Rising costs, labor shortages, and pandemic shutdowns have led to a string of frozen yogurt shop closures. But some froyo shops are still thriving. Take thirteen-year old Frogurt Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their sales are better than ever. The store was open all through 2020, take-out only. It was their 2nd best year until 2021 and 2022. And they have seen phenomenal growth in foot traffic into the store. They’re on track to hit $500k in sales in 10.5 months in 2022.
David Christianson, who owns Frogurt with his wife, Pattie, was gracious enough to share Frogurt’s story with us. Frogurt opened on September 24, 2010. David and Pattie are the original owners and they’re open year-round, except for 6-week break after Thanksgiving. During the break, they refresh, reconnect, and prepare for the new year.
Frogurt’s Origin Story
Prior to founding Frogurt, David Christianson was a director for an engineering firm and Pattie Christianson owned her own beauty salon. While attending Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Parade in 2010, they visited two self-serve froyo shops and were inspired to open their own self-serve froyo shop back home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
One of the things they didn’t like about the froyo shops they visited is that they all had that cookie cutter feel to them, which left no room for imagination. They decided against franchising for lots of reasons, but not being able to change the décor or the menu for that matter was a deal breaker for them. So, they created their own business concept where they could be creative and create something, fun, different and unique.
For example, David Christianson invented CRUSH snow cream, the first of its kind in New Mexico and the US. Crush is made with a flavored frozen yogurt block that is shaved like Italian ice using a proprietary process. The result is lighter and fluffier than ice cream, yet still creamy and probiotic.
The Keys to Frogurt’s Success
“We love the joy and kindness that our store shares with everyone. We believe from our heart that is what life is all about.”
– Dave & Pattie Christianson
The Christianson’s don’t see frozen yogurt as their main product. They think what draws people to their shop is the experience and the sense of happiness and contentment that the store creates. They created an atmosphere inside their store that is fun and inviting to people looking in from the outside of the store. David Christianson explains: “We change up the store with various decorations from time-to-time to give it that WOW factor that does not exist in most stores like ours. Our slogan is “Oh The Possibilities!” We try hard to keep it fun and interesting for our customers. We have been to over one hundred frozen yogurt stores/shops throughout the US and we have only found one other “Mom and Pop” shop that offers this atmosphere.”
In addition to the fun atmosphere, the Christianson’s believe in the importance of a genuine smile. As David Christianson says, “We have been told that we make them (customers) feel like they are family. We know many of our customers on a first name basis. We ask about their kids and grandchildren when they come into our store. A lot of our customers can’t believe we remembered family members or the conversation we had with them the last time they came in. The smile is the most overlooked gesture in customer service, and it’s the most impactful.”
Over the years, David Christianson has learned techniques that he utilizes in the daily preparation of the yogurt machines that optimizes the quality and taste of the frozen yogurt coming out of the machines. Customers constantly tell them, “our store is the holy grail of frozen yogurt stores/shops.” The taste of their yogurt is consistently better than existing competitors using the same brand of frozen yogurt. And Mr. Christianson has documented all these processes in the Frogurt Owner’s Handbook. That means it is repeatable!
Advice for Other Froyo Shops
David Christianson was also kind enough to share his advice for other froyo shops as well as his Daily Prep Guide for machine maintenance.
- Lesson #1: The company that sells you your equipment does not always know best. They don’t work with the machines on a day-to-day basis. It pays to get to know your machines and develop best practices to reduce down time and create better tasting product.
- Lesson #2: Know the costs of your products. This can literally make or break the business. Know how much profit each item brings in.
- Lesson #3: Fundraisers and donations are their secret weapons for attracting new and repeat customers. Specifically, look for organizations, schools, and events that have enough participants to make it worth your time. The Christianson’s even help with the graphics needed to create flyers and emails to promote the event. For donations, give gift cards rather than cash. Gift cards can be used as door prizes, in raffles, etc. The gift cards give Frogurt more exposure in the community. They’ve supported many organizations over the years and feel that it pays off in the end.
To Learn More About and to Follow Frogurt
Visit Frogurt at 2801 Rodeo Rd., Ste B-11, Santa Fe, NM 87507. Learn more about Frogurt at https://frogurt-nm.com/
Follow Frogurt on Instagram, “@frogurtyogurtsf” or on Facebook at “Frogurt1”.
