TCBY Will Offer a Free Franchise for the Right Vlogger

Front page of TCBY.com

SALT LAKE CITY - The Country’s Best Yogurt is offering entrepreneurs the chance to own their own TCBY with a store giveaway worth more than $300,000. The franchise contest can be seen on the front page of its web site, which is normally reserved for consumers looking for frozen yogurt information.

The national contest is open to all U.S. residents over the age of 21. To enter, contestants must submit a video, no longer than two minutes, explaining why they should be the recipient of their very own TCBY, why their town is the perfect location, and what they have to offer the brand. You can check out some of the current submissions at our YouTube channel. Submissions will be judged on creativity, a sense of business acumen, and originality. Video submissions will be accepted until March 31, 2010. Semi-finalists will be selected and notified by April 6, 2010, and the grand prize winner will be notified May 25, 2010.

“With the current economic climate, what better time to encourage people to make their professional and personal dreams come true,” says TCBY’s senior vice president of development, Rob Streett. The franchising company is giving away a business in order to re-introduce frozen yogurt to a whole new generation of frozen yogurt lovers. It can also use the store give-away as “a platform to launch our new store logo, look and design,” adds Streett.

TCBY plans to launch the chain’s new look, design and store logo for the winner.

The winner will have the right to enter into a limited 10-year term license agreement to operate a single unit franchise location of TCBY. TCBY will waiver a $10,000 franchise fee. The company will cover the cost of the store build-out, valued at $125,000; equipment, furniture and signage, valued at $125,000; opening inventory and supplies, valued at $10,000; travel and living expenses while attending training in Utah, valued at $3,500; and cover the cost of the store’s grand opening promotional expenses, valued at $7,500. The total approximate retail value of the prize is $312,500.

Even though the company will help cover the cost of launching the business, Streett says that TCBY typically looks for individuals that have $250,000 in net worth and $100,000 in liquid assets to help carry them and the store over until it can sustain profitability.

But Streett adds, “Once you remove the financial hurdle, it comes down to a passion for the business and your ability to execute to the brand/system standards.”