Yogurtland International Frozen Yogurt Day Preview Night Recap

Fro-yo girl here. This year is the first year that Yogurtland is celebrating International Frozen Yogurt Day, emphasis on the International. Yogurtland’s IFYD celebration will take place on Monday, February 6. Guests can experience the joy of free froyo from 4-7 PM local time at all participating locations in the United States, Australia, Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, and Venezuela. Yogurtland recently opened its first location in Singapore, so you can now find Yogurtland on four continents.

Prior to the big IFYD event, they invited bloggers to Yogurtland HQ in Irvine, CA for a special IFYD Preview Party on January 30, from 6-8 PM.

I brought a few friends to the event and they were impressed by how excited everyone was and how fun the event was. Photographers were on hand to take pictures of everyone checking in and checking out. The evening started with a few words from Phillip Chang (the founder) and Chad Bailey (head of marketing). We were then free to wander around HQ, eat as much froyo as we wanted and participate in some games. They had a name that Yogurtland Jeopardy (the questions were easy if you like Yogurtland) and a prize wheel.

The IFYD flavors (Hershey’s Chocolate Milkshake, new Peanut Butter Cup) and toppings (mini Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s Pieces) were available. They also had the Yogurtland IFYD cups and Hershey’s spoons. Peanut Butter Cup is well-balanced. You taste the chocolate and the peanut butter. They are harmonious.

At 7 PM we were allowed to sample a new mystery flavor, Apricot Mango tart. It will be available this summer. From the crowd reactions, people really enjoyed the flavor. I was happy that it was tart. Their mango froyo is good and the Apricot Mango tart has a similar taste.

The swag bag was a nice Yogurtland fabric tote (a new one I haven’t seen before), gift card, Yogurtland water bottle, Yogurtland notebook, Yogurtland hair tie and a giant 5 lb. Hershey’s chocolate bar(!) I also won a mini Yogurtland Frisbee and a slap bracelet that looks like a giant Yogurtland spoon.

Thanks, Yogurtland!!!!

For International Frozen Yogurt Day, Yogurtland has partnered with Hershey’s again. They’ll have a new flavor, Peanut Butter Cup a new flavor and Chocolate Milkshake now a classic favorite. They’ll also have new toppings and limited edition Hershey’s collectible spoons.

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

Here’s the official Yogurtland press release:

Yogurtland “Raises a Spoon” to First-Ever International Frozen Yogurt Day Celebration on February 6, 2017

The self-serve frozen yogurt pioneer, Yogurtland invites froyo lovers to join them for a global celebration of International Frozen Yogurt Day on Monday, February 6, 2017. Yogurtland lovers will be able to enjoy free frozen yogurt and toppings in a limited time only cup from 4pm – 7pm at all participating locations in the United States, Australia, Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, and Venezuela.

Each guest will also receive a limited edition Hershey’s® collectible spoon for joining Yogurtland in its tasty mission to celebrate peace, love and frozen yogurt. To help sweeten a delicious day, Yogurtland will feature a new Peanut Butter Cup frozen yogurt flavor made with Reese’s® and Hershey’s® ingredients, and the popular Chocolate Milkshake made with Hershey’s® flavor, also made with real, creamy California Milk.

These two chocolatey flavors will continue to be served at Yogurtland locations throughout the month of February.

International Frozen Yogurt Day is sponsored by Yogurtland and The Hershey Company.

The Yogurtland Difference

Yogurtland today leads the industry with the best-tasting handcrafted flavors made from real ingredients. Separating Yogurtland from competitors is the company’s team of flavorologists who develop the proprietary recipes for the brand’s more than 100 different and customized flavors. Whether traditional or exotic, each flavor uses real ingredients sourced from their original locations. By controlling the entire frozen yogurt making process, Yogurtland has raised the standards for flavors and quality to new heights and much to the delight of millions of fans.

Naturally occurring calcium makes Yogurtland yogurt a healthful, refreshing treat. Fruit flavors are also fortified with Vitamin C. All of Yogurtland’s flavors meet the National Yogurt Association Criteria for “live and active culture frozen yogurt” and are produced in a kosher-certified facility. Yogurtland features non- and low-fat yogurt flavors as well as non-dairy and no sugar added choices.

Presently there are 320 locations across the U.S., Australia, Dubai, Singapore, Thailand and Venezuela. For more information, visit http://www.yogurt-land.com.

#YogurtlandIFYD

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 Froyo Shop Pictures: Menchie’s Glendale

Fro-yo girl here. Here’s a quick update on Menchie’s Glendale. The door was open the other day. There are six cutouts in the wall, so they’re going to have 12 flavors a day.

The Menchie’s signs are finally in the windows and including a permanent one on the side of the building. The toppings bar and the round register area are in place. It looks like they will be ready to open very soon. Follow Menchie’s Glendale on Facebook and Instagram, @MenchiesSmile. Like their FB page for exclusive grand opening specials. They’re also hiring.

* MENCHIE’S: 251 N Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91203

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.

Egg Tarts and Froyo

Fro-yo girl here. My Yelp friend, Stephen D., suggested that I try egg tarts (dan tats, egg custard tarts) as a froyo topping. I like egg tarts and I liked the idea of a warm tart with its flaky shell and creamy filling contrasting with cold froyo. I was inspired by Chinese New Year to make this combination a reality.

The first challenge is finding a good egg tart. I haven’t found the perfect one yet but right now I like the ones at Kee Wah Bakery the best.

This time I tried a bakery I hadn’t been to before, Domies Bakery, because I read good things about their egg tarts. The egg tarts were still warm when I purchased them. They had delicate deep, flaky shells. I took my tart over to Yogurtland. I would love to have the egg tart with milk tea froyo but since I can’t find that flavor, I opted for peanut butter froyo. Chinese people like peanuts…and Yogurtland’s peanut butter froyo is really delicious – creamy, milky and peanutty. It’s balanced – the yogurt doesn’t overwhelm the peanut butter flavor and vice versa.

My Domies egg tart wasn’t creamy and custardy but the shell was still nice and flaky. The egg tart was huge. I think next time I should chop it up before adding it to the froyo. 

I tried JJ Bakery's Taiwanese style egg tart with Yogurtland's matcha green tea froyo. The Taiwanese egg tart has a thin cookie like crust. JJ's egg tart had that nice creamy custardy consistency and neither the custard nor the cookie were too sweet. The flavors were neutral enough to go with any froyo flavor.

The next thing I’d like to try is a milk tea affogato: a swirl of froyo topped with milk tea.

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.

Bonjour French Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been going around to different farmers markets and many of them have yogurt vendors. These vendors make their own yogurt. So far my favorite farmers market yogurt is from Aris. However, I was intrigued by Bonjour’s French style yogurt at Alhambra Farmers Market.

Bonjour yogurt is “delicately handmade by Chef Kady” and most varieties only contain yogurt, fruit and probiotics. No preservatives, thickeners or refined sugars are used. Each package is 10 oz. One tub is $5 or you can get 3 for $12 or 4 for $16. Credit cards are accepted.

The yogurt comes in a wide variety of flavors, including coffee, quince, cherry, white cherry, boysenberry, honey, dates, fig, ginger, rose, pineapple, caramel, cranberry, etc.

According to an article I found about Bonjour, the yogurt used to be made with sheep’s milk. They now seem to use cow’s milk. I was told that it was strained for three days. The texture and consistency are similar to Greek yogurt.

* Carrot yogurt: quite sweet (naturally), super thick and creamy with small carrot slivers, the carrots were still firm and tasted fresh, very nice

* Rose yogurt: the rose/floral taste is present but not overwhelming, the yogurt itself is thick, rich and creamy, plus naturally sweet

* Ginger yogurt: Very intense fresh ginger taste, might be overwhelming unless you really like ginger

Bonjour Yogurt isn’t quite as rich as Aris and it doesn’t have that cream aftertaste but it is still thick and rich. It’s surprising how sweet yogurt can be without added sugar. Bonjour also is a bit more sour than Aris though it’s not that sour.

4.5 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.

Froyo Poor Cities in Southern California

Fro-yo girl here. It seems like there’s a frozen yogurt shop in just about every city, particularly in Southern California. After all, Southern California is the capital of frozen yogurt and there are more frozen yogurt shops in California than in any other state.

However, there are still a few sizable cities in Southern California that do not have a frozen yogurt shop. These include:

• Altadena: Population: 44,621, median household income: $86,050, 8.7 square miles, 40% white, 27% Hispanic, median age: 42.2. Altadena doesn’t have a real downtown area unless you count the area on Lake that’s seeing some hipsterification with the arrival of Café De Leche and the soon to be gourmet food hall, Altadena Marketplace. Maybe the new Altadena Marketplace would be a good place for froyo? Altadena residents also live near a froyo rich city, Pasadena.
• Coachella: Population: 44,132 (96% urban), 99% Hispanic, median household income: $39,201. Coachella is famous for its music festival. Froyo has been served at the festival but no one has set up shop in Coachella. It’s been growing quite a bit and they’re getting a new downtown soon.
• El Sereno: Population: 43,766, 4.17 square miles, 9,826 people per square mile, 81% Latino, median household income in 2008: $45,866. El Sereno is directly east of Alhambra and a few miles from downtown LA. The downtown area has mainly older Mexican businesses, including restaurants and bakeries. 
• San Jacinto: Population: 46,490 (99% urban), 52% Latino, median household income: $44,755. I’ve never been to San Jacinto but it’s in Riverside County, one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

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.

Juice Served Here Offers Food, including Coco Yogurt

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve tried Juice Served Here before. Their “never conventional” cold-pressed juices and beverages are more creative than the other juice places. I like how they blend nut milk with green juice to create Green Milk. They also use unusual ingredients like lucuma, maca, charcoal, clay, rose oil, colloidal gold and pearl powder.

Recently I walked by and saw a poster for Coco Yogurt in the window. Juice Served Here collaborated with The Springs of DTLA to introduce new plant based foods menu that includes overnight oats, chia pudding, salads, sandwiches and bowls. Most items are vegan, mostly organic and and sometimes gluten free. They even have new cleanses that include food and juice.

The Coco Yogurt was kept in a fridge by the door, along with their other packaged grab and go foods. It was $7 something.

* Coco Yogurt: This is a dairy-free, vegan yogurt with probiotics made with young Thai coconut meat, fresh coconut milk, vegan probiotics, blueberries, maple syrup, agave, rolled oats, 7 spice, grapeseed oil, ginger and freeze dried pineapple. The 7 spice granola is in a separate compartment perched on top. The coco yogurt is covered in a blueberry puree. I really liked the granola. The intriguing 7 spice blend reminded me of Chinese five spice. The oats were in big clusters, soft but crunchy in different areas. The blueberry puree wasn’t too sweet. The yogurt was quite creamy, though not as rich or thick as Greek yogurt. It also wasn’t tangy. The coconut flavor wasn’t overpowering or too strong. I’d call it mild. A cup of yogurt is filling and satisfying. I recommend keeping the granola on top rather than mixing it into the yogurt.

I’m hoping to go to The Springs soon to try more of their healthy, plant-based food.

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.

Nature Republic Greek Yogurt Packs

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been a longtime fan of Korres Yoghurt skincare line and I was excited to find another Greek yogurt product at Nature Republic. Nature Republic is a South Korean cosmetics company with retail locations in Asia and the US.

I spotted three types of yogurt packs: Blueberry for skin elasticity, Orange for skin brightening and Plain for nourishing. Plain smelled the best (like apricot).

The plain yogurt pack is meant to be applied at night as a sleeping mask. It gets absorbed into your skin so there’s no need to rinse it off. You can also use the product in the day as a nourishing cream. You’re supposed to apply a generous amount but I didn’t want to get it on my pillow.

The plain yogurt pack looks like yogurt (white) and it’s thick and creamy like Greek yogurt. Yogurt is good for moisturizing and soothing your skin. I put some on my dry skin and it felt instantly soothed. Every time I wake up after using the pack, my skin feels soft.

Nature Republic’s yogurt pack is made with shea butter, jojoba seed oil, lactobacillus ferment, lactococcus ferment lysate, streptococcus thermophilus ferment, yogurt extract, etc. It’s made in Korea. One tub is 4.39 fl oz and sells for $12.90. It looks like a cup of yogurt and comes with a spatula.

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.

Yoga-urt Introduces a New Coffee Karma Flavor

Fro-yo girl here. Yoga-urt just came out with a new flavor, Coffee Karma made with organic Groundwork Coffee. It’s housemade, organic, vegan, dairy-free, kosher, all-natural, gluten free, soy free and has probiotics. I love coffee. I love coffee flavored frozen yogurt. Coffee Karma has a fresh brewed coffee flavor. It’s the right amount of coffee – not too intense, not too bitter. And it’s not too sweet. Thumbs up.

Recommended toppings: Housemade chocolate sauce, cacao nibs and chocolate chips. It’s currently swirling with Chocolate Bliss because coffee and chocolate were meant to be together. Chocolate brings out the coffee flavor.

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

* YOGA-URT, 1407 ½ W Kenneth Rd., Glendale, CA 91201

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.

Menchie’s January Flavors and Dragon Quest Builders

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s has two promotional, limited time flavors of the month: Carrot Cake and La Crème Brulee. I haven’t run into La Crème Brulee yet.

Carrot Cake is a low-fat flavor made with real carrots, cream cheese and cinnamon. I don’t eat carrot cake but I imagine the carrot flavor wouldn’t be that noticeable because of everything else in the cake. That’s the case with Carrot Cake frozen yogurt, which mainly tasted like cinnamon and cream cheese to me, followed by a cakey flavor. It seemed sweeter than usual, perhaps because of the cream cheese. It’s an indulgent flavor. Recommended toppings: almonds, white chocolate chips, Cool Whip.

Menchie’s has also partnered with Square Enix for the Dragon Quest Builders promotion. Dragon Quest Builders video game has exclusive in-game content from Menchie’s. Also, during the month of January, Menchie’s locations in the US will carry limited edition Dragon Quest Builders yogurt cups and in-store signage. There’s a Menchie’s sweepstakes for registered MySmileage members too. You can enter the sweepstakes at: http://registrationinfo.net/DQBsweeps

I picked up my Dragon Quest Builders cup and took pictures of the in-store signage.

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.

Pinkberry Introduces New Pinkbee’s Strawberry

Fro-yo girl here. Last June Pinkberry launched Pinkbee’s lowfat ice cream with the optional topping of the Honeycomb Drizzle. Now they’ve announced a new Pinkbee’s flavor, strawberry, available starting January 4, 2017. Pinkbee’s Strawberry ice cream is a fitting seasonal flavor with Valentine’s day around the corner. It will be available until February 28. Try the Strawberry Sweetheart combination, featuring Pinkbee’s Strawberry topped with fresh strawberries and chocolate drizzle.

I spotted and tried Pinkbee’s Strawberry a few months ago but it was a tiny melted sample so I didn’t get the full experience. I tried it again. The nice thing about it is that it’s made with a strawberry puree that has bits of strawberry in it. Also, it’s not too sweet. The texture is thick and creamy but it doesn’t feel too heavy. However, it has no tang and it doesn’t have the wonderful qualities of frozen yogurt. The aftertaste isn’t as nice as the frozen yogurt either. But if you like soft serve ice cream, it’s worth trying. My recommended toppings are strawberries, raspberries, yogurt chips, almonds and Almond Roca.

I first tried Pinkbee’s in 2014 at Pinkberry Koreatown (Los Angeles). I tried it shortly after trying Honeymee for the first time. Both Honeymee and Pinkbee’s are milk flavored soft serve ice cream products. They were inspired by the milk soft serve with honeycomb popularized by the South Korean chain, Softree. Pinkberry Koreatown also had a matcha Pinkbee’s flavor.

Pinkbee’s is definitely creamier than Pinkberry’s frozen yogurt product. It’s made with low-fat milk, so it is a lighter soft serve ice cream. Honeymee and Milkcow (a Korean chain) offer a creamier, richer milk soft serve that I actually prefer but the lighter version makes sense for Pinkberry. Anyway, I prefer their frozen yogurt to their ice cream. I know a couple of Pinkberry fans who don’t like Pinkbee’s but that’s probably because they love froyo.

Speaking of soft serve ice cream, several soft serve shops opened in Los Angeles last year, including Magpies in Silver Lake, SomiSomi in Koreatown, Matcha Matcha in Arcadia, Drips & Swirls in Koreatown and Beeline (now called Tea Master) in Little Tokyo. Beeline/Tea Master has the best matcha soft serve but I haven’t tried the new Matcha Midori which opened this year.

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.

SnapFit Frozen Yogurt No Longer Opening in Brea, CA

Fro-yo girl here. A few months ago I started tracking SnapFit Frozen Yogurt. I planned on visiting their Canoga Park, CA location but it closed in July 2016, before I made it out there. However, they planned on opening a location at the Brea Mall.

According to the Brea Mall website, the SnapFit store was expected to open in late August 2016. This opening date kept getting pushed back – to October 1, then November and finally the store was removed from the website. Their Facebook page was last updated on May 31, 2016. This was also the date of their last tweet and Instagram post.

SnapFit sounded interesting and healthier; the frozen yogurt was all natural with no sugar added. It was made with farmstead yogurt and lowfat milk. Plus, the frozen yogurt was made to order with liquid nitrogen.

It seems like SnapFit just disappeared.

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.

Froyo Wish List for 2017

Fro-yo girl here. It’s the new year and time for my ninth annual froyo wish list. Before I share my wishes, I’d like to review my 2016 wishes.

My 2016 wishes:

* Going to more countries to try their froyo (e.g., Llaollao, Frozen by a Thousand Blessings, Sour Sally, Berry Culture, The Local Frozen Yogurt, Pick Yo)

Update: This didn’t happen. I didn’t even leave California.

* I'm still looking for good tart froyo at the supermarket (or popsicles).

Update: Jeni’s Ice Creams always makes wonderful froyo. While they’re carried by supermarkets, very few carry their frozen yogurt flavors. However, I live in LA, so I can always go to the Jeni’s scoop shop for froyo.

* Collecting froyo spoons from other countries, including the Hello Kitty spoon from Yogen Fruz Mexico, the Hello Kitty spoon from Yoppi Yogurt Taiwan, Moyo spoons, Sour Sally hand spoons, etc. I still need Joji spoons from Florida.

Update: I didn’t have any luck with the spoons I mentioned but a friend brought back some special froyo spoons from Norway.

For 2017, my froyo wishes are:

• To try Pinkberry Pops: They’re now available in UAE, KSA, Lebanon, Qatar and Turkey. I would love to try one without traveling to the Middle East!
• To try Llaollao: Llaollao seems to be everywhere (e.g., Russia, Slovenia, Cambodia, Uruguay, Chile, El Salvador) except North America.
• For Menchie’s to add flavor finder feature on the Menchie’s My Smileage mobile app: I’d like easy access to list of flavors carried by specific Menchie’s locations
• For Daphne’s Greek to be converted to their new concept, Yalla somewhere close to me: I’d like a closer Yalla so that I can get my Greek froyo w/ baklava fix on a regular basis. I’m obsessed. I doubt Souvla SF would open here any time soon.

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.