A Salt Lake-based private equity and management firm has acquired Hogi Yogi, Teriyaki Stix and Yoasis Brands, with plans to expand the three franchise brands well beyond their existing tri-state territory.
Sopra Capital II announced the acquisition Thursday. Terms were not disclosed.
The three food brands, united under a parent holding company called HYATS LLC, captured Sopra's interest with 40 franchise locations in Utah, Nevada and Idaho and about $4 million in revenue.
The three brands will now operate under Sopra Brands food franchise division, called Peak Brands. Mike Clayton, founder of Hogi Yogi and Teriyaki Stix, will stay on as the chief financial officer of Peak Brands.
Besides being profitable, the brands showed great growth potential "and that got us excited," said Sopra managing director Brian Charlesworth.
"The Sopra Brands team understands our business; our implementation of their strategies has already provided growth and added profitability to our bottom line," Clayton said in a news release Thursday announcing the deal.
Sopra Capital II was founded two years ago to find profitable franchises and grow them into national powerhouses, Charlesworth said. The other managing director, David Leoncavallo, was an expert at growing businesses for other people, Charlesworth said. They formed Sopra after they decided "we should grow them for us." Recently, they brought in Chuck Jones as vice president of development. Jones had most recently doubled the size of the Ben & Jerry's franchise organization to more than 700 locations.
Clayton first introduced his version of the hoagie sandwich and frozen yogurt in 1989 and started opening Hogi Yogi restaurants. In 1995, the BYU grad, who had a master's degree in accounting, and his brother Rick Clayton introduced Teriyaki Stix. They broadened their frozen yogurt concept with Yoasis in 2008.
Charlesworth told the Deseret News that he and his colleagues hope to wrestle the franchises' 40 locations into 400 across the country. And they're excited as well because after watching "tens of thousands get laid off" in the current recession, he believes they will create job opportunities.
"And as a corporation based in Utah," he said, "it creates opportunities for Utahns to grow with us."
E-MAIL: lois@desnews.com