NEWS - Retail & Shopping Centers

By Lou Phelps, SBJ Staff Report

Oct 17, 2011 –On November 5, Savannah’s Diane Kahn will celebrate the one-year anniversary of her frozen yogurt company Lovin’ Spoons, a 70’s themed self-serve food company with bright colors, immaculate stores and an atmosphere that is both nostalgic and fun.

But her entreprenuerial story is not about surviving the first year of a new endeavor in a tough economy; it’s a tale of rapid growth, and great expectations for the future.

In one year, Kahn has opened stores on Savannah’s Southside on Eisenhower Dr and in Pooler, has a third store set to open in early November in Richmond Hill, and a fourth underway in Bluffton.

Her first three stores are company-owned stores, just a first step in a much broader vision of building a national franchise company with supportive central management, quality control over all products and each premises, and a clear vision of how to best the competition.

After moving to California for just over a year in support of her husband David's career, the Kahns moved back to Savannah where they were both raised, and they put in motion a plan to create a high-quality frozen yogurt company after looking at many of the existing chains, brands and store concepts.

“There’s a lot of competition out there, nationally,” explains Kahn, who has extensive business experience as the former owner of TravelHost magazine, which she sold before moving out West.

“We opened the first store, but immediately began to work on our franchise paperwork and legal documents – that’s a long process,” she explained. She’s now ready to open her first franchise store which will be for a store in the Bluffon area.

“We started conceptualizing in January 2010, and opened the first store in November. A large part of the startup process was working with Mighty Eighth Media Group from Beaufort, GA. They are the protector of my brand and handle all materials and in-store concepts, including signage,” she explains. She found them in an online search.

“I literally googled ‘full-service marketing company in Georgia.’  They’re very small, but they ‘get it;” she says. “They’ve drunk the Kool-aid of Lovin’ Spoons,” she laughs.

While she worked with them on the concepts for the first store and the company's image, she finalized her frozen yogurt decisions and wide array of toppings. Concurrently, she had a real estate agent start looking at spaces in Savannah.

“Our plan was to open a few company stores in this area, and gear up to franchise. We knew that
self-serve frozen yogurt stores are one of the fastest growing franchise concepts ever.  So, we knew we had to move quickly, and find a unique twist - something that would hook not only the customer but the potential franchisee,” she explains.

And she found it, adapting a 70’s theme for the Lovin’ Spoons stores, complete with 70’s music and VW Bugs as the company vehicle – playing off the popular 1970’s band The Lovin Spoonfuls. Each store has a brightly colored VW Bug that’s cut in half, and customers can sit in.

“That’s the hook - the 70’s vibe, a theme, a soul and a consistent look in each store,” she explains.  “It appeals to baby boomers and their children; it crosses all generations.”

And she’s a fanatic about cleanliness. “The customer service and the presentation of the toppings in a totally clean presentation are very important to me.”

What Customers Will Experience

Each Lovin’ Spoons store is ‘self-serve.’ Customers choose their favorite flavor of frozen yogurt and then to the toppings bar and select from an array of choices. The cost is determined by the weight of what they choose – how much ice cream, and how many toppings they pile on.

“We saw things we liked and things we didn’t like,” she said, as they looked at competitive stores around the U.S. “You can have 60 toppings if you want to, but we really feel that more is not really ‘more’”.

They’re presented in a clean, mouth-watering manner. With crowds, and people serving themselves, it makes it a challenge to keep it clean, and to offer that high level of customer service,” she adds.
Kahn says that a hallmark of the company is to also be very responsive to the community. “We donate tons to fundraisers – gift baskets and cards, etc.”
And, she feels that they’re really connecting with their customers, using social media. “Our Facebook is just on fire, with over 8500 fans in a short period of time.  They love it – they love interacting with us.” Kahn’s marketing firm has been instrumental in this strategy, as well.
The Richmond Hill store is located at 60 Exchange St., and the Bluffton store will be in Belfair Towne Village on Rt. 278, Bluffton.

Becoming a Franchisee

For franchisees, entry costs from $350,000 to $450,000 depending on the size of the store. The company oversees the entire build out process. “Costs vary based on a number of factors, such as local impact feels, for example, charged by some cities and counties. The franchisee chooses their own contractor,” she added.
To develop a franchise company, she hired iFranchise consultants, and an experienced franchise attorney from Atlanta, as well.

“We’re laying a solid foundation, and have just gotten to the point where we can sell franchises.”
Her management team includes Eric Weiss, a native of Savannah, who is Director of Operations. He oversees staff schedules, ordering the food, etc. “I’m not involved in the day-to-day. And I rely on the marketing company for so much – every label and sign, Facebook, every in-store graphic and marketing message.”
Kahn’s goal is to target franchise owners in the Southeastern U.S., first, and watch the industry for awhile. “There’s going to be a shakeout in this business. The company standing at the end will have the best concept and best buying power. That’s our goal.”