2025 Froyo Wish List

Happy Froyo New Year! It’s also time for my new froyo wish list. First, let’s see which of my 2024 froyo wishes came true.

Recap of 2024 Froyo Wishes

Wish #1: Smaller portion sizes at counter-serve shops. I haven’t noticed any change. Some places only offer one size that’s far too large.

Wish #2: Lower sugar options: I haven’t noticed any change.

Wish #3: I wanted to try Australian froyo but there still isn’t any in the US, as far as I know.

My 2024 froyo wishes didn’t come true and neither did my 2023 froyo wishes (i.e., Yoga-urt at Erewhon, Llaollao in California, Souvla in Los Angeles). Perhaps my wishes need to be more realistic? 

There were some good things about this year: I attended several froyo shop grand openings, there were more new collectible froyo spoons than in 2023, and I visited three cities to try their froyo shops (Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Vancouver). I found some excellent supermarket froyo from TruJoy Yogurt (coming to California this year), Souvla started offering Greek froyo pints, and Souvla and Bi-Rite Creamery collaborated to create Walnut Baklava Cherry Swirl yogurt ice cream.

2025 New Froyo Wishes

Wish #1: Yo-Chi is thriving in Australia and has no international presence. I’d love to see them in Los Angeles. Australian coffee is having a moment (e.g., Bluestone Lane, Tectonic Coffee), so it’s time for some Australian froyo.

Wish #2: Whole Foods adds froyo to coffee bars. Many years ago, some Whole Foods locations did offer froyo, as did other grocery stores (e.g., Ralph’s, Safeway). Erewhon added plant-based soft serve to their coffee bars. It’s time for more froyo at upscale grocery stores. I want quality froyo. I don’t want to see froyo at a gas station mini mart.

Wish #3: Flat rate pricing for smaller cups. Froyo cups are too big and prices keep going up. I’d like a small cup of froyo and I don’t care if it’s self-serve or not. 

Wish #4: Pinkberry pops in the US. Why have these pops never been available in the US? They’ve been offered in many countries.

Wish #5: Matcha froyo affogatos. I don’t usually order affogatos because I’m not sure that the espresso would complement the froyo, but I would order a matcha froyo affogato. It would also be easy to make at home.

Keeping my fingers crossed for an amazing new year of froyo. May you also have lots of wonderful froyo.

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.

2022 Froyo Wish List

IG @koomiyoghurt

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 if any of my 2021 froyo wishes came true.

2021 Froyo Wishes

• Erewhon starts stocking Yoga-urt: This hasn’t happened though Erewhon has added more plant-based ice cream brands.
• More no sugar added froyo offerings: Yogurtland introduced a Pineapple & Greens Smoothie Bowl NSA soft serve in January 2021. And Pinkberry Nigeria introduced a Lite Chocolate NSA flavor. Those two flavors were the only new NSA flavors that I noticed.
• More tea flavors: This kinda happened. Menchie’s Canada had four Bubble Yo froyo flavors, 16 Handles introduced Chai Tea oat milk soft serve, and Yogurtland’s Milk Tea froyo.

2022 Froyo Wishes

• Purple Rice as a Froyo Topping: I’ve finally had purple rice yogurt drinks and they’re good but I haven’t had froyo with purple rice. It's a combination you can get at Koomi in Malaysia and Australia.
• Trying Israeli and Australian Froyo: Right now I’d have to go to NYC to try some Israeli froyo but I hope Anita Gelato will open a location in the Bay Area or Los Angeles…or I make it to the one in NYC. Maybe an Australian froyo shop like Yo-Chi will decide to open in Los Angeles…seems unlikely but you never know.
• Pinkberry Pops: Pinkberry Pops (popsicles) are available in other countries but not the US. Why???
• Boba Froyo: You know how boba ice cream (ice cream with tapioca pearls) became a thing in 2020 and 2021? I’d like pints of froyo with tapioca pearls.

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.

2018 Froyo Wish List

Fro-yo girl here. It’s time for my annual froyo wish list. First, let's see if any of my 2017 wishes came true. Last year I wished for:

* Pinkberry Pops: They’re now available in UAE, KSA, Lebanon, Qatar and Turkey. I would love to try one without traveling to the Middle East!

Update: They started selling Pinkberry Pops at the Pinkberry in Toronto, Canada, Ghana, and Panama. So, the Pinkberry Pops are getting closer though they’re still far away. Why aren’t these available in the US? You can even get Hong Kong waffles at Pinkberry Toronto and Pinkberry Ghana, but not the US. I love Hong Kong waffles but they seem more popular in Europe than in the US.

* Llaollao: Llaollao seems to be everywhere (e.g., Russia, Slovenia, Cambodia, Uruguay, Chile, El Salvador) except North America.

Update: Llaollao continues to expand but they’re still not in the US.

* Menchie’s should add the flavor finder feature on the Menchie’s My Smileage mobile app. I’d like easy access to list of flavors carried by specific Menchie’s locations.

Update: I didn’t notice any changes to the Menchie’s app. It doesn’t serve much purpose, so I rarely use it. At least Pinkberry finally fixed their app. Their website doesn't have a flavor finder either. Why do they make it so difficult to find out the flavors that each store carries???

* More Daphne’s Greek locations should be converted to their new concept, Yalla: I’d like a closer Yalla so that I can get my Greek froyo w/ baklava fix on a regular basis.

Update: Yalla didn’t open new locations and the portions of their food and froyo have shrunk. My guess is that’s their way of dealing with rising costs. Other places have started offering baklava as a froyo topping. Kentro in Fullerton isn’t any closer and Spread didn’t have any baklava during my last visit.

Well, I didn't have much luck with my 2017 froyo wishes and I'm not too optimistic about 2018's wishes either.

Here’s my froyo wish list for 2018:

* More soy froyo (or tofu soft serve). While there seems to be an anti-soy sentiment in the air, I love the flavor of soy. I’m hoping to see tofu soft serve. Tofu soft serve is popular in Japan and other parts of Asia. I did find tofu soft serve at Uji Time in San Francisco but not in Southern California. I also tried the soy soft serve at Sumo Dog in LA but it was too sweet.

* Bring back the tart. I’d love to see a Yogurtland promotion for just tart froyo flavors. Froyo, why have you become so sweet? I miss the old days of froyo wave two when froyo flavors were mostly tart. I miss green tea tart. 

* More Halloween froyo spoons. I imagine Menchie’s is the best candidate to offer more Halloween froyo spoons. No one else has come out with custom Halloween froyo spoons. It was a slow year for collectible froyo spoons in general.

* Good bubble waffles: They're surprisingly hard to find and I love them. I'm sure that I'd love them with froyo. They've become so popular in other countries (Canada, UK, Germany, Russia). I live in an area with a high concentration of Chinese and I can't find good bubble waffles. So strange.

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 Wish List for 2017

Fro-yo girl here. It’s the new year and time for my ninth annual froyo wish list. Before I share my wishes, I’d like to review my 2016 wishes.

My 2016 wishes:

* Going to more countries to try their froyo (e.g., Llaollao, Frozen by a Thousand Blessings, Sour Sally, Berry Culture, The Local Frozen Yogurt, Pick Yo)

Update: This didn’t happen. I didn’t even leave California.

* I'm still looking for good tart froyo at the supermarket (or popsicles).

Update: Jeni’s Ice Creams always makes wonderful froyo. While they’re carried by supermarkets, very few carry their frozen yogurt flavors. However, I live in LA, so I can always go to the Jeni’s scoop shop for froyo.

* Collecting froyo spoons from other countries, including the Hello Kitty spoon from Yogen Fruz Mexico, the Hello Kitty spoon from Yoppi Yogurt Taiwan, Moyo spoons, Sour Sally hand spoons, etc. I still need Joji spoons from Florida.

Update: I didn’t have any luck with the spoons I mentioned but a friend brought back some special froyo spoons from Norway.

For 2017, my froyo wishes are:

• To try Pinkberry Pops: They’re now available in UAE, KSA, Lebanon, Qatar and Turkey. I would love to try one without traveling to the Middle East!
• To try Llaollao: Llaollao seems to be everywhere (e.g., Russia, Slovenia, Cambodia, Uruguay, Chile, El Salvador) except North America.
• For Menchie’s to add flavor finder feature on the Menchie’s My Smileage mobile app: I’d like easy access to list of flavors carried by specific Menchie’s locations
• For Daphne’s Greek to be converted to their new concept, Yalla somewhere close to me: I’d like a closer Yalla so that I can get my Greek froyo w/ baklava fix on a regular basis. I’m obsessed. I doubt Souvla SF would open here any time soon.

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.