IFYA's 2014 Frozen Yogurt Chain Store Count

Fro-yo girl here. It's back: the annual list of the largest frozen yogurt chains from the International Frozen Yogurt Association. The store counts are based on the locations listed on the company websites of each chain in early August 2014.

IFYA's List of Largest Frozen Yogurt Chains:

1. YOGEN FRUZ: 1300 locations

Yogen Fruz remains the largest frozen yogurt chain this year. According to theYogen Fruz website, Canadian company Yogen Fruz has over 1300 locations in 42 countries. Last August they had over 1400 stores in 46 countries.

2. TUTTI FRUTTI FROZEN YOGURT: 680 locations

The Tutti Frutti Canadian website states that they have over 680 locations in over 30 countries. The Tutti Frutti Facebook page doesn’t mention how many stores they currently have but says they have “over 580 upcoming stores.” Tutti Frutti calls itself the “world’s largest self-serve frozen yogurt brand.”

3. TCBY: 446 locations

At its height, TCBY, the world’s largest frozen yogurt chain, had 1500 locations. Today TCBY (The Country’s Best Yogurt) has over 350 locations in the US and 96 locations abroad (mainly in Canada). The website said they had over 350 locations in the US last August as well. They’re seeking to grow with their dual branded TCBY and Mrs. Fields locations.

For the complete list, visit the IFYA website: http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/news/ifyas-store-location-count-2014-largest-frozen-yogurt-chains/

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

365 Everyday Value Organic Greek Yogurt Low Fat Dessert Bars Review

Fro-yo girl here. Whole Foods recently introduced a line of organic yogurt and ice cream bars under the 365 Everyday Value brand. The frozen yogurt bars come in boxes with four 2.5 fl oz bars for $3.99. There are two flavors: Blueberry and Strawberry. The bars are 90 calories each, lowfat, sweetened with organic cane sugar and contain live and active cultures.

* Blueberry bar: The texture is soft, light and creamy. There’s blueberry flavor throughout with some visible blueberry swirls. The flavor is sweet and natural with yogurt flavor but little tanginess. It’s pleasant but doesn’t have the wow factor of the best frozen yogurt bars from Yolato. 

The strawberry flavor looks similar with strawberry swirls.

Ingredients: Pasteurized organic nonfat milk, organic cultured Greek yogurt, organic cane sugar, organic blueberries, pasteurized organic cream, organic tapioca syrup, organic milk protein concentrate, organic tapioca starch, natural blueberry flavor, organic locust bean gum, organic guar gum, organic rice starch, citric acid

4 out of 5 stars.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Menchie’s Ventura

Fro-yo girl here. Ventura is getting its first Menchie’s. The Menchie’s sign is up at Victoria Plaza. There’s still plenty of work to be done inside but I spied the frame of a wall that will house seven froyo machines (14 flavors on tap).

The new location is across the street from Buena High in the former Brio Bake Shop space.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* MENCHIE’S VICTORIA PLAZA: 5944 Telegraph Rd., Ventura, CA 93003

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Pinkbee’s (Lowfat Milk Ice Cream) by Pinkberry

Fro-yo girl here. Happy National Soft Serve Day! Guess what’s been spotted at Pinkberry Koreatown? Pinkbee’s premium lowfat milk ice cream made with organic milk. Pinkbee’s was announced on July 12, 2014: “Premium, lowfat ice cream made with organic milk. Delicious on its own or in one of our 9 tasty combinations including pure, locally harvested honey and honeycomb.” The milk is from “California’s best dairies.”

Pinkberry Koreatown is currently the only location to offer Pinkbee’s ice cream. It's available in one flavor, milk. Pinkbee’s comes in a cup (one size) or cone (they had chocolate dipped cones) with your choice of toppings. A cup with honeycomb called Honey Honey is $4.50. You can add gold flakes (Honey Gold) for an additional dollar. They also have an ice cream sandwich made with a rice cracker.

This location also has been remodeled with a honey theme. The wall looks like a giant white, gold and brown honeycomb and the water dispenser looks like a glass beehive.

Pinkbee’s is clearly inspired by the new food trend in South Korea popularized by a chain called Softree. Softree serves a rich organic milk soft serve with honey chips (honeycomb). It’s available in a cup or chocolate dipped cone. Softree started with one location last year and now operates 26 locations. Honey chip ice cream is now available in Taiwan and the US. Honeymee opened in Koreatown back in May 2014, serving true milk ice cream with honey. Café MangoSix, a Korean café in Beverly Grove, offers fresh honeycomb as a froyo topping.

Honeymee vs. Pinkbee’s: Honeymee’s organic milk ice cream is thicker and richer than Pinkbee’s (I think Honeymee has a higher fat content). It’s also milder and not that sweet; Pinkbee’s has a stronger milk flavor. The honeycomb is soft and chewy. It does have some waxy bits but not many of them.

Honeymee is available in a cup or cone. They also have a Babee Bun which is a fresh soft bun filled with ice cream. A Honeymee (cup with honeycomb chip) is $4.75.

Milk flavored soft serve ice cream is nice but it’s not as refreshing as froyo on a hot day. It does pair well with honey but so would a plain/original frozen yogurt.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* PINKBERRY KOREATOWN: 3300 West 6th St. #4, Los Angeles, CA 90020
* HONEYMEE: 3377 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 116, Los Angeles, CA 90017
* CAFÉ MANGOSIX: 8428 W 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New at Yogurtland: The Outdoor Adventure Begins

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland's Ultimate Summer promotion continues with Outdoor Adventure-inspired flavors and new collectible shimmery hunter green spoons. Think good times in the forest: picking wild berries, sitting around a campfire making s’mores and the scent of the forest.

* S’mores frozen yogurt “combines toasted marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.” It’s a mellow, creamy flavor that tastes like milk chocolate marshmallows. I didn’t taste the graham crackers but you can always add graham cracker crumbs or the new S’mores Mix, featuring Teddy Grahams and mini chocolate covered marshmallows. Other suggested toppings: creamy cheesecake, cookie dough, chocolate sauce

* Wild berry tart “blends raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.” I love a good fruity tart froyo and this one delivers plenty of berry flavor. I could taste the blackberries and raspberries more than the blueberries. It’s tangy with a sweet finish. The yogurt was firm and not icy, but more refreshing than the non-tart flavors. It reminded me of berry sherbet. Suggested toppings: berries, graham cracker crust, mochi

These flavors are available for a limited time only so try them before it’s too late.

Remember to collect your Hot Spot icons with your Real Rewards app. Earn free froyo with every 3rd visit during the Ultimate Summer promotion.

Look for 2 new flavors and a new spoon on September 1.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Announcing the Winners of the Creative Froyo Flavor Awards

Fro-yo girl here. The people have spoken and the best creative frozen yogurt flavor is…Strawberries & Cream from Yotopia in Iowa City. Thai Iced Tea from Yogurt Hut (in Oregon) captured second place in the #CreativeFroyoFlavorAwards. Both flavors sound delicious and unique.

Strawberries & Cream is a classic combination and a traditional English dessert. Yotopia’s Strawberries & Cream froyo is a truly local creation, made by Country View Dairy with dairy from Iowa cows.

The International Frozen Yogurt Association (IFYA) and FrozenDessertSupplies.com launched the first “Creative Froyo Flavor Awards” contest in June 2014 to find the best creative froyo flavors. Frozen yogurt shops across the country were invited to submit their original, creative frozen yogurt flavors. Next, a panel of frozen yogurt experts from the IFYA, FrozenDessertSupplies.com and Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt, selected the top 5 flavors based on creativity and appeal. These flavors were posted on the IFYA FB page and the online public vote determined the two winners.

Contest winners will receive a prize package of frozen yogurt supplies (frozen yogurt cups, frozen yogurt spoons, cup lids) from contest sponsor, FrozenDessertSupplies.com.

Congrats to the winners of the Creative Froyo Flavor Awards!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

About the International Frozen Yogurt Association

The International Frozen Yogurt Association (IFYA) serves as an unbiased source of support and information for current and prospective frozen yogurt store operators. The Association works to set and promote standards to elevate the quality of frozen yogurt stores and recognizes those that meet the Swirl of Honor™ standards of the industry. IFYA represents frozen yogurt shops, suppliers and consumers across the world. Their audience is diverse in background yet united by a common love of frozen yogurt. Visit the IFYA website, http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/, for additional information.

About FrozenDessertSupplies.com

FrozenDessertSupplies.com strives to be the #1 online supplier of products to frozen yogurt, ice cream and the gelato industry. We happily serve thousands of customers all across the US. We supply frozen yogurt, ice cream and gelato cups, lids, spoons, souffle sample cups and much more. We pride ourselves on low prices, fast delivery and free shipping all while having the best customer service in the industry.

We have helped 1,000′s of our customers with their custom printing needs. We offer customized logo and artwork printing for our frozen yogurt cups, clear plastic smoothie cups, as well as our paper drink cups and coffee cups. We even offer customized spoons and we make the process simply and fun.

FrozenDessertSupplies.com has a simple mission, it is to enable frozen yogurt, ice cream and gelato stores to have a one stop shop where they can get all their frozen dessert packaging and supplies. We consider our customers part of our family, so please come join us and be part of the family.

It’s Back: Pinkberry Shaved Ice

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry once had shaved ice; the product was discontinued in 2009. Now shaved ice has reappeared at select Pinkberry locations.

It works the following way: Choose up to two flavors of shaved ice for $2.95, add any flavor of froyo that you’d like for an extra $1. They have 12 flavors of shaved ice (e.g., caramel, passion orange guava, passionfruit, blood orange, strawberry, lemon, plum, mango, espresso, cherry, sour apple, pickled mango) and will provide samples. The ice is freshly shaved to order and flavored with syrup. It’s shaved coarsely. The sign says natural shaved ice flavors, no high fructose corn syrup, 10 flavors, endless combinations.

Available at Pinkberry El Segundo, Eastvale, Pasadena, Brentwood, Marina del Rey, Burbank, Chino Hills, Northridge

Some locations like Northridge are running a promotion, shaved ice for $1.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Pinkberry Vanilla Latte

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry introduced its new flavor on August 1st: Pinkberry Vanilla Latte. It’s described as having “mild espresso notes with a smooth, creamy vanilla finish.” I had a cup tonight and liked how it wasn’t too sweet. It had the flavor of espresso and not much vanilla - so it tasted more like a latte than a super sweet Frappuccino. It was creamy, smooth and light. I didn’t spot any complementary new toppings but I forgot to ask if there were any. Suggested toppings: something crunchy like nuts, whipped cream, Almond Roca, and chocolate toppings.

I never tried the Pinkberry coffee flavor that they offered in the early days (the first three flavors were Original, Green Tea and Coffee). It's nice to see a coffee flavored froyo back on the menu.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Featured Flavor at Menchie's: Zesty Lemon Meringue

Fro-yo girl here. August’s featured flavor at Menchie’s is Zesty Lemon Meringue. It’s made with fresh lemon juice, eggs, and creamy vanilla custard. I tried a cup today and really enjoyed it. I’ve never had lemon meringue pie, so I can’t compare it to the pie flavor. It’s creamy, sweet and mildly tangy. It tastes mellow like lemon curd. I enjoyed mine with pound cake cubes, graham cracker crust and strawberries.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Yogurtland Spa Retreat Flavors & Purple Spoon

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland's Ultimate Summer continues with Spa Retreat inspired flavors and new collectible shimmery purple spoons.

* Mango peach tea sorbet “lets you soak in the soothing blend of real mango, peach and refreshing white tea." It's a sweet refreshing flavor that mainly tastes like peach. The tea flavor was difficult to discern.

* Mudslide frozen yogurt  “blends real cocoa, coffee beans and one of the world’s most beloved chocolate cookies for a flavor so smooth it will instantly melt all your stress away." Initially this flavor tastes like chocolate, but then you can taste the coffee and Oreo cookies. It's creamy and indulgent. I'd pair it with the new Oreo cookie disks and something crunchy like English toffee.

Remember to collect your Hot Spot icons with your Real Rewards app. Earn free froyo with every 3rd visit during the Ultimate Summer promotion.

Look for 2 new flavors and a new spoon on August 18.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.