It’s that time for the tale of the tape, our annual froyo chain location count. We’ll reveal the largest froyo chains in the world, how many locations they currently have, and how much they shrank or grew compared to this time last year.
The top 10 largest frozen yogurt chains in the world accounted for approximately 1,902 locations, down from 2,351 locations in December 2021, 2,522 locations in December 2020, 2,816 locations in December 2019 and 3,020 locations in December 2018. The number of frozen yogurt stores continues to decline as shops battle rising costs and labor and supply shortages. None of the chains was able to grow their location count this year (though we’re not sure about Greenfrost’s growth).
The List of Largest Froyo Chains by Location Count
1) Menchie’s: 359 locations (-20 locations vs. December 2021)
Menchie’s continues to be the largest self-serve froyo chain in the world. Of the 359 locations, 302 locations were in the US. California had the most locations, with 76, followed by Texas with 42, and 38 in Florida. The locations were listed on the Menchie’s website. Menchie’s celebrated turning 15 this year.
2) Yogen Fruz: 300 locations (-131 locations vs. December 2021)
Yogen Fruz might be larger than Menchie’s but it’s hard to tell. Their website does not seem to have been updated and it says they have over 1300 locations. We’ve seen that figure for years and are pretty sure it is not accurate. While it was easy to find the list of locations in the US and Canada, we counted 153 locations – the same as 2021. This leads us to suspect that the list has not been updated. And we have no idea how many locations they still have outside of North America.
3) SweetFrog: 250 locations (no change from December 2021)
We have a new number #3 but we’re not sure if the location count is accurate, since it’s difficult to access a list of SweetFrog locations. A November press release from SweetFrog says that they have 250 locations. However, last year’s press release also said that they have 250 locations.
4) Pinkberry: 249 locations (-16 locations vs. December 2021)
While Pinkberry’s press releases do not mention the number of their locations, we were able to find the locations with a bit of effort. We found 249 locations, including 71 in the US, 87 in Canada (many of these are Second Cup locations), and 64 in the Middle East. There were 178 international locations. Pinkberry is counting its vending machines and Amazon Go stores with Pinkberry as locations.
5) Yogurtland: 230 locations (-20 locations vs. December 2021)
Yogurtland remained #5 this year. While we were not able to access a list of Yogurtland’s locations on the Yogurtland website, a Yogurtland press release from November 2022 states that they have 230 locations.
6) llaollao: 217 locations (- 46 locations vs. December 2022)
llaollao and Pinkberry were the only chains that grew last year but both were unable to grow this year. Llaollao remains the largest froyo chain in Europe and Asia. They have the most locations in Malaysia, with 124, followed by their home country of Spain with 93.
7) TCBY: 140 locations (-31 locations vs. December 2021)
TCBY remained the 7th largest froyo chain this year. All the locations are in the US, with the most in Illinois with 24.
8) Yogorino: 138 locations (-10 locations vs. December 2021)
Italy’s Yogorino remained #8. Most of their shops are in Italy.
9) Greenfrost: 80 locations in December 2022, unknown number in December 2021
Greenfrost of Ecuador made the list for the first time. We are not sure of how many locations they had in 2021.
10) Orange Leaf: 77 locations (-5 locations vs. December 2021)
Orange Leaf remained #10 on the list, with 77 locations. They had the most locations in Texas, with 30.
Our Methodology
Our store location counts are based on the list of locations on the chain’s website as of mid-December 2022. We also considered whether the information seemed current. If we could not determine the store location counts from the chain’s website or the website appeared outdated, we looked at recent press releases. However, we placed less confidence in location counts that were not obtained from the chain’s up-to-date website with a list of current locations.
Smooy, #9 last year, was dropped from the list because we could not determine how many locations they have. We dropped Tutti Frutti years ago because they don’t have a website and we could not determine the number of their locations.
Chains to watch include Sour Sally in Indonesia, with 70 locations, Yogurt Factory in France with 61, and Yogurtlandia in Italy with 56. It’s interesting to note that Red Mango is down to 41 locations in North America (and an unknown number of locations outside of North America).
