Was Johnston's distributed nationwide?  I swear I remember it from childhood here in the Northeast...but perhaps I'm thinking of something else.
???

Was Johnston's distributed nationwide?  I swear I remember it from childhood here in the Northeast...but perhaps I'm thinking of something else.
???


I don't know... I don't actually remember it... I just did a google search for Johnston's Yogurt business history.

http://www.charlietuna.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=686&g2_serialNumber=2

Conky Johnston and Charlie

Conky Johnston,who was one of the most visible faces and voices on TV and radio in the 80's for her family's company "Johnston's Yogurt", pictured here in a photo-op with Charlie, promoting Johnston's Yogurt's sponsorship for a UCLA heart health event in 1983.(Photo-August 22, 1983)


Heidi's expects image to improve in wake of Johnston merger

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 10, 1988 by Marilyn Alva  

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. -- In The wake of a franchise feud, Heidi's Frogen Yozurt said that it would merge with yogurt manufacturer Johnston Foods Inc. and that the chain's "image" would be strengthened as a consequence.

Following the announcement, Heidi Miller, founder and president of the frozen-yogurt chain that bears her first name, said she "plans to get rid of negative franchisees," whom she likened to "a toothache."

"Now that we will be stronger, it will be easier to get them out of the system," said the promotion-minded bodybuilder that Business Week early this year called "the queen of frozen yogurt."

A number of legal actions have recently been filed against Heidi's by disgruntled franchisees who claimed misleading information was given to them about potential sales and the original, secret recipe of Heidi's yogurt.

In a statement issued by Heidi's, C.E. Prichard, owner of Johnston's, said that it is "typical of all successful franchisees to establish a system to resolve differences, and arbitration is the best method." The vast majority of Heidi's 90 units are franchised.

"Our first order of business is to address the franchisees' concerns and solicit their cooperation to solve these problems collectively," Prichard said.

The merger of the two companies would shift control of Heidi's from Miller and her co-founder, Brian Pallas, to Prichard, the sole shareholder of Johnston Foods, a division of Los Alamitos, Calif.-based Button Industries.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n41_v22/ai_6722828/


MERLE A. (CONKY) JOHNSTON ELECTED TO FREDERICK'S OF HOLLYWOOD BOARD OF DIRECTORS


LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Frederick's of Hollywood Inc. (NYSE: FOH.A, FOH.B) today announced that Merle A. (Conky) Johnston, former president of Johnston's Yogurt, has been elected to its seven- person board of directors.  Johnston will fill the position left vacant by the late Harriet Mellinger, widow of the company's founder, Frederick N. Mellinger.

   Johnston, best-known as spokesperson for family-owned Johnston's Yogurt in the early '80s, has many years of senior management experience.  After the sale of Johnston's Yogurt, she served as president of a division of Beatrice Foods.  She later became president of a division of Bongrain S.A., the French food company.  As a result of her broad-based experience, Johnston has consulted for, among others, Santee Dairies and Indus Rice Co.  She recently formed Tri-C Enterprises, a management consulting firm.  Johnston also sits on the board of Glenoaks Yogurt.

   "Conky will be a valuable addition to our board," said George W. Townson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Frederick's. "She has been one of the most visible female CEOs in the country over the past two decades.  We strongly believe her strength in consumer products merchandising and management will be an asset to our company," he added.

   Frederick's operates 207 specialty stores in 39 states and a mail- order division serving customers in all 50 states.

   -0-                        2/10/94
   /CONTACT:  George W. Townson or John B. Hatfield of Frederick's of Hollywood, 213-466-5151; or Roger S. Pondel of Pondel Parsons & Wilkinson, 310-207-9300/
   (FOH)

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MERLE+A.+%28CONKY%29+JOHNSTON+ELECTED+TO+FREDERICK%27S+OF+HOLLYWOOD+BOARD...-a014795472





Dan

Wow, great work, and fast...
but I looked up C.E. Prichard of Johnston's Yogurt and found out the Heidi's merger fell apart before 1988 had ended:
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-12-07/business/fi-952_1_heidi-miller

In the mid 1970's I raced bicycles and Johnston's Yogurt was our sponsor.  We rode in yellow and deep purple jerseys. 
This was in So. California.  We had a women's team and they also sponsored a mens team as well.....



circa 1979/80... southern California--
"what's in the sunny yellow cup?"
The lady on the radio ads said "I'm Conky Johnston..." and I remember a newpaper article which explained she had married into the family but she had grown up in the south, where every kid has a nickname...
The brand seems to have vanished (all I found was an advertising specialist who listed them among the clients during his long career.)