Samuel Batt of Batt Enterprises has signed an expanded development agreement with Famous Brands International, the parent company of TCBY and Mrs. Fields, to add 15 new locations across Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina — extending a franchise relationship that began in 2010.
The deal adds Georgia to Batt's existing Carolinas territory, giving him development rights across three contiguous southeastern states. He currently operates 15 TCBY and two Mrs. Fields units and is posting his strongest sales year since acquiring the franchise, with year-to-date revenue running double digits ahead of the prior-year period. The announcement signals that the frozen-dessert segment — long under pressure from fast-casual and specialty coffee competitors — retains meaningful franchisee appetite in suburban and college-adjacent corridors.
Growth Strategy
Batt's expansion blueprint concentrates on suburban growth corridors and markets clustered around higher-education institutions, building on the infrastructure he has established in the Greater Charlotte metropolitan area. The Research Triangle — Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill — is a named priority for North Carolina, while Atlanta represents the anchor opportunity in Georgia. Famous Brands is also actively recruiting multi-unit operators for franchise openings in Charleston, SC, and Raleigh-Durham, indicating the parent company views the Southeast as one of its higher-priority domestic growth regions across its 275-plus global locations.
Batt's 16-year tenure makes him one of the brand's more tenured area developers in the U.S. market. He piloted TCBY's first self-serve concept in Charlotte, a format that subsequently informed broader rollout across the system. That operational track record — combined with his role providing development support to other regional franchisees — positions him as a quasi-regional franchisor within Famous Brands' structure, an increasingly common model among multi-unit operators looking to scale without corporate overhead.
Category Context
The frozen yogurt category has navigated a turbulent decade since its mid-2010s peak, when self-serve chains proliferated and then contracted sharply as consumer novelty faded. TCBY, with more than 45 years in the segment and over 125 franchised units globally, has differentiated through menu breadth — more than 50 soft-serve and 16 hand-scooped flavors, alongside dairy-free, gluten-free, and no-sugar-added options — rather than competing purely on price. Mrs. Fields, which operates in 24 U.S. states and six countries, adds a complementary baked-goods revenue stream that broadens average ticket and daypart coverage for co-branded locations.
For foodservice operators evaluating franchise investment in the specialty-dessert space, the Batt agreement underscores that established multi-unit operators with proven unit economics remain the preferred growth vehicle for legacy brands looking to add locations without proportional corporate expenditure. The franchise development model being applied here — territory expansion tied to demonstrated performance benchmarks — is increasingly standard across quick-service dessert and snack categories.
"These are iconic brands that generations of customers have known and loved for decades, and we continue to see that connection translate into strong performance today," said Samuel Batt, franchise owner and area developer at Batt Enterprises. "Expanding across the Southeast gives us the opportunity to bring high-quality frozen yogurt and freshly baked treats to more communities throughout the region."
Famous Brands International lists franchise opportunities in Raleigh-Durham, NC; Charleston, SC; and Atlanta, GA as immediate priorities for qualified multi-unit operators.
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.
