Best Fro-yo Shop Name Winner

Fro-yo girl here. Several potential fro-yo shop owners have contacted me for advice on coming up with a fro-yo shop name. I've advised against choosing a formulaic or generic name (e.g., color + type of fruit). Those types of names give the impression that the shops are like any other. I encourage people to be creative and to choose a name that fits with other elements of their marketing (e.g., decor).

I recently polled my readers and asked, which fro-yo shop has the best name? The readers have spoken...and the winner is...Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt! Congratulations to Blush. Blush is a charming word that makes me smile. I really like how they also named their signature fro-yo flavor, Blush. This Pomegranate Dragonfruit fro-yo flavor has a pretty pink color consistent with blushing. Their cherry logo is consistent with the theme as well (the color).

I liked all of the names that I picked out for the poll but some of them involve unfamiliar, foreign words (e.g., Miam Miam). Blush is clean, crisp, memorable and charming.

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

Fro-yo Hot Spots in 2010

Fro-yo girl here. I'm taking another look back to 2010 and picking the cities in the Bay Area with the most fro-yo activity. Each year I pick out fro-yo hot spots based on three criteria: (1) innovation, (2) quantity of new fro-yo shops and (3) fro-yo quality. Last January 2010, I selected San Jose, Pleasanton, Fremont, and San Mateo.

This year the hot spots are:
* WALNUT CREEK: People in Walnut Creek love fro-yo. Yogurt Park and Yogurt Castle have been there forever. Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt, Tutti Frutti, Yogofina, and Tower 27 all opened in 2010, joining existing fro-yo shops, Yogurt Castle, Yogurt Place, Yogurt Station, Coco Swirl, Yoppi Yogurt, and Yogurt Park.
* OAKLAND: Oakland saw the most fro-yo activity. Multiple new locations of Tutti Frutti and Yogofina led the way. Mr. Green Bubble, iYogurt, and Miam Miam Lounge also opened in Oakland in 2010. Last year was a slow year for new innovative fro-yo shops. The one innovative newcomer of note was Miam Miam Lounge in Oakland.

Honorable mentions:
* BURLINGAME: Harmony Frozen Yogurt opened another branch in late 2009, followed in early 2010 by Blush and Tuttimelon. Cherimoya gave fro-yo a try (for a brief period) and then decided to stick with Vietnamese food.
* DUBLIN: I always think of Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt when I am in the Dublin area. In 2010, Blush was joined by Yogurtland, Yogurt Walk and Tutti Frutti.
* SUNNYVALE: Juicy Berry opened in 2010, and was later joined by Pinkberry and Tutti Frutti.

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

Grand Opening Celebration: Miam.Miam Lounge

Fro-yo girl here. I just received my invite for the launch party at miam.miam lounge this Thursday (Sept. 16). Fro-yo will be 50% off all day, housewares are 25% off and they also have other festivities lined up. The invite says the following: "Please join us on September 16th to celebrate the launch of our first concept store, Miam.Miam Lounge - where we bring our award winning industrial designer's vision to life...swing by from 7-9 PM to meet the designers, enjoy yummy eats and beverages while seeing the entire product line." They'll have a raffle drawing for Miam.Miam products every half hour. Sounds like an evening of fro-yo fun.

Congratulations miam.miam!

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

* MIAM.MIAM LOUNGE: 5856 College Avenue, Oakland, CA

Miam.Miam Lounge: Innovative New Dessert Shop in Rockridge

Fro-yo girl here. What do you get when an innovative, design-focused housewares company wants to open fro-yo shop? You can check out the result at Miam.Miam Lounge in Oakland. It's a fresh take on the fro-yo shop concept. The shop design has a similar look and feel (modern and playful) to their line of mugs, plates, tea pots, canisters, bowls, etc.



The place is like a futuristic lounge meets product showroom. What's particularly charming about their fro-yo foray is that you can now see their products in use - from the bowls that hold toppings to the double walled glass containers that hold soy milk and other liquids you can add to your Blue Bottle Coffee. Take your time to admire the shelving, the lighting, and the fro-yo machines.

The fro-yo, gelato and coffee (and in the future, crepes) are all gourmet, fresh and a break from the ordinary. Fro-yo flavors like kumquat, lychee, and blood orange are light, refreshing and full-flavored. I'm excited about their frozen soy yogurt. While many of their flavors are tart, they also have some interesting sweet flavors like horchata. Most flavors are non-fat. It seems like they don't have the usual chocolate or vanilla fro-yo, a bold move. The toppings bar features some familiar and unfamiliar toppings. My favorite topping is the fresh mochi.

Another fun aspect is their flat rate pricing - you pay by the cup size. Pile on as much as you can fit in a cup.

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

* miam.miam lounge: 5856 College Ave., Oakland, CA, 94518