Year End Fro-yo Wrap Up

Fro-yo girl here. Where has 2012 gone? It’s time for my year end summary of the world of fro-yo. 

Bay Area comings and goings: In Bay Area news, fro-yo shops continued to close but new ones, particularly from chains, continued to open. Red Mango returned to the Bay Area, opening a self-serve shop in Emeryville. Yogurtland finally opened a store in SF this month. SF earned the distinction of being the location for Pinkberry’s 200th store. I’m really happy that Easy Breezy opened in Noe Valley. Sadly, the Bay Area said goodbye to fro-yo shops like The Mix, YoSwirl, Yogurt Train, SoFrais, Luscious, and one of my former favorites, Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt. YoCup changed ownership.

Special fro-yo spoons: It was a very good year for fro-yo spoon fans. Yogurtland gave us four new limited time only Sanrio fro-yo spoon designs: TuxedoSam, Bad Badtz Maru, Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars. Menchie’s introduced limited edition Chip fro-yo spoons. Tutti Frutti now carries fruit shaped logo fro-yo spoons in five colors. 

Supermarket fro-yo offerings keep expanding: Ben & Jerry’s, Ciao Bella, TCBY, Healthy Choice, Trader Joe’s, Stonyfield Oikos, and Yoplait launched new fro-yo flavors this year. The Ben & Jerry’s truck visited SF and handed out Greek fro-yo in May. Supermarket yogurt brands aren’t content to stay in the supermarket either. 

(Non-frozen) yogurt shops open: Chobani and Yogurt Culture Company (owned by Dannon) opened yogurt shops in SoHo and Midtown, respectively. Pinkberry launched Greek yogurt (not frozen) at a few locations.

More chains go self-serve: TCBY, Golden Spoon, and Yogen Fruz joined the list of self-serve fro-yo shops. With so much self-serve fro-yo, fro-yo creations now look uglier than ever. Pinkberry seems to be the only major chain that's holding out against the trend.

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

Fro-yo Closures and Moves

Fro-yo girl here. SoGreen is on the move. Today was the last day at their Crocker Galleria location and they should be open at the New Metreon food court in 1 - 2 weeks.

Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt in Palo Alto closed its doors. I feel blessed to have had their tangerine fro-yo and will miss their homemade organic toppings, especially the pumpkin spice granola and chocolate chip cookies. It’s a sad day for Bay Area fro-yo.

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

Mochi at Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt, Finally

Fro-yo girl here. Thanksgiving is over and I’m feeling grateful that Culture finally added mochi as a fro-yo topping this month. I waited over three years for this moment.

Their mochi is good (soft and chewy) but small. I like big, pillowy mochi cubes.

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

* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: 340 S. California Ave., Palo Alto, CA

Halloween Spirit Report 2011

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been looking for fro-yo shop Halloween spirit recently. Sadly, fewer fro-yo shops are decorating this year compared to last, though I have seen greater pumpkin fro-yo availability.

And the winner of the Fro-yo Shop Halloween Spirit goes to...Yoppi Yogurt in Redwood City.

I was impressed to see they had special Halloween signs featuring the Yoppi character in a Halloween costume. He looks ready to go trick-or-treating. They also have Frankberry cereal and candy corn for fro-yo toppings. They decorated the shop windows too.

So far I’ve had pumpkin fro-yo at Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt, Yogurtland, Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt, Fraiche Yogurt, Yoppi Yogurt, Jamba Juice, and Nubi Yogurt.

I'm hoping to see more Halloween spirit next year. Happy Halloween!

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 851 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA

Happy Earth Day 2011

Fro-yo girl here. It's Earth Day 2011 and I wanted to give my "Most Eco-Friendly Fro-yo Shop" award to Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt in Palo Alto, CA. They also won this award last year. I applaud their commitment to the environment, which they've had since day 1.

About Culture:
* Store decor features recycled materials.
* Uses compostable cups and spoons.
* Sells reusable fro-yo cups and give you a discount for using the reusable cup.
* A Greenopia recommended business.
* Their fro-yo AND toppings are organic
* Uses local, seasonal fruit

And today (only) they're giving away a free small fro-yo with 1 topping with the purchase of a reusable fro-yo bowl! You can see mine in the picture, the green monster with tangerine fro-yo.


As for the wall of shame, a fro-yo shop that still uses styrofoam cups, I'm afraid that goes to Yumi Yogurt. Yumi - I still love you because of all the fro-yo you put in my cup.

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

* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: 340 S. California Dr., Palo Alto, CA

New Reusable Monster Fro-yo Bowl

Fro-yo girl here. I have a new reusable fro-yo bowl! It looks like Mike from Monsters Inc. I found mine (the green one) at the eco-friendly green business, Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt in Palo Alto. They had three colors - lime green, orange, cosmic purple.

The monster bowls have feet and come with a matching spoon. They're dishwasher safe. The bowls are $3.99 each. Use the bowl at Culture and you'll get a discount on your fro-yo purchase.

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

* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: 340 S. California Dr., Palo Alto, CA

I'm Craving Pumpkin Tart Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Pumpkin pie fro-yo, pumpkin spice fro-yo, and pumpkin fro-yo are showing up in fro-yo shops across the country. While I enjoy sweet pumpkin fro-yo, my heart belongs to tart pumpkin fro-yo.

My top three tart pumpkin fro-yo spots are: Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt, Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt and Fraiche (also organic pumpkin fro-yo, I believe). Pumpkin fro-yo is new to Fraiche and it's amazing with their homemade mochi cubes. Culture's pumpkin fro-yo tastes fabulous with their crunchy housemade caramel corn. Yum. And Blush's pumpkin can be topped with whipped cream, just like pumpkin pie.

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

* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: 340 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA
* FRAICHE: locations in Palo Alto and San Francisco
* BLUSH ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: locations in Walnut Creek, San Francisco, Burlingame and Dublin

Earth Day: Eco-Friendly Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Yes, it's Earth Day 2010 and it seemed like the appropriate time to recognize Bay Area shops that are using compostable cups and/or spoons for fro-yo. I hope that this list is accurate - if I've left any place out, I apologize. Next year I might follow-up with a list of fro-yo shops that still use styrofoam cups (the wall of shame).

The 2010 List of Eco-Friendly Fro-yo in the Bay Area:
* Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt, Burlingame
* Beautifull (all locations)
* Chile Pies
* Cowabunga Creamery
* Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt
* Fraiche
* Green Cup Frozen Yogurt
* The Mix
* Sweet Jo's
* Xanath
* Yogizmo
* Yogurt Harmony
* Yogurtland
* Zuckersuss

And the most eco-friendly award goes to: Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt in Palo Alto. They use compostable cups and spoons and sell reusable fro-yo cups. The store decor features recycled materials. They're also the only all organic fro-yo shop.

Did you know that Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt is in the 2010 Green Zebra coupon book? Get yours today.

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

* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: 340 S. California Dr., Palo Alto, CA