Pinkberry facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | January 2005 in West Hollywood, California |
| Founder | Shelly Hwang Young Lee |
| Headquarters | Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
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Number of locations
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260 restaurants |
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Area served
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Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States |
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Key people
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Eric Lefebvre, CEO |
| Products | Frozen yogurt Smoothies Fruit Parfait Fresh Fruit Bowl |
| Owner | MTY Food Group |
| Parent | Kahala Brands (2015–present) |
Pinkberry is a popular chain of restaurants that sells delicious frozen desserts, like frozen yogurt. It started in January 2005 and has its main office in Scottsdale, Arizona. Today, you can find over 260 Pinkberry stores in 20 different countries around the world! At Pinkberry, you can choose your favorite frozen yogurt and add all sorts of fun toppings.
How Pinkberry Started
Pinkberry was founded by Hye Kyung (Shelly) Hwang and Young Lee. Shelly Hwang first wanted to open a fancy English teahouse. But the city didn't approve her plan. So, she and her business partner, Young Lee, decided to try their second idea. They wanted to bring back the fun of frozen yogurt, which was very popular in the 1980s.
Their first Pinkberry store opened in January 2005 in West Hollywood, California. People loved it so much that they would drive across town just to get some. They even waited in line for 20 to 30 minutes! People joked it was "the taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets" because it was so popular.
Growing Across the World
Pinkberry quickly became a big hit. A second store opened in August 2006, and a third one followed in September 2006. Soon, Pinkberry stores started popping up all over Southern California. They also opened branches in New York.
In October 2009, Pinkberry opened its first store outside the United States. This store was in the country of Kuwait, inside a big shopping mall called The Avenues.
In 2007, Pinkberry received a large investment from a company started by Starbucks founder Howard Schultz. This money helped Pinkberry grow even more. By 2009, Pinkberry planned to expand both in the US and internationally. They teamed up with a company in Kuwait to open more stores in the Middle East. They also partnered with HMSHost to open stores in airports. The first airport location opened in late 2009. In 2010, Pinkberry expanded into the Southern United States.
The very first Pinkberry store in West Hollywood closed in April 2010. It was turned into an office building for the company. In 2015, another company called Kahala Brands bought Pinkberry. Shelly Hwang is still involved with Pinkberry today. She is the Chief Product Officer and a Board Director.
Pinkberry in Pop Culture
Pinkberry has become so well-known that it has appeared in many TV shows and movies! It shows up in an episode of the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was also seen in an episode of "And Just Like That" in 2021.
The brand has been mentioned in cartoons like Ugly Americans and American Dad. You might have also seen Pinkberry in movies like Still Alice (2014) and Horrible Bosses 2 (2014). It was even featured in the Broadway musical Be More Chill (musical). A book called November 9 by Colleen Hoover also mentions Pinkberry.
