2024 Froyo Wish List

Fro-yo girl here. Happy Froyo New Year! The new year brings new froyo hopes and dreams. Before I reveal my froyo wishes for 2024, I’d like to see which of my 2023 froyo wishes came true.

Recap of 2023 Froyo Wishes

• Wish #1: Erewhon starts stocking Yoga-urt: This didn’t happen but Erewhon started offering soft serve at their Tonic Bars this year. Their soft serve is coconut-based, vegan, soy-free, organic, gluten-free, and kosher. I’ve tried it and it’s not as good as Yoga-urt’s. In Yoga-urt news, they started franchising this year and their first franchisee is opening in Granada Hills (San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles) later this year.
• Wish #2: Llaollao opens in California: Llaollao is definitely still in expansion mode, but most of their new branches are in Asia and Spain. They still have just one location in the US, in Houston. At this rate, Yole may reach California first. They’re opening their first location in North America this year – in Toronto, Canada.
• Wish #3: Souvla opens in Los Angeles: Souvla finally opened a branch outside of San Francisco, but it’s in Larkspur (Marin County). They have six locations and if you’re in San Jose, you can get their Greek froyo from DoorDash.

2024 Froyo Wishes

• Wish #1: Smaller portion sizes: I noticed my coffee drinks have gotten much smaller this year. I wouldn’t mind seeing counter-serve froyo shops offer smaller cups of froyo. Some of them are far too large and some places only offer one size, large. When there’s only a large size available, the cup of froyo becomes a meal when I’d much rather have froyo as a snack or treat.
• Wish #2: Lower sugar options: While there have been quite a few lower sugar froyo options at supermarkets, there aren’t that many in froyo shops. The ones at supermarkets tend to have sugar substitutes like monk fruit and Stevia. I don’t like those. The best NSA sweeteners are date syrup and agave nectar. I’d be fine with froyo that isn’t as sweet.
• Wish #3: Australian froyo place opens in Los Angeles: Now that I’ve tried Israeli froyo, I’d like to try Australian froyo. Australia is known for the quality of its dairy products. Some of the Australian froyo shops (e.g., Yo-Chi, Frozen By A Thousand Blessings) look stylish and seem to offer high-quality froyo.

I was also pleasantly surprised by a few froyo developments in 2023, including:

• Jeni's opens in Highland Park (Los Angeles): This location makes it very easy for me to get my rainbow buttermilk frozen yogurt fix.
• Jeni's launches frozen dessert sandwiches: Available exclusively at Whole Foods for now, the Key Lime Pie sandwich features super tangy key lime froyo and graham cracker cookies. 
• Gelatys yogurt pops: I found Gelatys at Pavilions and their yogurt gelato pops are surprisingly good. They're rich and tangy.
• Yogurtland opens in East Pasadena: Yogurtland is back to having two locations in Pasadena. I was surprised to see the new branch open in East Pasadena.
• L2 Tea Club's thick-cut froyo cubes: I was finally able to try froyo cubes, a trend that started in China years ago. It's still hard to find thick-cut yogurt/froyo cubes in the US.

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.

2023 Froyo Wish List

froyo machine & toppings, Anita Gelato, Tarzana

Fro-yo girl here. Happy Froyo New Year! And the new year means a new froyo wish list. But before I get to the new wishes, let’s see which of my 2022 froyo wishes came true.

Recap of 2022 Froyo Wishes

Purple Rice as a Froyo Topping: This didn’t happen. In fact, purple rice yogurt drinks didn’t catch on in the US and many of the Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt shops have closed or changed names. Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt in Arcadia became Der Tea. Yomie’s Temple City became Zhen Tea. Yomie’s San Gabriel closed. The only Yomie’s shops left in the area are in Rowland Heights and Tustin. The last few times I visited Yomie’s, the rice was hard. Other purple rice yogurt shops like From Yogurt in Alhambra, CA have also closed.

Trying Israeli and Australian Froyo: Anita Gelato, which started in Tel Aviv, opened in Tarzana in September and they brought their froyo! The frozen yogurt was silky smooth, dense, rich, and moderately tangy; a high quality froyo. The toppings were excellent and also truly unlimited (you can ask for topping refills). They make their own jams and sauces.

Pinkberry Pops: Pinkberry Pops (popsicles) are still available in other countries but not the US. While I didn’t have a Pinkberry Pop, I did get Pinkberry from a vending machine for the first time. Back in April, I got a cup of Pinkberry Original Tart from a vending machine in Arcadia, California. Eight Pinkberry vending machines were installed around Southern California this year. Most are in shopping malls and two at the Ontario International Airport. The first time I wished to be served by a froyo robot or vending machine was back in 2013!

Boba Froyo: I didn’t see any pints of froyo with tapioca pearls but L’Moon Creamery opened in Pasadena and they offer soft serve ice cream with tapioca pearls as a topping. Yogurtland offered brown sugar crystal boba as a topping this year! On another note, I lost interest in boba ice cream bars.

2023 Froyo Wishes

Many of my froyo wishes do eventually come true but they often take a few years. I feel like I’m running out of froyo wishes, so I’m going to share some old wishes that haven’t come true yet.

Erewhon starts stocking Yoga-urt: This could happen by offering pints of Yoga-urt or better yet, offering Yoga-urt at the Erewhon Coffee Bar. Perhaps they could even have an Erewhon exclusive Yoga-urt flavor!

Llaollao opening in California: llaollao is Europe’s largest froyo chain and I think the largest in Asia as well. They have one location in the US, in Houston. I’m still hoping to try it. Or maybe they’ll open one closer to me.

Souvla opens in Los Angeles: Souvla is conservative about opening new locations. They’re still only in the Bay Area but it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to open in Los Angeles. This is a new wish that I’ve had on my mind for years but never included on a froyo wish list. Souvla has inspired many Greek/Mediterranean cafes to offer plain Greek froyo with Greek toppings but Souvla still does Greek froyo best. 

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.