60-second interview: Ron Graves, CEO, Pinkberry

Pinkberry bids for slice of the action in fresh Greek yogurt with roll out of Pinkberrygreek

Pinkberry rolls out fresh Greek yogurt Pinkberrygreek to all stores

Related tags Greek yogurt Trans fat Milk Fruit

It made its name by selling frozen yogurt, and is now moving into fresh with the roll-out of Pinkberrygreek. But will customers buy into the concept? And could this be a prelude to a retail product to take on Chobani? Elaine Watson caught up with Pinkberry CEO Ron Graves to find out.

With 80 calories, 15g of protein, and 6g sugar per 5oz serving, Pinkberrygreek has a nutritional profile similar to that of Chobani or Fage plain 0% Greek yogurt. It can be served plain, or with sweet or savory toppings, and is being rolled out across the firm’s 225 stores in April.

If Pinkberrygreek does well in your stores, will you seek to develop it as a packaged retail brand?

Pinkberry is focused on providing fresh and culinary experiences in our retail stores and serving our customers nutritious and delicious products that become part of their daily routine. We believe our store environment is the best way to expose and educate customers on the power of yogurt. But we always remain open to finding ways to best serve them.

Where does Pinkberrygreek fit into the broader Greek yogurt market?   

Like Pinkberry frozen, Pinkberry fresh, Greek yogurt is differentiated on taste – it is silky smooth, has a perfectly balanced tart taste (no sour spikes as the beginning middle or end) and has a clean finish.  Pinkberrygreek has nutritional benefits derived from its simple and all-natural ingredients – farm fresh milk and live and active cultures.  That is it. No added sugars, thickeners or preservatives.

It is the perfect snack any time of day, with 15g protein and unbeatable combinations of fresh hand-cut fruit, wholesome granolas and sweet finishers like organic vanilla agave, cinnamon honey from Pinkberry’s fresh and culinary toppings bar.

Pinkberry offers sweet and savory options like Chocolate Berry – Pinkberrygreek topped with chocolate granola, blueberries, raspberries, shaved chocolate and cinnamon honey or Sunflower Cucumber - Pinkberrygreek topped with Persian cucumber, sunflower bites, chili powder and olive oil.

Pinkberry-Greek-2
Pinkberry has made its name in the frozen yogurt category with its tart and refreshing frozen yogurts, and is now on a mission to see if it can achieve similar success with fresh Greek yogurt

In addition, Pinkberry is using its Greek yogurt and fresh fruit to make Greek Yogurt Smoothies with 11g of protein.

Where is Pinkberrygreek manufactured? 

Pinkberrygreek is a proprietary product produced by Fair Oaks Farms, a sustainable farm made up of family dairy farmers.  Each batch can be traced back to happy and healthy cows that live on a sustainable farm.

Purists say Greek yogurt should be strained, others say it's fine to use thickeners to speed up the production process and reduce costs. What's your opinion? 

PInkberry-promo-Greek-yogurt

Pinkberrygreek is produced with a proprietary straining method. We have only nonfat milk and active cultures in our product. We believe it is our consistent source of milk from Fair Oaks Farms, proprietary straining process and commitment to fresh, simple ingredients that lead to our superior taste.

How do you know Pinkberrygreek will be a hit? Have you test-marketed it in selected stores?  ​ 

Pinkberrygreek was introduced in exclusive markets prior to our national launch. We are in all domestic stores as of the beginning of April.

Pinkberrygreek is fresh and made-to-order in one of our five signature recipes, or combined with our fresh and culinary items from our toppings bar that is 100% free of partially hydrogenated oils, HFCS and transfats for a customized snack or blended as a Pinkberrygreek Blends smoothie with 11g of protein for on-the-go fuel.

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