Black Bear Yogurt Gets a Cyber Boost

Jesse Roberge had high hopes when Living Social came calling.

Just not high enough.

A three-day sales blitz over Memorial Day weekend resulted in more than 600 online vouchers sold for frozen yogurt and coffee drinks at Black Bear Yogurt & Espresso.

He was expecting to sell 100 – maybe 200, if he was really lucky.

“Absolutely not,” he said in response to whether he expected such a boon. “It’s been crazy.”

For $15, customers could purchase a $30 voucher good for use over multiple visits through May 30, 2012. Those who bought one will get a $30 gift card upon bringing in the Living Social confirmation.

“We issue it, load it, and you’re on your way,” said Roberge, who opened in May 2010 at 8520 Steilacoom Blvd S.W. “That’s the way we chose to do it.”

On Monday, employees issued more than $1,000 in gift cards, accounting for about 5 percent of the total purchased through the three-day sale. And there is another half-inch stack of confirmations to go through.

Roberge said he got lucky having his deal drop on Memorial Day weekend.

“By design, it was my intent (to have) it be a high-traffic weekend for people to engage with that platform,” he said.

Living Social is a flash site similar to Groupon that offers a daily deal in various cities. The Tacoma region includes South King, Pierce and Thurston counties, so Roberge said he wasn’t sure how Black Bear would fare when Living Social approached him about offering a deal.

“I didn’t know how many people were on Living Social in this neck of the woods,” he said in pointing out that Black Bear is a single business at the edge of town.

Roberge said that while Living Social deals are not profitable to the merchants – “this is just to cover the cost of the food – the yogurt, the cup, the sticker, the spoon and the Teddy Graham” – he is fine with that.

“It’s to stimulate our summer awareness a little bit.”

Roberge said that his personal philosophy is that if you give a person a reason to come, they will, and if you don’t, they won’t.

“A really good deal, in my opinion, is worth its weight in gold,” he said.

He said that customers have expressed concerns that such a belief will drive Black Bear out of business – they regularly offer a coupon in Valpak mailers – but Roberge said he is more concerned with making sure that his guests know “that we take an honest approach to their visit.”

“I think a lot of the businesses that do this, you better understand what you’re getting involved with,” he said of such sites as Living Social. “If you look at marketing as a liability, you’re not going to do well. If you look at it as an asset, you will. We look at it as an asset.”

Roberge said he is making a push for their coffee – it is less expensive than several chains and comes with a complimentary extra shot – and new summer flavors of their frozen yogurt, which contains active and live cultures. Most flavors are fat-, gluten- and lactose-free.

Among the upcoming offerings are “real crisp, dairy-free” sorbets in such flavors as lemon, pomegranate and grapefruit, and fruit toppings including papaya and kiwi.

“We’re looking forward to the summer,” he said.