Pinkberry is back in Lebanon

Lebanese entrepreneur Najib Khatib is relaunching the international brand Pinkberry in Lebanon. With his partner Khalil Khamis, they acquired the franchise of the famous frozen yogurt brand for the next 10 years.

Despite the situation in Lebanon, the first store opened as planned at the ABC Ashrafieh shopping center on Oct. 4.

The reopening of Pinkberry in Lebanon has long been in the works.

“About two years ago, my partner and I noticed that something was missing in the Lebanese market: Frozen yogurt from Pinkberry. So, we applied via their website for the franchise in Lebanon,” said Khatib. However, they did not obtain the franchise immediately.

Ten stores

In the wake of the 2019 crisis, the Kuwaiti group AlShaya, which owned the franchise, closed all Pinkberry stores in Lebanon.

“AlShaya canceled the franchise in 2020, and no one took over the business. We worked for over a year to convince Pinkberry's parent company, Kayla Foods, to grant it to us. In the end, they accepted, and we moved forward with the project,” explained Khatib.

He and his partner are thinking big for Pinkberry in Lebanon. “We plan to open 10 stores over the next three years, with no sub-franchises. We want to keep all operations under our control.”

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Their plans are well thought out, with key locations already in mind.

“The first store is at ABC Ashrafieh, on the L3 floor, between Roadster and Cosmo. In a few months, we will open at ABC Dbayeh and Verdun,” he continued.

For now, the duo is satisfied with the first store’s opening, which happened while the country was going through a war.

“Everything is going well. When the cease-fire was announced, we saw a surge in sales that is now slowing down, but we weren’t really affected by the war,” said Khatib.

At Pinkberry, the concept is simple: You choose among six flavors of yogurt – plain, mango, strawberry, passion fruit, chocolate and Biscoff – and can add a variety of toppings, including fruits, nuts, sweets and sauces, all for an average price of $8.

A well-thought investment

Relaunching Pinkberry in Lebanon required extensive strategic planning and an initial investment of $500,000, with a development plan of $1.5 million spread over five years.

“We started from scratch. If we had taken over an existing store, it would have cost half the price, but we wanted everything to reflect our image,” he said.

Each point of sale will have its own style, from kiosk to classic store, depending on the location. The first store spans 57 square meters, including a 30-square-meter outdoor area that can accommodate around 35 people.

“Our contract with ABC is annual and we have signed up to be present at all three ABC malls during the next three years,” he added.

For Khatib, this project is not only a business opportunity, but it is also a return to his roots. “After leaving Africa for family-related reasons in 2021, I wanted to start a project in Lebanon. I studied hospitality, so I'm quite familiar with this field. As for my partner, he was a loyal Pinkberry customer. That's how the idea came about.”

The duo had already demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills with the creation in 2023 of their company Brain Bites SAL, in which they each hold a 50 percent stake.

This article was originally published in French in L’Orient-Le Jour.