Nashville Tasti D-Lite shop introduces dessert buyers to buy a franchise

While franchisors think the prospects for their own frozen yogurt chain is hot, analysts are cool when it comes to the sector's growth.

But forecasts for an increasingly crowded and competitive market have not deterred "fro-yo" companies from embarking on ambitious expansion plans to capture an increasingly health-conscious U.S. consumer.

Although frozen yogurt revenue grew at a 5.9 percent pace during the past five years, it is only forecast to rise 2.4 percent annually for the next five years, according to estimates from a November 2011 IBISWorld report.

"It had been growing for the last three years, and as long as people continue to keep building units, we might continue to see that demand," said Bonnie Riggs, a restaurant industry analyst at The NPD Group. "I'm not sure there's that much demand for frozen yogurt." — CNBC's Small Business

IBISWorld points out that during this recession, consumers have been nudged to indulge themselves with inexpensive luxuries like frozen yogurt. That's now shifting.