Remaining CUPS Frozen Yogurt Locations in California Have Closed

Fro-yo girl here. Last August I wrote about NJ based froyo chain, CUPS Frozen Yogurt, which at the time had two locations left in California. The Torrance and Westminster, CA locations closed earlier.

Cups Irvine (8581 Irvine Center Dr., Irvine, CA) held its grand opening in May 2016. Their last Facebook post was in July 2016. By late 2017, the shop had irregular hours. It closed earlier this year.

The Northridge location (9301 Tampa Ave #146, Northridge, CA) managed to stay open for three years. It is now called Cool Creations and is no longer affiliated with Cups as of earlier this year. Cool Creations still carries frozen yogurt, as well as shaved ice, Dippin’ Dots, smoothies, acai bowls, and frappes.

Last August, the Cups website listed 2 locations in Florida, 1 in Texas, 5 in New Jersey and 1 in New York, for a total of nine locations. Now it shows 3 locations in NJ, 1 in NY, and 1 in FL. The Texas location closed and rebranded. It's called Sweet Frozen Bar now. One wonders if they’ll have any locations left by this time next 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.

What’s Going On at Cups Frozen Yogurt?

Fro-yo girl here. CUPS Frozen Yogurt, based in NJ, had 23 locations, mostly on the East Coast in 2014. They opened locations in California, in Westminster, Torrance, Northridge, Torrey Hills, and Irvine. It was in the news quite a bit in 2013 as the Hooters of frozen yogurt and was one of the fastest growing frozen yogurt franchises at the time.

CUPS is known for its club like ambiance, featuring dance music and a lounge area. People used to line up to go to CUPS, though I never saw that at the CA locations. Perhaps it was a Jersey thing?

In New Jersey, they’ve closed the following locations (most were open for 1 – 2 years):

1. Bayonne

2. Bridgewater

3. East Brunswick

4. East Hanover

5. Edison

6. Franklin

7. Freehold

8. Morristown

9. New Brunswick

10. Paramus

11. South Plainfield

The main complaints have been price, runny yogurt, loud music, cleanliness and indifferent employees.

The Torrance location closed in March 2017. It rebranded and reopened as Friza Frozen Yogurt.

The CUPS website lists 2 locations in Florida, 1 in Texas, 5 in New Jersey and 1 in New York, for a total of nine locations. Three California locations are still open as far as I can tell (Irvine, Northridge, Torrey Hills), but they are not listed on the website. The Northridge location opened in April 2015 and the Irvine location in 2016. Their Facebook page hasn’t been updated since January 2017. The last tweet was in October 2016. They’ve been updating their Instagram account regularly though. They’ve never been that active on social media but they’re quieter than ever. 

“CUPS was created and is owned/operated by The Briad Group, one of the largest and fastest growing hospitality companies in the US. The Briad Group’s entities are: licensed franchisees for Wendy’s, TGI Fridays™, Marriott, Hilton and a licensee for Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar. The Briad Group is the largest TGI Fridays franchisee in the world.”

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.

Cups Northridge Grand Opening Celebration

Fro-yo girl here. Cups, a NJ based chain, is expanding its presence in CA with a new location at the Northridge Fashion Center. The shop had a soft opening last week and a grand opening celebration on April 11, 2015 from 5-7 PM. It’s the only frozen yogurt shop at the mall. Cups has a surf/beach theme with loud music (a club experience). There were more young guys waiting in the free froyo line  than usual.

Shortly before 5 the Cups team gathered in front of the shop for team photos, followed by a ribbon cutting. Guests enjoyed free  froyo (big 16 ounce cups) from 5-7  PM. There were 12 self-serve frozen yogurt flavors (also sorbet and vanilla custard) and over 50 toppings including sauces, fruit, popping boba, candy, cookie dough, wet walnuts, cheesecake, brownies, mochi, cereal, nuts, chocolate chips, cookies, and sprinkles. It’s 49 cents an ounce.

In addition to the self-serve froyo option, Cups has Twisters – a custom blend of froyo and candy.

The grand opening celebration continues for one week. During the week, Cups customers will receive a scratch off card. They can win prizes like lip balm, Cups coupons, beach balls, sunglasses and the grand prize – free froyo for a year.

I received a $1 off coupon from the Guest Services desk at Northridge Fashion Center.

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

* CUPS Frozen Yogurt: Northridge Fashion Center, 9301 Tampa Ave., Suite 146, Northridge, CA 91324

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.

Brozen Brogurt? Frozen Yogurt for Men

Fro-yo girl here. It’s estimated that anywhere from 70-80% of frozen yogurt consumers are female. With so many female customers, it’s not surprising that many frozen yogurt shops are designed to appeal to women. Witness the number of shops decorated in white and pink, cutesy logos, and pictures of fruit.

However, a few shops are bucking the trend with masculine daddy/bro/dude names like Daddy Yo’s, Yo Daddy, Yogurt Brothers, YoBro, and Dude Where’s My Yogurt. Then there are shops named after men, like YoJohnny, Eddie’s Frozen Yogurt, Uncle Gussy’s and Uncle Buck’s. Surf inspired shop names like Surf’N Yogurt and Big Kahuna Yogurt also have masculine appeal. Huddles in Indianapolis, which is owned by the daughter of the Colts owner, shows Colts games and sells Colts apparel. CUPS Frozen Yogurt takes a different sexier approach and is being called the Hooters of frozen yogurt.

These shops have differentiated themselves with their names and décor, but are they different from other frozen yogurt shops? Or is the difference in name only? It looks like their yogurt and toppings are the same as other frozen yogurt places. Yo Daddy is somewhat different because it also offers beer and wine which is unusual for a frozen yogurt establishment.

For a laugh, check out Conan’s Brozen Brogurt video, which is a spoof on what a manly frozen yogurt and manly toppings: http://teamcoco.com/video/brozen-brogurt-the-frozen-yogurt-just-for-bros

Supermarkets are starting to carry yogurt products that can be classified as Man Foods.

ProYo high protein frozen yogurt, launched on the West Coast in March 2013, is set for a national rollout in grocery stores next year. 

In case you haven’t heard, there is a Greek yogurt for men, called Powerful Yogurt. Powerful Yogurt, “the first yogurt in the U.S. designed for a man’s health and nutrition needs” features images of toned torsos reminiscent of a razor or protein powder commercial.

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 & Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Awareness Month Promotion

Fro-yo girl here. I stopped by Yogurtland to check out their Breast Cancer Awareness Month promotion. The promotion runs till the end of October. I wasn’t sure if there were special spoons and a limited edition fro-yo flavor.

*Spoons: There are no special spoons but Yogurtland associates have been instructed to hand out only pink spoons this month.







* Fro-yo Flavor: There isn’t a new flavor but they are promoting their Fresh Strawberry fro-yo flavor with a special sign. The sign talks about breast cancer and has a scannable QR code that links to a Breast Health Resource Guide.

* Free Sprinkles: After you make your purchase, you can add free white and pink sprinkles. The pink sprinkles are ribbon shaped, in honor of breast cancer awareness.







Thanks to Yogurtland and to other fro-yo shops (e.g., CUPS, Sweetie Peaz, Yagoot, Yogurtini, Yogurtology, TCBY) for helping to promote breast cancer awareness.

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