DEERFIELD, ILL. — BAB, Inc., the franchisor and licensor of Big Apple Bagels and My Favorite Muffin, said it will introduce a new franchise concept later this year: SweetDuet Frozen Yogurt & Gourmet Muffins. The concept will pair self-serve frozen yogurt with BAB’s line of My Favorite Muffin gourmet muffins and BAB’s Brewster’s Coffee and a streamlined breakfast menu.

Initially, the development focus of the new concept will be for the Midwest, specifically Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, BAB said.

“SweetDuet is a natural for BAB,” said Michael W. Evans, president and chief executive officer of BAB. “We know the frozen yogurt shop business. We know how to operate them, and we understand the customer. But we’ve seen the yogurt stores come and go once already. These trends are cyclical in nature. Right now there is plenty of frozen yogurt competition out there, but what none of these new players has is our bakery component. We know from the performance of our stand-alone My Favorite Muffin franchises that our muffins are unmatched by anyone and they bring in regular customers on a steady basis.

“Unlike our competitors, SweetDuet customers will have not only an outstanding self-serve yogurt experience but they will become followers of our signature muffins as soon as they taste them.”

The SweetDuet Frozen Yogurt & Gourmet Muffins shops will feature a variety of self-serve frozen yogurt and toppings as well as a bakery case presentation of up to 20 different varieties of the company’s proprietary recipe cake-like muffins.

“It is this difference that we believe will give us staying power,” Mr. Evans said.