wood Fired Italian Kitchen).
Why does The Journal Record keep publishing BBI “projections” and promoting the BBI success story?
Last March, Ray Tuttle elevated David Rutkauskas to business legend status, portraying Mr. Rutkauskas as a sports hero who went on to build BBI into a global powerhouse. But Mr. Tuttle’s hero worship was based (again, my opinion) on misleading and/or incorrect information.
Ray Tuttle’s article in March 2012 borders on idol-worship, and contains many misleading statements. He claims that BBI employs “20 people at each location, for a total of 4,160 employees.” He is counting employees from companies that BBI does not own. Yet the impression is that BBI employs 4.000+ people worldwide.
Ray Tuttle praises David Rutkauskas’ social media savvy and enormous Twitter following, yet there is strong evidence that Rutkauskas’ purported 500,000+ Twitter followers are fake (See http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/david-rutkauskas-twitter-followers-fakes/)
What is most mind-boggling is Mr. Tuttle’s acceptance of David Rutkauskas record-breaking sales figures and his projections of BBI having 500 franchises in the next few when the BBI projections previously reported by TJR have not proven accurate.
All Mr. Tuttle and his editors need to do is look back in the Journal Record archives to see that your publication has been promoting projections that never happened, partnerships that soon failed, and the signing of thousands of franchises that would never open.
As a somewhat random example, here are claims TJR made in the article “Franchisee opens five Camille’s in Middle East” January 23, 2009:
1/23/09, The Journal Record reported: “…That brought Camille’s to 137 units at the end of 2008, up six from 2007. BBI President and Chief Executive David Rutkauskas said his Tulsa firm has more than 900 locations in development.”
There are currently 29 Camille’s locations listed on the Camille’s website. What happened to the 108 cafes that are no longer open? Did 108 franchisees lose the hundreds of thousands of dollars they invested in Camille’s franchises?
What of the franchisees who paid BBI franchise fees for the 900+ cafes that never opened? Did they also lose their money?
Why does Ray Tuttle tell the story of the Camille’s franchise as a success story, when it appears that well over 1000 franchise investors may have lost money, and only 29 stores have survived?
1/23/09, The Journal Record reported: “The gourmet hamburger and hot dog concept Coney Beach added its first franchised unit last year, a November opening in El Paso by Milap Maniar.
Rutkauskas said BBI has more than 30 Coney Beach restaurants in development across the country and portions of the Middle East.”
Coney Beach appears to have been a dismal failure. The original franchise closed and it doesn’t appear that the 30 Rutkauskas said were in development ever opened.
1/23/09, The Journal Record reported: “Last year BBI opened its first FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Café, a company-owned shop placed alongside the original Coney Beach in Bixby. Lee and Vanessa Kellough and Anthony and Jacqueline Taylor opened the first franchised FreshBerry last week in Houston.
“We have six cafes opening by the end of the first quarter,” said Rutkauskas. “FreshBerry will continue to be a major growth vehicle for BBI, with over 200 projected FreshBerry cafes open in 36 months.”
There is no longer a Coney Beach in Bixby and no FreshBerry listed in Houston. The 200 projected FreshBerry’s never happened and, four years later, there are only 42 FreshBerry locations worldwide. Yet TJR continues to publish BBI “projections” as credible.
1/23/09, The Journal Record reported: “Rutkauskas, who would not provide revenue figures, expressed targets for two other concepts yet to debut. He projects 15 Rex’s Chicken restaurants will open by 2010, while Dixie Cream Donuts franchisees open 300 of those pastry shops by 2012.”
There are currently 2 Rex’s Chicken locations (co-branded) listed on the website and it doesn’t look like BBI got ANY of the 300 Dixie Cream Donuts franchises open it said it would have by 2012. In fact, Rutkauskas, BBI & Dixie Cream are being sued by their Middle East master franchisee EABG.
You can learn much more about BBI here:
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/beautiful-brands-ugly-shams/
I hope that you will look into these matters, print corrections as you deem appropriate, provide more balanced reporting on BBI with more thorough due diligence in the future.
Thanks for your consideration,
ADMIN
Also read:
BEAUTIFUL BRANDS INTERNATIONAL (BBI): Behind the Hype
BEAUTIFUL BRANDS Partner Program: Behind the Hype
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE JOURNAL RECORD, THE DOLAN COMPANY OR BEAUTIFUL BRANDS INTERNATIONAL? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
Tags: The Journal Record, The Dolan Company, Mary Melon, Ray Tuttle, Kirby Lee Davis, Beautiful Brands International, BBI, David Rutkauskas, Robert Sartin, Barrow & Grimm
BEAUTIFUL BRANDS: Why Franchise Bullying Backfires
April 11, 2013
David Rutkauskas, CEO of Tulsa-based Beautiful Brands International (BBI), publicly unleashed a string of insults and expletives on me that would have been shocking coming from a 7th grade boy, much less the founder of an international franchise company.
On his Twitter page, right next to the picture of his wife Camille and their two children, Mr. Rutkauskas (without the use of asterisks) called me a “#@!* face,” “fat ugly #!@* face,” and “ugly mother #!@*.”
(I have withheld the screenshot of the attack for the moment, but may include it in a future post).
What specifically set Mr. Rutkauskas off was Julie Bennett’s unflattering Franchise Times article (Reality Check), which had been prompted by my reporting about BBI on UnhappyFranchisee.Com.
But the deeper source of David Rutkauskas’ rage, in my humble opinion, is that his attempts to bully writers, his former franchisees, employees, service providers and partners is backfiring, big time.
Mr. Rutkauskas and his attorney, Robert Sartin of Barrows & Grimm P.C., haven’t caught on that bullying, in the Internet age, will do much, much greater damage to their reputations than the original criticism.
Old School Bullying Backfire #1
Last July, UnhappyFranchisee.Com published a post on the high SBA franchise loan default rate (58%) of Beautiful Brands’ Camille’s Sidewalk Café (CAMILLE’S SIDEWALK CAFE Franchise Complaints). The posting prompted numerous former Camille’s franchisees to share their experiences and their complaints alleging deceptive franchise sales tactics, lack of support, and overall indifference to their success on the part of BBI and Rutkauskas.
Franchisees who posted with their real names almost immediately received threatening letters demanding they retract their comments. UnhappyFranchisee.Com removed the franchisees’ names, but refused to take down the comments.
In fact, the bullying of the franchisees by Beautiful Brands & Sartin prompted several more posts, and encouraged UnhappyFranchisee.Com to look deeper into what else BBI was so intent on hiding.
Bullying Backfire #1.
Twitter Threats & Libelous Attacks
In addition to its own franchise brands (Camille’s, Freshberry, Rex’s Chicken), BBI provides franchise development and outsourced sales services to “partner brands.”
After UnhappyFranchisee.com reported on the seemingly high attrition and low success rates of BBI “partner brands,” (BEAUTIFUL BRANDS Partner Program: Behind the Hype) two anonymous Twitter accounts (@MissTroothbeTold, @FuckOffLiars) posted threats, insults and libelous comments about several former BBI partner brands, the former President of BBI, a former franchise sales service provider to BBI, and me.
These Twitter attacks falsely alleged that one former BBI partner’s stores were closing and its founder had been ousted, and another partner brand was being sued for food poisoning.
@FuckOffLiars threatened me directly using both my real name and Twitter name: “…We are watching u and your lies… we know where you live.&.HaHa…#GunsareLegal.”
I reported the threat to the FBI with my suspicion* that it could possibly be David Rutkauskas or a close associate. Bullying Backfire #2.
David Rutkauskas and Robert Sartin have reached the moment that every bully dreads: when that one crazy kid doesn’t run, even when his nose is bloodied and his jeans are torn.
The truth is, in America we have this thing called the 1st Amendment. We have the right to state facts, as long as they are true. We have the right to express our opinions, as long as they are clearly stated to be our opinions.
BBI Files Suit Against “John Doe” (aka Me)
BBI’s hometown paper, Tulsa World, published an article (Camille’s empire copes with setbacks) on the decline of Beautiful Brands which included a scathing commentary on Camille’s franchise support by a franchisee who lost everything, including his marriage, in the ordeal. Posting as Unhappy Franchisee, I left four pretty innocuous comments on the article. Many of the other 29 comments left on the article were less innocuous.
BBI attorney Robert Sartin filed suit against “Unhappy Franchisee” (as “John Doe) and subpoened Tulsa World and Google demanding my identity. It’s no big secret that I run UnhappyFranchisee.Com, so I believe the real motive was to send a bullying threat to those who dare express their opinions about BBI, even anonymously. A story and the suit itself appeared in the Tulsa Journal Record (along with the obligatory deception that BBI has “297 locations around the world,” when their websites list 72 locations) the day after the complaint was filed .
Attorney Jonathan Fortman, of St. Louis-based Fortman Law, has agreed to defend me against the bullying tactics of David Rutkauskas, BBI and Robert Sartin. I waived my anonymity, as I am not afraid to defend my views and actions out in the open. I hope David Rutkauskas is ready to do the same. I expect the discovery process will prove to be Bullying Backfire #3.. (and more).
Why Franchise Bullying Backfires
On UnhappyFranchisee.Com, I expressed my opinion that David Rutkauskas and Beautiful Brands International have used four publications in particular (Tulsa World, The Journal Record, QSR, Fast Casual) to promote the illusion that BBI is a thriving, successful, growing franchise company when, in fact, more BBI-owned franchises have closed than are successful and many of its “partner brands” have parted ways without selling a single franchise.
David Rutkauskas responded with tactics that have worked, to a limited degree, in the past: bullying and legal threats.
But David Rutkauskas and Robert Sartin have reached the moment that every bully dreads: when that one crazy kid doesn’t run, even when his nose is bloodied and his jeans are torn.
The truth is, in America we have this thing called the 1st Amendment. We have the right to state facts, as long as they are true. We have the right to express our opinions, as long as they are clearly stated to be our opinions.
In my opinion, none of the fact-based criticisms that I have expressed come close to impuning the reputation of Beautiful Brands and David Rutkauskas as do their remarkable personal and unprofessional Twitter attacks (Bullying Backfire #4) and their attempts to use the legal system to strip good people (the former franchisees and partners who bought Rutkauskas his house and Mercedes, and who provided the funds for Sartin’s invoices) of their 1st Amendment right to free speech.
Potential franchisors would do well to watch how well bullying works out for David Rutkauskas and Beautiful Brands International.
As is so often the case, the attempted cover-up will, IMHO, prove to be much more damaging than the initial allegations.
* I don’t have proof that Mr. Rutkauskas posted these threats directly. I hope to find out the identity of the Tweeter via subpoena if our lawsuit advances.
Also read:
BEAUTIFUL BRANDS: Standing Up to Corporate Bullies
BEAUTIFUL BRANDS INTERNATIONAL (BBI): Behind the Hype
DAVID RUTKAUSKAS Are His 500,000 Twitter Followers Fakes?
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH DAVID RUTKAUSKAS, BEAUTIFUL BRANDS OR THE 1ST AMENDMENT? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
TAGS: Beautiful Brands, BBI, Beautiful Brands International, David Rutkauskas, FreshBerry, Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe, Rex’s Chicken, Robert Sartin, Jon Fortman, Sean Kelly, franchise opportunities, franchise hype
BEAUTIFUL BRANDS INTERNATIONAL (BBI): Behind the Hype
January 16, 2013
BEAUTIFUL BRANDS INTERNATIONAL (BBI): Behind the Hype Read more
BEAUTIFUL BRANDS Partner Program: Behind the Hype
January 14, 2013
Beautiful Brands International (BBI) claims that its franchise development “partnership” program can turn a small business into a “franchise leader” and an “international multi-unit success!”
Franchise & restaurant industry publications regularly publish excited BBI announcements that they have signed a new frozen yogurt, or sushi, or casual dining concept that they are going to make the next franchise sensation(!).
A while back, UnhappyFranchisee.Com began to notice that many of these BBI “partner brands” (21 so far, by our count) are not heard from again after the initial press release frenzy.
In fact, these BBI partner brands are listed proudly in the Beautiful Brands portfolio list for a while, then seem to be quietly replaced by new brands that are going to be the next franchise sensations.
So we compiled the list (see below) of the small companies that BBI has identified as their partner brands within the past three years.
And we set out to find out how many of the 21 partners are now franchise leaders who have attained international multi-unit success.
Beautiful Brands Partners: More than half have left or are no longer in business*
BBI CEO David Rutkauskas recently stated “We have major plans to add at least 12 new brands in 2013.”
We wondered: What is the status of the 21 brands who signed up as Beautiful Brands partners (and paid the upfront development fee – currently $50K we are told)?
We’ve found evidence that more than half have either left the BBI partnership program without selling franchises, or are no longer in business.
Of the 8 currently listed as partners, only two appear to have sold franchises through BBI.
Here’s our best guess as to the status of the 21 partner brands:
- 1 is a current partners being promoted and selling franchises (CherryBerry).
- 2 are listed as current partners but haven’t sold any franchises through BBI (Roxberry, NYPD Pizza).
- 2 are current partners/newbies in development (Hard Knox Pizza, Yard Sheriff).
- 6 seem to have dropped the BBI partnership and are franchising on their own (Greenz, Sonny Bryan’s, In The Raw Sushi, Sushi Freak, Blazing Onion, Top That! Pizza, SmallCakes).
- 2 seem to have dropped the BBI partnership and are back running single-unit restaurants (Café Ole, Caz’s Chowhouse, Ludger’s).
- 6 seem to be out of business altogether (Dixie Cream Donuts, Crust Croissant, The Bread & Butter Bistro, St. Michael’s Alley, Le Beau Rouleau, Fresco)
Beautiful Brands Partner List (as of 1/13/13) by Date Joined
| BBI “Partner” Brand | Partnership Announced | Principal (s)/Owner(s) | Still BBI Partners?* | Notes | |
| 1) | Dixie Cream Donut Co. | 11/21/08 | Jason Bond | NO | Only US unit closed, Middle East partner is suing |
| 2) | The Crusty Croissant | 3/5/09 | Sean & Kristie Savage, Chuck Gibbs(?) | NO | Out of Business |
| 3) | Greenz Salads | 4/5/09 | Casie Caldwell | NO | Franchising, 3 units, No franchises sold by BBI |
| 4) | Caz’s Chowhouse | 7/21/09 | Jeff & Amy Castleberry | NO | Single unit, no franchises |
| 5) | Sonny Bryan’s BBQ | 9/27/09 | Brent Harman | NO | Franchising. None sold by BBI. |
| 6) | Café Ole | 8/20/09 | Candy Dunn & Paula Underwood | NO | Single unit, no franchise info on website |
| 7) | The Bread & Butter Bistro | 10/09 (?) | ? | NO | No info could be found |
| 8) | St. Michael’s Alley | 11/09 (?) | ? | NO | Original SMA rest. is closed |
| 9) | In The Raw Sushi | 12/14/09 | Greg & Tara Hughes | NO | 4 locations, franchising |
| 10) | Le Beau Rouleau Crepes and Croissants | 2/10 | Sean & Kristie Savage | NO | TM registered by Crusty Croissant. |
| 11) | Blazing Onion Burger Company | 4/5/10 | David and Lorri Jones | NO | 5 locations, not franchising yet |
| 12) | Top That! Pizza | 11/2/10 | Jeff and Lori Walderich | NO | Franchising, 9 locations, none sold by BBI |
| 13) | Smallcakes A Cupcakery | 1/4/11 | Jeff & Brandy Martin | NO | Severed ties Nov. 2012 |
| 14) | CherryBerry frozen yogurt | 6/22/11 | Dallas and Robyn Jones | ??? – relationship is unclear |
In an April 2013 article, Franchise Times reported CherryBerry only uses BBI “for legal work.” 108 locations, 9% closed in 2012 |
| 15) | Ludger’s Bavarian Cakery | 9/7/11 | Chris & Allison Dickens | NO | 1 location, severed ties January, 2013 |
| 16) | Roxberry Juice Co. | 12/1/11 | Brad Davis | YES | Franchising, 8 locations, none added since partnering with BBI |
| 17) | Fresco Italian Kitchen | 12/13/11 | Dean & Jill Bastian | NO | Prototype to franchise was to open 2012; Taken off BBI portfolio Jan. 2012 |
| 18) | Sushi Freak | 2/9/12 | Michael Broder & Jenifer Duarte | NO | Franchising, 1 location, none sold by BBI |
| 19) | NYPD Pizza | 11/1/12 | Paul Russo | YES | 6 locations still open (1 less than signing with BBI), 22 or more may have closed in recent years. |
| 20) | Hard Knox Pizza | 11/11/12 | Dean & Jill Bastian | YES | Franchising, 1 unit, 1st franchise top open Spring, 2013 |
| 21) | Yard Sheriff | 12/13/12 | Shannon Watterson*** | YES | 1 unit, lawn mowing & weeding |
| 22) | Papalani Gelato | February 11, 2013 | Marck and Lauren Shipley | YES | 2 unit chain |
| 23) | The Soup Kitchen | April 8, 2013 | Bob & Jean Bardorf, Rick Ford(?) | YES | 3 unit chain |
| 24) | The Big Salad | March 28, 2013 | John Bornoty | YES | 5 unit chain based in Detroit |
| Bull Chicks, Doc Popcorn, The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., Planet Beach, Chock Full o Nuts, Segafredo Zanetti Espresso, Blue Coast Burrito | Appears they may have a non-exclusive commission arrangement with BBI | ||||
* We have put this list together from information compiled from publicly available sources. We have asked BBI for confirmation or correction, but have not heard back yet. If you are considering joining the Beautiful Brands partnership program – or writing about it – please do you own investigation. If you know of details we got wrong – please post a correction below.
** as of 1/13/13
*** Also President of BBI’s PR firm
Also read our posts about:
We have contacted Beautiful Brands for verification of the accuracy of this information, and to solicit any statements, reactions, corrections or rebuttals. So far, they have not responded.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE BEAUTIFUL BRANDS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM OPPORTUNITY OR BBI FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES?
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TAGS: Beautiful Brands, Beautiful Brands partners, BBI partners, Beautiful Brands International, David Rutkauskas, franchise consultants, franchise development, franchise development firms, franchise developers, franchise sales companies, Unhappy Franchisee, CherryBerry, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt, Smallcakes Cupcakery,
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closures 2012
January 11, 2013
CherryBerry frozen yogurt franchise store closures included at least 11 locations, about 9% of all CherryBerry stores by our estimation.
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) And at least 8 CherryBerry franchise locations (including some of the closed stores) are listed for sale at significantly less than the estimated initial investments of $224,500 to $354,000 per store.
The store closures included CherryBerry locations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
The average lifespan of the stores that closed is estimated at 16 months.
The CherryBerry website lists 108 locations open, with 31 listed as coming soon.
Beautiful Brands has stated that more than 250 additional CherryBerry franchises have been sold1.
(Beautiful Brands has also stated that more than 1000 of its Freshberry frozen yogurt franchises are in development.
As of 1/10/13, the Freshberry website lists only 42 locations as open)
These are unofficial numbers compiled from publicly available sources. We have asked the company for verification, and await their response.
CherryBerry is being portrayed as a success story
CherryBerry frozen yogurt was founded by Dallas & Robyn Jones in 2010.
The Jones’ first offered licenses to own and operate CherryBerry frozen yogurt stores from August, 2010 to June, 2011.
They sold 73 licenses to own Cherryberry stores. In May, 2011, only 21 of those Cherryberry licensed stores were open and operational2.
In July, 2011, the Jones formed CherryBerry Enterprises LLC and signed on as a “partner brand” with Tulsa-based Beautiful Brands International (BBI).
Beautiful Brands International aggressively markets and sells the CherryBerry frozen yogurt franchise opportunity as well as its own FreshBerry frozen yogurt franchise opportunity.
CHERRYBERRY Store Closures 2012*
| Location | Opened | Closed | Duration |
| AR Fayetteville | Apr. 2010 | Dec. 2012 | 32 Months |
| KS Derby | May 2011 | Dec. 2012 | 19 months |
| MO Blue Springs | Oct. 2011 | Nov. 2012 | 14 months |
| MO Springfield | May 2011 | Jul. 2012 | 14 months |
| OK Sand Springs | Jan. 2011 | Dec. 2012 | 14 months |
| OK Claremore | Nov. 2011 | Dec. 2012 | 13 months |
| TX Clear Lake | Sep. 2011 | Sep. 2012 | 13 months |
| TX Conroe | Nov. 2011 | Dec. 2012 | 13 months |
| TX Pasadena | Mar. 2011 | Nov. 2012 | 19 months |
| TX Pearland | Nov. 2011 | Nov. 2012 | 13 months |
| TX Tomball | Jul. 2011 | Nov. 2012 | 16 months |
| Average: | 16 months |
CherryBerry franchises listed at firesale prices
According to the 2012 CherryBerry Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), the estimated initial investment for opening a CherryBerry franchise is $224,500 to $354,0002.
The Muskogee, OK CherryBerry franchise is listed with a broker for just $165,000.
7 Texas CherryBerry franchise locations are being offered at a discount, bundled price of $985,000, which reflects an average price of just $140,000 per location3.
| CherryBerry Location for sale* | Opened | Status | Asking Price |
| OK Muskogee | Nov. 2011 | Open | $165,000 |
| TX Clear Lake | Sep. 2011 | Closed | $60,000 |
| TX Conroe | Nov. 2011 | Closed | $75,000 |
| TX Pasadena | Mar. 2011 | Closed | $125,000 |
| TX Pearland | Nov. 2011 | Closed | $75,000 |
| TX Tomball | Jul. 2011 | Closed | $125,000 |
| TX Lake Jackson | Apr. 2011 | Open | $200,000 |
| TX Victoria | Open | $325,000 | |
| Average: | $143,750 |
UnhappyFranchisee.Com extends its condolences and best wishes to the owners and staff of the closed CherryBerry franchises/licensed stores, and wishes current owners the best of luck and future success.
* Estimated, as of 1/10/13. We have asked the company for verification of accuracy and completeness, but have not yet heard back from them.
1 QSR magazine 4/25/12, 8/30/12, 10/30/12
2 2012 CherryBerry Franchise Disclosure Document
3 Commercial Gateway broker listing
ARE YOU A CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OWNER OR FRANCHISEE?
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TAGS: CherryBerry, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt, CherryBerry license, CherryBerry franchise, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt Franchise, open a CherryBerry, Froyo, Froyo franchise, Frozen Yogurt franchise, Beautiful Brands International, Dallas Jones, Robyn Jones, David Rutkauskas, franchise failures, franchise closures, franchise graveyard, Unhappy Franchisee, CherryBerry Texas, CherryBerry Oklahoma
CHERRYBERRY Frozen Yogurt Franchise Closure: Pearland, Texas
January 7, 2013
The CherryBerry frozen yogurt franchise in Pearland, Texas opened in November, 2011.
It closed its doors for good in November, 2012, just a year later.
The Pearland CherryBerry cost an estimated $300,000* to open.
A little over a year later, it’s listed for sale for just $75,000.
* According to the 2012 CherryBerry franchise disclosure document, each CherryBerry franchise location requires an initial investment between $224,500 to $354,000.
Why did the CherryBerry frozen yogurt franchise fail in just a year?
It looks like an attractive shop.
The staff seemed lively and fun.
And there was no shortage of creative promotions:
T-Shirt Tuesday.
Bracelet Wednesday.
FaceBook promotions.
They even tried Latin Dance lessons on Thursday nights.
Unfortunately, the Pearland Texas CherryBerry appears to be undone by the same foe that has caused about a dozen CherryBerry franchises to close in recent months:
Just not enough business.
[Photo, above. is from the Commgate real estate listing. CherryBerry Pearland is listed for sale at $75,000. 7 Texas locations are listed as a bundle for $985,000 - less than half the cost to build.]
Read more about other recent CherryBerry frozen yogurt franchise closings:
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Blue Springs, Missouri
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Springfield, Missouri
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Sand Springs, Oklahoma
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Fayetteville, AR
CHERRYBERRY Texas Franchise Failures
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Claremore, Oklahoma
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closes, Cites Poor Sales
UnhappyFranchisee.Com extends its condolences and best wishes to the owners and staff of the closed Pearland, Texas CherryBerry franchise.
ARE YOU A CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OWNER OR FRANCHISEE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY OR BEAUTIFUL BRANDS? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
TAGS: CherryBerry, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt, CherryBerry franchise, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt Franchise, Froyo, Froyo franchise, Frozen Yogurt franchise, Beautiful Brands International, Dallas Jones, Robyn Jones, David Rutkauskas, franchise failures, franchise closures, franchise graveyard, Unhappy Franchisee, John Shutt, Travis Phillips of Phillips & Shutt Holdings L.L.C., Pearland Texas CherryBerry, Pearland TX
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Blue Springs, Missouri
January 6, 2013
The CherryBerry franchise location in Blue Springs, Missouri has closed… less than a year after opening.
According to the 2012 CherryBerry franchise disclosure document, each CherryBerry franchise location requires an initial investment between $224,500 to $354,000.
Our condolences go out to the CherryBerry franchise owners who invested in the Blue Springs, MO CherryBerry, which was shuttered in just 11 months.
Our condolences also go out to the franchise investors of the other CherryBerry locations to close in recent months, including
the Conroe, Clear Lake (Webster), Pasadena, and Tomball CherryBerrys in Texas,
the Springfield CherryBerry in Missouri,
the Cherryberrys in Derby, Kansas,
the Claremore and Sand Springs CherryBerrys in Oklahoma, and
the CherryBerry in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
CherryBerry Blue Springs, Missouri
Oct. 23., 2011 – Nov. 3, 2012
Read about recent CherryBerry franchise closures here:
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Springfield, Missouri
CHERRYBERRY Texas Franchise Failures
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Claremore, Oklahoma
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closes, Cites Poor Sales
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Fayetteville, AR
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Sand Springs, Oklahoma
UnhappyFranchisee.Com wishes the franchise owners and staff of the Blue Springs, MO CherryBerry the best of luck with all future endeavors.
ARE YOU A CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OWNER OR FRANCHISEE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY OR BEAUTIFUL BRANDS? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
TAGS: CherryBerry, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt, CherryBerry franchise, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt Franchise, Froyo, Froyo franchise, Frozen Yogurt franchise, Beautiful Brands International, Dallas Jones, Robyn Jones, David Rutkauskas, franchise failures, franchise closures, franchise graveyard, Unhappy Franchisee, Blue Springs Missouri, CherryBerry Blue Springs MO
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Springfield, Missouri
January 6, 2013
The CherryBerry frozen yogurt franchise location in Springfield, Missouri has closed.
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) The CherryBerry location, which required an initial investment between $200,000 and $300,000 was open just 15 months.
In June, 2011, the Springfield Business Journal reported:
“CherryBerry Self-Serve Yogurt Bar
“Patrick and Christina Tasset opened CherryBerry Self-Serve Yogurt Bar on May 20 at 4127 S. Kansas Expressway, Ste. 124.
“The yogurt bar is one of 22 in the nation and is independently owned by the Tassets, who pay a licensing fee for the store, which started in Broken Arrow, Okla.
“Christina Tasset said the startup cost for the business was between $200,000 and $300,000.
“The couple, who employ 12 at the 2,800-square-foot facility, received a U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loan through Triad Bank in Tulsa, Okla., for an undisclosed amount, Christina Tasset said.
“CherryBerry yogurt is 39 cents per ounce and made from real dairy products and all natural ingredients, Christina Tasset said.
“Tasset said CherryBerry also offers a free party room for birthday parties.”
CherryBerry of Springfield, Missouri Survived 15 Months
May 5, 2011 – July 23, 2012
The farewell FaceBook post read, in part:
We have CLOSED! It was a hard decision for us, but it was one we truly had to make.
Thank you to our employees who are truly the BEST on the planet!
Thank you to all our wonderfully loyal customers!!
… Thank you!!!
.
The Springfield, MO CherryBerry is one of at least 10 CherryBerry franchises to close in recent months.
Read about recent CherryBerry franchise closures here:
CHERRYBERRY Texas Franchise Failures
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Claremore, Oklahoma
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closes, Cites Poor Sales
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Fayetteville, AR
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Sand Springs, Oklahoma
UnhappyFranchisee.Com sends Patrick andChristina Tasset and their staff our condolences on the closing of their franchise, and wishes them the best of luck with all future endeavors.
ARE YOU A CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OWNER OR FRANCHISEE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY OR BEAUTIFUL BRANDS? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
TAGS: CherryBerry, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt, CherryBerry franchise, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt Franchise, Froyo, Froyo franchise, Frozen Yogurt franchise, Beautiful Brands International, Dallas Jones, Robyn Jones, David Rutkauskas, franchise failures, franchise closures, franchise graveyard, Unhappy Franchisee, Springfield Missouri, CherryBerry Springfield MO, Patrick Tasset, Christina Tasset
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Sand Springs, Oklahoma
January 6, 2013
The CherryBerry frozen yogurt franchise location in Sand Springs, Oklahoma has closed.
CherryBerry Sand Springs is just one of a number of CherryBerry franchise locations that have succumbed to what seems like a froyo franchise meltdown.
Other CherryBerry locations to close in recent months include:
Conroe, Clear Lake (Webster), Pasadena, and Tomball CherryBerrys in Texas,
Blue Springs and Springfield CherryBerrys in Missouri,
Derby, Kansas,
Claremore, Oklahoma, and
Fayetteville, Arkansas.
According to the Facebook post by CherryBerry Sand Springs “Unfortunately, this business isn’t doing great anywhere right now.”
Read about recent CherryBerry franchise closures here:
CHERRYBERRY Texas Franchise Failures
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Claremore, Oklahoma
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closes, Cites Poor Sales
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Fayetteville, AR
CherryBerry Sand Springs, OK Jan. 2011 – Dec. 2012
The CherryBerry in Sand Springs, OK stayed open for nearly 24 months, longer than other recently closed CherryBerry locations that averaged about 16 months.
The Sand Springs CherryBerry was owned and operated by franchisees Darin & Pam Shipley.
UnhappyFranchisee.Com sends the Shipley family and staff our condolences on the closing of their franchise, and wishes them the best of luck with all future endeavors.
ARE YOU A CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OWNER OR FRANCHISEE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY OR BEAUTIFUL BRANDS? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
TAGS: CherryBerry, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt, CherryBerry franchise, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt Franchise, Froyo, Froyo franchise, Frozen Yogurt franchise, Beautiful Brands International, Dallas Jones, Robyn Jones, David Rutkauskas, franchise failures, franchise closures, franchise graveyard, Unhappy Franchisee, Sand Springs Oklahoma, CherryBerry Sand Springs, Darin Shipley, Pam Shipley
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Fayetteville, AR
January 6, 2013
CherryBerry frozen yogurt has suffered another in a string of franchise failures with the closing of its Fayetteville, Arkansas CherryBerry.
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) According to its Facebook page, the Fayetteville CherryBerry first opened April 9, 2010.
We could find no formal announcement of the store closing, but the CherryBerry website, maintained by Beautiful Brands International (BBI) no longer lists a Fayetteville, AR location.
Customers were evidently left to figure it out themselves.
“Does anyone know if this place is closed or not?” Jodie Elenbarger wrote on December 18, 2012.
“I just stopped by to have some fro yo and the sign said that they are closed! I hope it’s not for good,” wrote Kristie Michelle Flournoy.
“I heard from a credible source that they are permanently closed unless someone buys,” wrote Emilie C.
Earlier chatter indicated that the Fayetteville CherryBerry may have closed as early as mid-November, 2012, planned to reopen, and then never did.
Beautiful Brands International, the company that markets and aggressively sells CherryBerry and FreshBerry franchises regularly promotes the number of franchises it sells, but does not seem to ever announce or comment on its closures.
Lately, there seems to be a number of CherryBerry failures, some of which we have reported here:
CHERRYBERRY Texas Franchise Failures
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closure: Claremore, Oklahoma
CHERRYBERRY Franchise Closes, Cites Poor Sales
Are you familiar with any CherryBerry store closure? Please share a comment below.
UnhappyFranchisee.Com extends its condolences and best wishes to the owners and staff of the closed Fayetteville CherryBerry.
ARE YOU A CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OWNER OR FRANCHISEE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CHERRYBERRY FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY OR BEAUTIFUL BRANDS? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
TAGS: CherryBerry, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt, CherryBerry franchise, CherryBerry Frozen Yogurt Franchise, Froyo, Froyo franchise, Frozen Yogurt franchise, Beautiful Brands International, Dallas Jones, Robyn Jones, David Rutkauskas, franchise failures, franchise closures, franchise graveyard, Unhappy Franchisee, Fayetteville Arkansas CherryBerry
