Red Mango® and Cinemex Launch International Expansion Into Mexico

Latin America - español

--U.S.-based frozen yogurt leader awards first international franchise agreement

--Deal partners Red Mango with Cinemex, Mexico's leading movie theater chain with 184 locations

--Agreement includes distribution through movie theaters and development of free-standing stores across the country

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Dec 01, 2011, 09:00 ET

DALLAS, Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Red Mango is expanding to Mexico. Today, the Dallas-based chain and one of America's fastest-growing yogurt and smoothie brands announced its first international franchise agreement in an exclusive deal with Cinemex, the leading national chain with 184 movie theaters operating across Mexico. Cinemex will own and operate the Red Mango franchise with a goal of making Red Mango the leading frozen yogurt brand in Mexico.

Details of the announcement include introducing Red Mango kiosks immediately into movie theaters in addition to developing an undisclosed number of free-standing stores.

"This is a major milestone, and I am especially pleased that we are expanding Red Mango internationally from the U.S. with one of the world's great companies," said Barry M. Barron, Sr., chief executive officer of Red Mango. "Cinemex brings resources which make them an experienced partner for rapid and high-quality development in Mexico. It is a perfect way to launch our efforts to expand the brand internationally."

Recognizing the rapidly growing market for healthy frozen yogurt in Mexico, Cinemex Commercial Director Jaime Rionda set out to find the world's best frozen yogurt to bring to Mexico. Sr. Rionda researched Red Mango and the chain's popular rise across the United States and was attracted to the brand, the concept design and the taste of its award-winning all-natural nonfat frozen yogurt and fresh fruit smoothies.

"Mexican consumers, in general, and the 65 million customers of Cinemex theatres, in particular, are already familiar with frozen yogurt," Sr. Rionda said. "They have tasted the rest, and now, with Red Mango, they will have a chance to taste the best."

Cinemex is building the leading entertainment and food concept company in Mexico. "In all our endeavors we strive to be the leader and to provide the best offering in the market," Sr. Rionda said. "We are achieving that with our coffee concept, Cafe Central; and we intend to achieve that in the frozen yogurt and smoothie category with Red Mango. My task was to find the best frozen yogurt in the world to bring to Mexico, and we have done exactly that by choosing Red Mango."

The first Red Mango locations are expected to open in Mexico City beginning 2012.

About Red Mango:
Red Mango, one of the fastest growing retailers of all-natural nonfat frozen yogurt and fresh fruit smoothies, opened its first U.S. store in July 2007 in Los Angeles, and has since celebrated more than 140 store openings across the U.S. Red Mango was named the number one smoothie and frozen yogurt chain in America in Zagat's 2011 National Chain Restaurants Survey. Other awards have included the prestigious Nation's Restaurant News' "Hot Concepts!" award and the industry-recognized SupplySide's "Scientific Excellence Award," as well as best frozen yogurt honors in Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas, Chicago, Utah and New York by highly-regarded independent publications. Headquartered in Dallas, Red Mango serves uniquely delicious frozen yogurt that is all-natural, nonfat and lowfat, gluten-free and packed with beneficial live and active probiotic cultures like GanedenBC30(Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086), which helps support a healthy immune and digestive system when consumed as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Red Mango is the first frozen yogurt retailer to earn the National Yogurt Association's Live and Active Cultures seal for meeting the required criteria for healthy frozen yogurt. Red Mango recently expanded its menu to include satisfying meal options such as its all-natural made-to-order fruit and yogurt parfaits and fresh fruit smoothies, and also introduced the world's first all-natural probiotic iced teas that are hand-shaken to order.