When Neil Hershman, the 30-year-old CEO and majority owner of frozen yogurt chain 16 Handles, visits his self-serve dessert shops, he keeps it simple. His go-to order: a plain tart-flavored swirl with strawberries, blueberries, chocolate chips and hazelnut crunch.
And no, he does not eat frozen yogurt every day — just a few times a week, he says.
In 2024, New York-based 16 Handles brought in $20.6 million in systemwide sales, and in the first six months of 2025, systemwide sales reached $12.5 million, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
Once crowded with brands like TCBY, Yogurtland and Menchie’s, the self-serve frozen yogurt space has been shrinking since 2016, according to data from food service research firm Technomic. However, since taking over the company in 2022, Hershman says there’s been a “surge” in customer demand at 16 Handles.
In-store traffic has been on the rise, people are spending more in stores and same-store sales have increased by over 10% year over year since he took over, he says.
“Everybody thought frozen yogurt was fading … but we revived the category,” Hershman says.
‘There was no energy’
Solomon Choi founded 16 Handles in 2008 in Manhattan’s East Village. Named for the 16 different flavors of self-serve frozen yogurt, soft-serve ice cream or sorbet you can find in each store, the chain currently has 40 locations, mostly on the East Coast.
After graduating from college and moving to New York City in 2017 to work in asset management, Hershman, who rarely ate frozen yogurt growing up, says he quickly became a regular at the Murray Hill 16 Handles location down the block from his first apartment.
Two years into his job in finance, he realized the career wasn’t a fit for him, so in 2019, at 23 years old, Hershman says he quit his job and purchased a 16 Handles franchise using “effectively all the cash” he had saved up at that point — $160,000 in savings and just under $400,000 from a Small Business Administration loan and seller’s note.
“I was looking for something that was a little bit more hands on, down to earth and in person,” he says. “I worked the register for full shifts days in and days out … Through that, I learned the business from the inside.”
Neil Hershman bought his first 16 Handles store when he was 23 years old.
Valentina Duarte | CNBC Make It
By 2022, the then-27-year-old owned six locations and says he had become the largest franchise owner of 16 Handles — but he wanted to do more. He says he sat down with 16 Handles leadership to talk about how he could help grow the brand, but realized the company had gotten “stale” in its operations.
“There was no energy and spark and innovation,” he says. “That was very exciting to me because it showed that with new energy and new ideas, there was room to push the needle and innovate.”
That year, he made a bid to purchase the entire company, using all of his existing locations as collateral to secure the acquisition for an undisclosed price. Today, Hershman says he is the majority owner of 16 Handles. YouTube comedian Danny Duncan owns a stake in the company, along with several other minority investors, he says.
Changing consumer sentiment
To get people through the door, Hershman has started launching limited edition flavors like French fry, butter beer and black matcha. Behind the scenes, he says he’s also invested in revamping the company’s digital marketing strategy.
So far, Hershman says his efforts to revitalize the brand have been working. Since he took over, the chain has added about 10 new locations. The company’s corporate operations are profitable, and he says he’s working with 18 franchisees looking to open new stores, with an additional five to six locations expected to open this year.
Founded in 2008, 16 Handles has 40 locations mostly on the East Coast.
Valentina Duarte | CNBC Make It
The decision to invest in frozen yogurt may be well timed. Nationally, consumers appear to be embracing frozen yogurt once again, says David Portalatin, a food service analyst at market research firm Circana. As of July 2025, total frozen yogurt servings consumed increased by 10% compared with the previous year — “a big deal in the context of an overall flat to slightly declining food service market,” he says.
People may be returning to frozen yogurt not just out of nostalgia, but as part of a larger trend toward health consciousness, with many consumers viewing it as a healthier alternative to other frozen treats like ice cream, Portalatin says.
While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a fun dessert after dinner, registered dietitian Leah Kaufman cautions consumers to be wary of the sugar content in frozen yogurt, which can be equally as high as levels found in soda and ice cream. “If you’re looking for the health benefits of dessert, I would probably look elsewhere,” she says.
An ‘affordable luxury’ product
From the frozen mixes produced exclusively with a creamery in California to the self-serve in-store experience, Hershman says 16 Handles is priced as a “higher-end” product compared to a Mister Softee truck, for example. On average, customers spend anywhere from $8 to $10 when they visit 16 Handles, he says.
He’s not looking for customers to come to his store every day either. Rather, he views his frozen yogurt, which is priced by weight, as an “affordable luxury” — a sweet treat a few times a week, he says.
For Hershman, this is just the beginning. He says he expects the number of locations to grow to about 100 stores in the next couple of years, and eventually, wants to see the brand become a household name.
“My career in finance really taught me how to model risks, and in frozen yogurt, now I manage cookie dough inventory,” Hershman says. “Both are very volatile markets, but one is a lot more fun.”
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