The LTO

Pinkberry, the Kahala Brands-owned frozen yogurt chain with roughly 3,000 locations across its parent's 30-brand QSR portfolio, is leaning into holiday daypart traffic with a Gingerbread Chai limited-time offering now available at participating stores nationwide. The seasonal swirl is slated to run through January 7, 2027, giving the brand a roughly ten-week window to capture incremental dessert occasions during the highest-traffic retail period of the year.

The Gingerbread Chai format uses a non-tart frozen yogurt base — a departure from the tart profile that built Pinkberry's following when it launched in Los Angeles in 2005 — finished with cinnamon powder, whipped cream, and a gingerbread cookie garnish. The combination targets the chai-spice flavor trend that has gained traction across both the coffee-shop and frozen-dessert segments in recent years, while anchoring the LTO to the more broadly familiar gingerbread occasion.

Franchisee Context

For Kahala Brands franchisees, the holiday LTO is a proven traffic lever in the frozen-dessert category, where seasonal differentiation can meaningfully shift daypart mix during a period when cold-treat purchasing otherwise softens. Sammy Robbins, Director of Marketing for Kahala Brands, framed the pairing as a way to put a contemporary twist on a classic holiday flavor. "Gingerbread is a festive favorite during the holidays and pairing it with spiced chai makes every spoonful the most delicious holiday treat," Robbins said.

Pinkberry's customization model — guests choose a base swirl and layer on toppings including daily hand-cut fresh fruit, premium granola, specialty chocolates, and nuts — keeps ticket sizes flexible and supports upsell at the unit level, a meaningful consideration for franchisees managing labor costs in a tight hourly-wage environment.

Competitive Backdrop

The frozen-yogurt segment has faced sustained unit-count pressure from self-serve competitors and better-for-you frozen novelty brands, making LTO cadence and brand relevance critical retention tools for operators like Pinkberry. Across the broader dessert QSR peer set, holiday flavor programs from chains in the ice cream and specialty-beverage categories have consistently demonstrated their ability to compress the purchase-decision cycle and drive frequency among existing guests during Q4. For Pinkberry, which operates under an asset-light franchise model as part of Kahala's global network spanning 35 countries, a well-executed seasonal LTO also supports franchisee recruitment conversations by demonstrating active brand investment.

For more on LTO strategy and frozen-dessert category trends, see our coverage of seasonal menu development and franchise dessert segment dynamics.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.