Saturday, November 7, 2015

Tasti D-Lite/Planet Smoothie Grand Opening in Santa Monica

Fro-yo girl here. Tasti D-Lite, a long time staple of New York City, has finally arrived on the West Coast. The new location in Santa Monica had a soft opening earlier this week and the grand opening event today.

Tasti D-Lite is a low calorie, low carb, dairy-based soft serve, made with a proprietary formula and no artificial sweeteners – it is not frozen yogurt. It has 30% fewer calories than froyo. Since it isn’t frozen yogurt, today was my first time trying it. I remember seeing it in NYC, including one that was right next to a 16 Handles location. 



I was surprised to find Greek froyo offered at Tasti D-Lite. They have other Greek frozen yogurt flavors, including mango, raspberry, acai, banana and pomegranate.

The Santa Monica location is self-serve with flat rate pricing, all you can swirl for $4.50, add $1.50 for toppings. Since they’re touting their health benefits, this seems like a strange pricing decision (as it encourages you to eat more).

Though it’s self-serve, employees dispensed the free product and even put the toppings on. Toppings were standard: candy, sprinkles, nuts, coconut, syrups, fresh fruit, cookie dough, mochi, brownies, cheesecake and yogurt pretzels.

Flavors of the day:

  • Greek frozen yogurt
  • Strawberry
  • Rice pudding
  • Birthday cake
  • Peanut butter
  • Chocolate mousse
  • French vanilla
  • Chocolate pudding
The Greek frozen yogurt wasn’t good. It had a whipped texture and a slight tang. It lacked flavor. The peanut butter was mild with a strange whipped cream like texture. The rice pudding tasted like the vanilla with a bit of cinnamon. Vanilla was better, smoother and less whipped. Their soft serve is definitely bland and too airy.

The location is co-branded with Planet Smoothie. Planet Smoothie blends its smoothies to order using fruits, vegetables and its own line of proprietary sweeteners and supplements.



The first 150 people at the grand opening received gift bags. Free 3 ounce Tasti cups were provided from 12 PM – 5 PM. The VIP bag included a Tasti D-Lite/Planet Smoothie tote bag, Planet Smoothie smoothie mug, packet of Peet’s Coffee, sample of Grab the Gold gluten free snack bar, Tasti D-Lite device stand, Tasti D-Lite sticker wallet and a coupon for one free Tasti D-Lite. They had a DJ and Tasti D-Lite and Planet Smoothie mascots.



Tasti D-Lite and Planet Smoothie plan to expand throughout Southern California. Tasti D-Lite was founded in 1987 and began franchising in 2008.

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

* TASTI D-LITE: 526 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

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.

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