Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Freshii at Target California



Fro-yo girl here. Earlier this month I reported that the Target store of the future test market, which includes remodeling and healthier café concepts, had expanded to California.

Target started testing the new healthier café concepts in October 2015 in Chicago and Minneapolis. Nine Freshii locations opened inside Target.

The new Target pilot program called LA25, involves store enhancements at 25 stores in Los Angeles, including better lighting, mannequins and a department store like feel in the apparel area, more beauty department specialists and healthy fast casual café concepts like Freshii and Which Wich sandwiches.

I’m not sure how many Target locations in Los Angeles have a Freshii inside but the Pasadena location does have Freshii, and so does the one in Brea. The Freshii at Target locations in the Midwest are listed on the Freshii website and I assume they’ll add the California ones soon. https://www.freshii.com/target/

I’ve eaten at Freshii in Chicago and San Francisco but I haven't eaten at one in about 3 years. They offered original tart frozen yogurt back then and every time I had it the texture was suboptimal…the last time I went to one in San Francisco, the yogurt machine wasn’t even working.

This is from my old review of Freshii Chicago (from 2010): "They have fat-free, probiotic fro-yo but it's only one flavor (plain) and one size (large, 12 ounces). The price includes your choice of two toppings (choose from fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, candy, cookies, granola, sunflower seeds, honey and coconut). I don't think they had mochi.

* Plain fro-yo with strawberries and blueberries ($4.99): The fruit was fresh and the fro-yo flavor was decent (sweet aftertaste, very refreshing, icy, soft, a bit lemony/tart) but the texture was horrible. It was already melted when I first received it and turned to soup in a few minutes. They served melted fro-yo. Yuck!!!"

Once they opened in San Francisco I tried the food a few times. It wasn’t good. Those San Francisco locations have closed for good and it wasn’t just because the frozen yogurt wasn’t good. The food was really bland. It’s all cooked ahead of time and they assemble it to order. The sauce or salad dressing adds the flavor.

Now back to the present day, the food seems a little better now at the Freshii inside Target. The portion seems larger with more veggies. Maybe I just ordered something better than before? They have salads, wraps, bowls, burritos, soups, smoothies and juices. The frozen yogurt is different now – they no longer offer plain tart but it’s now a much creamier faintly vanilla flavor from Island Oasis. There’s only one size (still) and it comes with two toppings for $4.99. But if you get something off the kid’s menu, it comes with frozen yogurt plus one topping. I prefer plain tart to what they’re serving now.

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

* FRESHII at TARGET: 777 Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101

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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