We’ve all probably heard this old saying: Making a business successful is hard. Keeping it successful is harder.
The latest local example is Pinkberry. Remember how crazy successful Pinkberry was in the late 2000s? People used to queue up to buy the stuff. One colleague once lamented that he and his wife felt compelled to go to Pinkberry to get dessert before dinner because the lines were too long afterward. We ran an item in our Real Estate column in November 2006 saying, “The Pinkberry yogurt craze is now influencing real estate deals.” It said the new owner of a Beverly Hills retail building on Canon Drive was motivated to buy it because it had a Pinkberry shop.
Pinkberry’s success was particularly gratifying because it was something of a redemption for co-founder Hyekyung Hwang. She told us in 2006 – when she had a single shop in West Hollywood – that she had failed twice before with restaurants. “I want to be successful once in my life. I cannot fail with every single restaurant.” Pinkberry’s first steps were wobbly; samples were handed out on the sidewalk to try to induce passersby to come in. Please.
At first and for some time, it only offered plain and green tea-flavored frozen yogurt, along with a few toppings, and the whole operation seemed strangely Spartan. Despite those limitations – or maybe because of them – it wasn’t long before the cold treat became hot and those lines started forming.
Of course, success breeds competitors. In May 2007, we published an article that began thusly:
“Since Pinkberry Inc. launched from Los Angeles more than two years ago, frozen yogurt stores with such names as Kiwiberri, Mr. Snowberry, YogurtLand, Roseberry and Berri Good all have opened Los Angeles County locations. At least five frozen yogurt stores opened here just in the last week. And that’s not the end…”
Over the years, so many competitors opened that Pinkberry’s market got sliced up. Pinkberry introduced options, such as Greek yogurt and new flavors, but its popularity seemed to wane as self-serve yogurt chains with smorgasbords of do-it-yourself toppings took command. In the last five years or so, I’ve only gone to Pinkberry perhaps a couple of times. I recall no lines.
Last week, the Santa Monica-based Pinkberry was bought by the owner of Cold Stone Creamery. In the article about that sale on page 5, one analyst said that just selling frozen yogurt isn’t enough any longer, “it’s kind of lost its novelty.” Of course, it remains to be seen if the new owner can revive the brand, but at least it has industry know-how.
The co-founder, Hwang, got her wish. She was indeed successful with Pinkberry. But, as we know, it’s that next part – keeping it successful – that’s the real trick.
Charles Crumpley is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
