Pinkberry Vending Machines Added to Additional Malls in Southern California

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry vending machines powered by iCream have now been installed in five shopping malls in Southern California: Beverly Center (Los Angeles), Cabazon Outlets (Cabazon), Westfield Santa Anita (Arcadia), Westfield Topanga (Canoga Park) and The Oaks (Thousand Oaks).

I spotted the Pinkberry vending machine at Westfield Topanga by the food court. Like the other Pinkberry vending machine, there’s one size (small), one flavor (original tart), and toppings. It starts at $5 for a small yogurt with no toppings. 

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.

Yogurtland Closes at Santa Ana’s MainPlace Mall

Fro-yo girl here. Sad news. Yogurtland has closed the Santa Ana MainPlace Mall location. I went to that branch once, in December 2019, for the Yogurtland x Cheetos launch event (they were offering Flamin’ Hot Cheetos as a limited time froyo topping). It was my first and only time meeting Chester Cheetah. I also treasure the one giant orange Yogurtland spoon that I got at the event.

Yogurtland Santa Ana MainPlace Mall is no longer on the MainPlace mall website but it was mentioned on the MainPlace Mall Instagram account in June 2022. They’re listed as permanently closed on Yelp, Google Places, and their own Facebook page. The shop either closed in June or July. Yogurtland Santa Ana MainPlace first opened in 2014. The grand opening was on August 9, 2014 and included free froyo and toppings from 10 AM – 1 PM, prizes, giveaways, face painter, and a balloon artist.

Tutti Frutti is still open inside MainPlace Mall. Yogurtland’s other location in Santa Ana is still open at 2278 17th St, Santa Ana, CA 92705 (near South Coast Plaza).

* YOGURTLAND: 2800 N Main St. #1028, Santa Ana, CA 92705

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.

Smorgasburg LA Ice Cream Alley Report 2022

 

Fro-yo girl here. Ice Cream Alley was back at Smorgsaburg LA this August. It felt slightly smaller this year, with a mix of old and new vendors.

List of Ice Cream Valley vendors:

• Creamy Boys (NEW) – New Zealand style ice cream
• Happy Ice – Italian ice
• Kinrose Creamery (NEW) – ice cream inspired by the flavors of the Middle East
• Sad Girl Creamery (NEW) – Latina owned, ice cream tacos
• Salt & Straw (NEW) – ice cream scoops
• Sweet & Hollow – chimney cones with ice cream
• Wanderlust Creamery – ice cream scoops, Escape bars

Kinrose Creamery’s flavors were the most appealing (sour cherry & cream ice cream, citrus rose granita, honey walnut baklava ice cream) but I went to Creamy Boys since their New Zealand style soft serve real fruit ice cream reminded me the most of froyo.

New Zealand style ice cream is hand-crafted; the ice cream and fruit are blended together in a special “drill” machine. In New Zealand, this type of ice cream is often found at the beach, farmers market, or a fruit shop. Choose the base (dairy or non-dairy), add-ins, and cup or a waffle cone. Available flavors: strawberry, vanilla, hokey pokey, mixed berry, banana. There’s only one size.

Mixed berry ice cream ($8) made with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries: I was reminded of Yogen Fruz and more recently, Valley Swirl, Swrlies, and Loving Cup (Bay Area). Creamy Boys was certainly creamy. The hand-cranking results in an ice cream with more variation in texture and flavors. There were icy chunks of frozen berries, seeds, patches of vanilla ice cream, etc. The vanilla flavor was mild and not as strong as Valley Swirl’s. It seemed less sweet than Valley Swirl’s and less flavorful than Yogen Fruz. The portion was generous.

I noticed they had the same photo backdrop from previous years. I didn’t see any frozen yogurt but it was nice to see more internationally inspired flavors of ice cream.

Admission is free and there’s free parking too (2 hours free). Parking is plentiful.

SMORGSABURG LA: ROW DTLA, 777 Alameda St., Los Angeles

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 Froyo Flavor at Wanderlust Creamery: Preserved Lemon & Candied Pistachio

Fro-yo girl here. Wanderlust Creamery finally has another froyo flavor! Inspired by Morocco, Preserved Lemon & Candied Pistachio features preserved lemon yogurt ice cream, dotted with spiced honey pistachios. The only other yogurt flavor they’ve had was Greek Yogurt with Pomegranate-Rose Jam in 2017. Five years ago!

Preserved Lemon & Candied Pistachio Yogurt Ice Cream: I love lemons, pistachios, and froyo, so I was excited to try the new flavor. I was a bit let down by the actual flavor. The pistachio bits were so tiny and sparse that I could not tell that they were spiced. The lemon flavor was distributed throughout and tasted muted. The froyo was not tangy but did taste like yogurt and cream. It wasn’t too sweet. I wanted much more lemon and pistachio flavor. The texture was thick, rich, and creamy.

I went to Wanderlust Pasadena. The other locations are in Tarzana, Atwater Village, Fairfax, and Venice.

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 Flavor: Salted Caramel Cookie Frozen Yogurt

 

Fro-yo girl here. It’s late August and time for Pinkberry’s fall 2022 new flavor: Salted Caramel Cookie frozen yogurt. Pinkberry recommends pairing Salted Caramel Cookie frozen yogurt with cookie crumbs, caramel, and sea salt. The new flavor will be in available in participating stores nationwide until October 27, 2022.

While I was able to find the new flavor, the location that I visited did not have cookie crumbs. I wondered how the new flavor differed from their older flavor, Salted Caramel. Salted Caramel froyo was introduced way back in 2011. Since I’m not fond of caramel, I haven’t had it for a very long time. I can’t compare the two because I can’t remember the older flavor.

As for the new Salted Caramel Cookie frozen yogurt, it’s a more indulgent sweet flavor that does not taste like yogurt. It’s lighter than ice cream, so I do appreciate that. The salted caramel flavor is very strong. I couldn’t taste any cookie flavor. I didn’t dislike it but I still don’t like caramel frozen yogurt. Recommended toppings: Caramelized pecans, whipped cream.

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.

Camarillo, California Froyo Guide

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve had my share of froyo in Camarillo, California but still, I didn’t make it to most of the froyo shops that opened there. Camarillo is a city in Ventura County with a population of 68,112 in 2019. They’re known for the Camarillo Premium Outlets and Cal State Channel Islands.

If you’re looking for froyo today, your options are limited. Wild Cherry, 2112 E Ponderosa Dr., is the only froyo place that’s still open. They first opened in 2010 and the format is self-serve. At one time Wild Cherry also had locations in Thousand Oaks and Ventura. The Ventura location closed and the Thousand Oaks location is still open.

Froyo Places in Camarillo that Have Closed

• Green Leaf’s and Bananas Frozen Yogurt, 740 Ventura Blvd, was a counter-serve salad/frozen yogurt shop was located at Camarillo Premium Outlets food court. They closed in 2020, though Google Places calls it a temporary closure. The earliest review was in 2013.
• Mission Oaks Café, 5227 Mission Oaks Blvd, was a café specializing in fresh and local foods. The café opened in 2006 and closed in 2019. In 2017, they added self-serve froyo and called it Mo’s.
• Polar Bears, 389 Carmen Dr., closed in 2011. It seems to have opened before 2008 because multiple reviewers mention that they’d been open for many years.
• Rockin’ Berry, 2112 Ponderosa Rd, was a self-serve froyo shop that opened in 2008 and closed in 2010.
• Surf N Yogurt, 5233 Mission Oaks Blvd, was a surf-themed self-serve shop that opened in 2013 and closed in 2017. Surf N Yogurt already had two locations in Ventura when it opened in Camarillo.
• sweetFrog, 2306 Las Posas Rd Ste C, was the fifth sweetFrog location in California. It opened in 2015 and closed in 2019.
• Swirl, 267 Village Commons Blvd #11, was located in the Brookshire Commons HOA. Google lists Swirl as temporarily closed and Yelp doesn’t indicate that it’s closed. Their Instagram account says that they are temporarily closed but the last post was in October 2020. I’m guessing that it will not reopen.
• TCBY, 950 Camarillo Center Dr, was once located at the Camarillo Premium Outlets. It may have closed in 2011. While I don’t know when TCBY opened, the Camarillo Premium Outlets opened in 1995, so it can’t have been before 1995.
• Yogreens, 389 Carmen Dr., a self-serve froyo and salad bar café opened in the old Polar Bears space in September 2011. It closed for good a few weeks later in December 2011.
• Yogurtland, 660 Ventura Blvd #200, was located at the Camarillo Premium Outlets. They opened in 2014 and closed in 2020. The same person owned Yogurtland in Ventura and Oxnard.

Yogurtland was my favorite froyo place in Camarillo and it’s the only place that I miss. I also visited sweetFrog and Swirl. I remember waiting for that Yogurtland to first open.

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 Prices Continue to Rise in Los Angeles

 

Fro-yo girl here. Inflation is all over the news these days and yes, froyo prices have increased. Costs have increased for froyo shops. They’re facing labor and supply shortages. Ouch.

Here’s a sample of recent prices at froyo shops:

• Go Greek, Santa Monica, $0.99/oz
• Menchie’s Eagle Rock (Los Angeles) $0.59/oz
• Menchie’s El Monte, $0.59/oz last November, $0.62/oz this year
• Menchie’s Santa Clarita, $0.58/oz
• Menchie’s Sherman Oaks, $0.63/oz
• Menchie’s South Pasadena, $0.62/oz
• Menchie’s Valencia, $0.64/oz
• Pinkberry Burbank, $0.69/oz
• Pinkberry Silver Lake, Los Angeles, $6.50 small with toppings
• Pinkberry Monrovia, $6.50 small with toppings
• Pinkberry Studio City, $7.50 small with toppings
• Yogurtland Arcadia, $0.62/oz
• Yogurtland Burbank, $0.69/oz
• Yogurtland Eagle Rock (Los Angeles), $0.65/oz
• Yogurtland Pasadena, $0.65/oz
• Yogurtland San Gabriel, $0.62/oz
• Yogurtland, Santa Monica, $0.99/oz

The days of under $0.60/oz are over. Remember when Yogurtland was $0.30/oz? If you really want to splurge, Go Greek in Santa Monica is charging $0.99/oz and Yogurtland Santa Monica is also charging $0.99/oz.

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.

From Yogurt Closes in Alhambra, CA, Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt Renamed Zhen Tea in Temple City

Fro-yo girl here. From Yogurt, the first purple rice yogurt shop in the San Gabriel Valley, has closed. It was open less than a year. The shop opened in July 2021, taking over the Mr. Matcha space at 29 Valley Blvd in Alhambra. Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt in Arcadia is now called Der Tea. While they still serve purple rice yogurt, they also added other tea drinks. And Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt in Temple City is now called Zhen Tea. They still carry Yomie’s yogurt drinks.

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.

Freeze Dried Yogurt Cubes Trend

 

Fro-yo girl here. Shelf-stable yogurt products have become increasingly popular throughout Asia. I’ve noticed bottled ambient yogurt drinks and freeze-dried yogurt cubes at my local Asian grocery stores. Ambient yogurt drinks were launched in China in 2010 and they’ve taken off, accounting for 50% of yogurt sales in 2019. The cold chain distribution in China is not well-developed; ambient yogurt makes yogurt available for markets that don’t have access to refrigerated yogurt. And ambient yogurt products have a much longer shelf life. Also, fewer people are eating breakfast at home, so ambient yogurt offers a convenient, on-the-go source of nutrition.

As more manufacturers started offering ambient yogurt, they developed more varieties. In 2017, ambient yogurt with cereal and fruit was introduced. Ambient yogurt is now available in the Asia (e.g., Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand), Middle East, Africa, and South America. 

Shelf-stable yogurt drinks do not contain live cultures but are still seen as healthy and protein-rich. Freeze-dried yogurt cubes are made by drying yogurt at a low temperature; the process does not kill yogurt cultures. The yogurt is mixed with freeze dried fruit. Freeze-dried yogurt can be reconstituted with water or by adding the yogurt to a beverage. The snacks are also eaten straight out of the bag and on top of cereal or oatmeal.

While Gerber makes yogurt melts (freeze dried yogurt) in the US, their melts are tiny drops for babies and infants.

Here are some manufacturers of freeze-dried yogurt cubes

• Alor (Malaysia
• Alvin’s (Korea)
• Fresh Bulk (Malaysia)
• Frutara (Malaysia)
• Fu Kitchen (Malaysia)
• Little Spoon (Korea)
• MN (China)
• Naejae (Korea)
• One Little C (Malaysia)
• Papa-I (Korea)
• Pure Eat (Malaysia)
• Sanmaeul (Korea)
• Ssalgwaja (Korea)
• TG Lite (Malaysia)
• Wang Bao Bao (China)

I found Alor at Good Fortune Market in Alhambra. One 30g bag was $4.99. They had a few flavors, including durian, chocochips, mango, and strawberry. The cubes are a product of Malaysia and the first ingredient is yogurt. They contain live cultures. One serving (the whole bag) is 120 calories, 3g total fat, 16g total sugars, and 4g protein.

Alor Strawberry: The cubes are small – about ¾ of an inch tall and long and ½ an inch wide. Some pieces are bigger and some have more strawberry pieces.

I tried adding water and stirring to reconstitute. It took quite some time and a lot of stirring before the cubes dissolved into a thin yogurt. It tasted okay…slightly tangy, kinda bland.

I also added a few cubes to soy milk. It took a long time for the cubes to dissolve. They didn’t add much flavor to the soy milk.

My favorite way to eat them was straight out of the bag. They’re crunchy and melt in your mouth. The strawberries are quite tangy. The yogurt wasn’t as flavorful. They’re a bit chalky.

Verdict: The cubes are a fun, portable snack but you get very few in the pouch and fresh yogurt tastes better.

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 Menchie’s Flavors: Gourmet Pistachio Gelato

 

Fro-yo girl here. I went to a different Menchie’s location and found Gourmet Pistachio Gelato with live and active cultures. It was worth seeking out.

Gourmet Pistachio Gelato: Menchie’s describes Gourmet Pistachio Gelato as “rich and silky smooth with just a hint of salt! And because it’s made with real pistachios, no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, and no high-fructose corn syrup, this is a treat you can feel good about!” It was rich, smooth, and extra creamy. The pistachio flavor wasn’t strong but it was mild in a pleasant way. It’s so good with a sprinkle of something crunchy. Recommended toppings: Heath, almonds.

Gourmet Pistachio Gelato is available for a limited time, while supplies last.

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 Sour Patch Kids Yogurtland Spoon

 

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland has a new spoon, a green Sour Patch Kids spoon, inspired by their new flavor, Watermelon Sorbet made with Sour Patch Kids flavor. A new spoon design! What a nice surprise after years of introducing new colors of their spoons but the same design (their logo or the giant spoon). The last Yogurtland spoon with a different design was introduced in September 2019, when there were two new spoons for the Abominable movie.

The spoon says Join Real Rewards on the back.

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 Menchie’s Flavors: Gourmet Pistachio Gelato & Sonic’s Vegan Blue Raspberry Sorbet, New Cup, New Contest

 

Fro-yo girl here. Happy August! I just went to my Menchie’s and they already ran out of the new flavor, Gourmet Pistachio Gelato with live and active cultures. Hope I can find it later. They had the other new flavor though, Sonic’s Vegan Blue Raspberry Sorbet.

Sonic’s Vegan Blue Raspberry Sorbet: The sorbet is a pretty blue, the color of blue raspberries. It’s made with real raspberry puree. I could definitely taste the tang and it tasted like blue raspberry candy. Sonic’s Vegan Blue Raspberry Sorbet is nonfat, gluten-free, and does not contain high-fructose corn syrup. Recommended toppings: Sour Patch Kids and gummy worms.

There’s also a new blue Sonic the Hedgehog cup, featuring the image of Sonic the Hedgehog and info about the new Sega/Sonic Menchie’s contest. To enter the contest, scan your Menchie’s app in-store. Three people will win a SEGA Mini Genesis console AND 3 Sonic the Hedgehog games! Get an entry every time you scan your Menchie’s app in-store from now until August 31.

The new flavors are available for a limited time only.

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 Pressed Freeze Flavor, Passion Fruit

 

Fro-yo girl here. Pressed has a new Freeze (plant-based soft serve) flavor: Passion Fruit. It’s coconut milk-based and vegan. I tried it and it was very tangy (their tangiest flavor yet) and flavorful but the texture was too loose and runny. Their blueberry flavor was too runny as well. And the Rose flavor. Too bad because it tasted great – like passion fruit juice. Recommended toppings: Vegan gummy bears and coconut.

Passion Fruit Freeze is available for a limited time.

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.

More Naturally Sweetened Flavors at Yoga-urt: Strawberry Serenity & Vanilla Harmony

Fro-yo girl here. We were back at Yoga-urt Kenneth Village this weekend to try the new batch of naturally sweetened flavors, Strawberry Serenity and Vanilla Harmony. I’ve had the regular versions of both many times. The new versions are sweetened with dates and grape juice concentrate, rather than organic sugar. They’re no sugar added, fruit-sweetened versions. Like all Yoga-urt flavors, they’re organic, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, all-natural, and kosher.

Naturally-sweetened Strawberry Serenity: I couldn’t really taste the dates but the strawberries were nice and tangy. So good! Natural tasting strawberry goodness.

Naturally-sweetened Vanilla Harmony: Vanilla Harmony has the strongest date flavor as the vanilla has always been pretty subtle. The dates give it a warmer flavor. Vanilla Harmony was a bit thicker than Strawberry Serenity.

I think I like NSA Strawberry Serenity better than regular Strawberry Serenity but I like regular Vanilla Harmony better than NSA Vanilla Harmony. Everything is delicious and good for you too.

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.