Papa Murphy's will open three co-branded restaurants with Pinkberry, the chains announced. The deal covers three units. No opening dates, markets, or ownership groups were named in the announcement.

The take-and-bake pizza operator framed the move as a franchisee economics play. The company said the co-branded locations are expected to provide franchisees with additional revenue streams and dayparts. That claim is the strongest justification for the concept. It is also, at this stage, unproven.

Why co-branding appeals to take-and-bake operators

Papa Murphy's sells uncooked pizzas. Customers bake them at home. That model leaves the dinner daypart largely to the customer's oven, and it leaves the store itself with limited reason to hold a diner past the transaction. A frozen yogurt add-on, sold at the counter, could capture sales before the pizza leaves the building.

The economics of such pairings hinge on incremental sales, not shared taste profiles. If a customer buying a $ pizza also buys yogurt, the added transaction raises average check without adding a second rent payment or a second labor crew. If the two products do not cross-sell, the yogurt station becomes extra equipment, extra inventory, and extra spoilage risk.

The announcement did not state expected check averages, buildout costs, or royalty terms. Those omissions matter. Franchisees evaluating the model will need unit-level numbers before the three-store test says anything about a broader rollout.

What the announcement does not say

Three points remain open.

• Markets. The chains did not name the locations or regions for the three units.

• Timeline. No opening dates appear in the announcement.

• Structure. The companies did not say whether the units will be company-operated or franchised, or which franchisee groups will run them.

The silence on unit structure is notable. Papa Murphy's operates a heavily franchised system. If the first three co-branded stores sit with franchisees, the test measures real-world operator appetite. If the company runs them itself, the test measures corporate conviction first.

The co-branding playbook, and its limits

Co-branding has a long record in quick service, most often pairing a savory concept with a dessert or snack brand under one roof. The logic is real estate efficiency: two revenue streams, one lease. The failure mode is equally well documented. Mismatched peak hours, split staffing demands, and brand confusion can erode the theoretical gains.

Pizza and frozen yogurt sit in different purchase moods, one a planned dinner buy and the other an impulse or treat purchase. Whether a take-and-bake customer treats dessert as part of the same trip is exactly what the three units will test.

Papa Murphy's said the units should add dayparts. Frozen yogurt skews toward afternoon and evening snack occasions. That could give the stores a reason to sell outside the pre-dinner pizza rush, the window when take-and-bake demand concentrates.

What to watch next

The three-unit count signals a test, not a rollout. Watch for the named markets, the opening dates, and any disclosed franchisee investment figures. Those three details will determine whether this pairing is a template or a curiosity. Until the company reports sales data from the first units, the additional revenue streams remain a projection, not a result.