The Sweet Taste of Coming Home to Menchie’s

By Bob Cox

When Spring Mason, the co-owner of Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt in Rancho Cordova said that choosing to invest in this franchise was like coming home, I knew exactly what she was talking about. Early on in my sales career, I was searching to work with a company that valued principals over profits while providing a healthy environment of integrity, respect and support. When I found the company that offered that and much more, it felt like coming home to work for the first time in my young life.

Just one year ago, Spring and her husband Terry embarked on an extensive search to find the best franchise for their family, a franchise that was much more than just financially successful and growing. Like me, they were also looking for a business that had a positive, friendly and family oriented culture. Out of all the franchise around, Menchie’s stood head and shoulders above the rest.

After accepting an invitation to the Menchie’s headquarters in Encino, CA Terry and Spring were pleasantly surprised by the company’s representative’s intense focus on their core values of treating people right. “We actually found Menchie’s through an internet search. I was worried that our meeting was going to be about numbers, graphs, charts and profitability. Instead, it was all about the culture of the franchise, the family, the community, giving back and how to treat your team”, Spring said.

Once they were excited about the Menchie’s business philosophy, the next step was the sweet task of sampling the tasty treats. “During the process, we visited a few of the local shops to try their products and we absolutely fell in love with it! We would go out on date nights every Saturday and sometimes two days a week to get our Menchie’s fix. So we definitely fell in love, first with the business and then with the product”, explained Spring.

Here’s how the rest of my conversation went with Spring.

Q: What makes Menchie’s frozen yogurt different from other yogurt shops?

A: Menchie’s has its own proprietary blend, while most of the other yogurt companies buy from just one company. Menchie’s actually has a dairy in southern California and a research and development team onsite at headquarters in Encino, CA. They’re Certified Kosher and organic, which means they don’t use any hormones or antibiotics on their cows. We also avoid using high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors.

Q: Is there anything else that makes your frozen yogurt taste so amazingly great?

A: Yes, they also pay for the licensing for several name brand ingredients. We serve an Oreo brand of cookies and cream, a York Peppermint Pattie flavor, Skippy for our chocolate peanut butter brownie, a Butterfinger flavor and Cinnabon flavor as well!

Q: What are your most popular flavors?

A: We always have 12 flavors and our standards are chocolate, vanilla, tart and Dole Pineapple. We also offer non-dairy options, which are our sorbet’s and also have no sugar added options and low-carb, no sugar added yogurt as well. We also make fresh waffle cones every day, which smell and taste amazing.

Q: You also offer frozen yogurt cakes, which I had never seen before. Can you tell us more about them?

A: Yes, we’re one of the few frozen yogurt companies that make cakes. We can special order cakes, so you can pick whatever flavors you want in your cake and add your favorite toppings We can create custom designs and even print designs like your photograph and place it on top of the cake as well, which is completely edible.

Q: Did Menchie’s come up with the idea of making frozen yogurt cakes?

A: Yes, they were the first to actually launch that product. Along with the amazing flavor, the other great thing about our frozen yogurt cakes is they are healthier than the ice cream cakes and have fewer calories per slice. They’re also working on frozen yogurt sandwiches made with cookies outside. We are currently serving Dole Whip Floats, like the ones found in Disneyland, and we will be launching Frozen Yogurt shakes in the near future.

Q: Can you tell us a little more about the culture here at Menchie’s?

A: We’ve both worked in the corporate world and know what it feels like to be a number in a business. I’ve always been drawn to jobs where I feel like I actually belong there and feel valued. They encourage all their franchisees to donate to the community while making everyone feel like a welcomed guest in our home.

Q: Do you have a large variety of toppings to choose from?

A: Yes, we have 32 dry toppings and 12 chill bar toppings, including fresh fruit for people that want a healthier option. We also have five sauce toppings and will be bringing out another topping which is a no sugar added, fat free chocolate. We use natural sweeteners like stevia, which tastes great.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?

A: Even though people see us as a franchise, we’re truly a family run business, which includes me, my husband Terry and our son, so it’s definitely a family environment. Actually, when we hired our team we told them we want them to feel like family, so if they ever have issues to come to us and we’ll do whatever we can to help.

Q: Do you have any advice on how to deal with challenges and stay positive?

A: Terry and I have actually been through a lot. We’ve been together over 20 years now and we both worked in the housing market when it crashed. We both lost our jobs at the same time with small children at home and had to basically rebuild from nothing. So, we could’ve either taken it as the worst thing in the world and just regress or we could be a team and work together and build off of it, so that’s what we did.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Menchie’s in Rancho Cordova, visit their store at 10933 Olson Dr. in the Target Shopping Center or call (916) 858-2606.