iCream Showroom and Pinkberry Vending Machine Update

iCream showroom

Pinkberry vending machine in Koreatown

Fro-yo girl here. The “closing” of the Pinkberry vending machine at The Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA, sparked my curiosity about the other Pinkberry vending machines. The first installation was at the Cabazon Outlets in March 2022.

Posted reviews claim that the machine no longer works:

• “Took my 20. No refund and no ice cream. Hang up after making a phone call and never answer the phone again.”
• “Scam machine, paid money and no yogurt. Website is dead and they’re not answering their phone.”
• “Scam !!!!! you pay and no yogurt”

The Beverly Center machines are marked as temporarily closed by Google.

The Ontario Airport machines are not listed on the airport website. Other vending machines are listed on the airport website.

The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks does not list the vending machine, although other vending machines are listed on the mall website.

Pacific View Mall, Ventura: The mall website does not list the vending machine

Westfield Topanga: There is no mention of the vending machine on the mall website

The iCream showroom is still there but it was closed on a weekday afternoon (it was dark inside and the door was locked). There were five vending machines inside, wrapped in tarps. The showroom was supposed to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Koreatown was the most recent installation. It was installed in July 2023. Less than a year later, it’s still at Koreatown Plaza but the machine was turned off. There was a new Sprinkles Cupcake vending machine next to the Pinkberry vending machine last July and that's no longer there either. 

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.

Pinkberry Vending Machine at the Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA, Turned Off

Fro-yo girl here. Back in April 2022, iCream installed a Pinkberry vending machine at Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA. It was in the food court area by Chick-fil-a. I passed by it many times and never saw anyone make a purchase.

The last few times I passed by, it hasn’t been on (the screen is black). At first, I thought it was being repaired, but it’s been off during multiple visits. The site has also been removed from the Pinkberry website, so it must have closed.

The price went up to $6 for a small cup. It started out as $5 for one cup and $0.25 per topping.

I’m not sure how many of the Pinkberry vending machines are still installed and turned on. The iCream website no longer works. The name of the mall changed to The Shops at Santa Anita in late 2022 when ownership changed. There is no frozen yogurt available at the mall at the moment, though you can get plant-based soft serve from Pressed and soft serve ice cream from Cha Redefine.

Now I have to investigate what happened to the other Pinkberry vending machines.

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.

iCream 24/7 Automated Showroom with Froyo, Acai & Ice Cream Opens in Los Angeles

Fro-yo girl here. iCream recently opened the Sky Lounge showroom in the Melrose District in West Hollywood. It’s open 24/7 because it’s fully automated. The showroom houses six intelligent vending machines. Three of them serve iCream's soft serve ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, salted butter caramel), one machine serves acai, and two machines serve Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Each machine offers one flavor. All the machines offer cups of ice cream, acai, or froyo for $6. The $6 for froyo includes toppings. A foldable spoon is attached to the bottom of the cup.

The Pinkberry vending machine offers 3 dry toppings and 3 sauces to choose from: Oreos, sprinkles, mini M&Ms, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, and caramel sauce.

The amount of yogurt dispensed is small (3 ounces?) but the texture and taste were pretty good, pretty similar to what you'd get at Pinkberry. The Oreo topping was a tiny bit of cookie dust. I appreciate the small portion but think it could be a dollar or two cheaper because the cup is so small. And the selection of toppings is limited.

The vending machine accepts cash (bills only) and credit cards but does not provide any change. You can pay with your phone.

The showroom provides seating and a restroom (hard to find in this area).

The vending machines provide consistent serving sizes in a sanitary setting and they can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Labor costs are obviously lower as is rent. However, the vending machines provide limited flavors and toppings. They do not layer the froyo and toppings.

* I-CREAM: 666 N Kilkea Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048

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 Prices Continue to Rise, Pinkberry Monrovia No Longer Part of Rewards Program

Fro-yo girl here. It seems like every year, froyo prices go up (at least once). Menchie’s Eagle Rock (Los Angeles) has increased the price from $0.59/oz to $0.64/oz. It’s still cheaper than Yogurtland Eagle Rock, which charges $0.67/oz. Menchie’s Eagle Rock was the cheapest self-serve place in the area. They charged $0.59/oz all of 2022.

Meanwhile, Pinkberry in Monrovia, CA is charging a $7 for a small froyo with toppings. Ouch. But Pinkberry Northridge and Studio City are even more expensive. Three years ago, a small without toppings was under $4, with $1.50 for unlimited toppings. The unlimited toppings became up to 4 toppings about two years ago, with an extra charge for the pizzelle cookie. The pizzelle cookie wasn’t extra before.

Also, Pinkberry Monrovia no longer participates in the PinkCard rewards program. Sad. They didn’t tell me about it when I mentioned wanting points.

Even the Pinkberry vending machine at The Shops at Santa Anita increased the price of a cup of froyo from $5 to $6 recently.

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 California Froyo Shop Openings & Closings

Fro-yo girl here. It's been an interesting year for froyo in California. While froyo shops continued to deal with rising costs and supply shortages, the number of non-froyo shops offering froyo seemed to be higher than ever, thanks to froyo vending machines (iCream partnered with Pinkberry) and Nick the Greek. Amazon Go opened three shops in Southern California, two of which offer self-serve Pinkberry froyo.

I tried to keep track of any place that serves froyo in soft serve form, including restaurants, convenience stores, pop-ups, froyo trucks and trailers, vending machines, and more. As usual, it's easier to find out about openings since many places close quietly, without making any announcement. 

Froyo Shop Openings (Includes Froyo Trucks)

1. Abyss Yogurt, inside Abyss Market, Valley Village
2. Cool Spot, Brentwood (froyo truck)
3. Easy Breezy, Los Gatos
4. Golden Spoon, Valencia (Northpark)
5. Joy Sedona, Lake Balboa
6. K&J Froyo & Kafe, Hanford
7. Lizzy’s Premium Frozen Yogurt, Desert Hot Springs 
8. Never Better Frozen Yogurt, Lake Elsinore
9. NuYo, Blue Oaks, West Roseville
10. Sprinkles on Top, Elk Grove
11. Sweet Spot, Escalon
12. Tuttimelon, Fairfield
13. Waffie & Yogie, Long Beach
14. Yogurt Mill, Modesto (froyo truck)
15. Yogurt Stop, Walnut Creek
16. Yogurtland, Fresno – El Paseo 
17. Yogurtland, Palmdale - East Ave.
18. Yogurtland, Madera
19. Yogurtland, Pixley

Not a Froyo Shop but Serves Froyo

1. Active Culture, Long Beach
2. Amazon Go, Whittier 
3. Amazon Go, Woodland Hills 
4. Anita Gelato, Tarzana
5. Jayna Gyro, Sacramento
6. K Street, Oakland
7. Loop Market, Sacramento
8. Nick the Greek, Daly City (Gellert)
9. Nick the Greek, Elk Grove
10. Nick the Greek, Foster City
11. Nick the Greek, Fresno
12. Nick the Greek, Novato
13. Nick the Greek, Roseville - Fountains
14. Nick the Greek, San Francisco
15. Nick the Greek, Santa Rosa
16. Nick the Greek, Vacaville
17. Nick the Greek, Walnut Creek
18. Souvla, Dogpatch, San Francisco
19. Sweetie’s Ice Cream Shop, Santa Barbara
20. Valley Swirl, Los Angeles (moved)

Vending Machines

1. Pinkberry, Cabazon, Palm Springs
2. Pinkberry, Westfield Santa Anita, Arcadia
3. Pinkberry, Topanga, Canoga Park
4. Pinkberry, Oaks Mall, Thousand Oaks
5. Pinkberry, Beverly Center, Los Angeles
6. Pinkberry, Ontario International Airport, Terminal 2
7. Pinkberry, Ontario International Airport, Terminal 4
8. Pinkberry, Pacific View Mall, Ventura

That's a total of 46 new places that serve froyo: 18 new froyo shops (including two froyo trucks), 20 non-froyo shops, and 8 froyo vending machines. In 2021, I found 26 new places that started serving froyo, including 15 new froyo shops, 10 non-froyo shops that serve froyo, plus one existing café that added froyo. That's a lot more in 2022 vs. 2021. 

I didn’t count the rebranded froyo businesses or the ones under new ownership, but I did try to track both.

Name Change/Rebranded

• U Top It Subs & Sweets, Ukiah (moved, changed name from U Top It)

New Ownership

1. JoJo’s Yogurt, Clovis
2. Menchie's, Fremont
3. Tutti Frutti Canyon Country, Santa Clarita
4. Urban Yogurt, Shingle Springs
5. Waffie & Yogie, Long Beach

Closings

1. Big Spoon, Roseville
2. Cherry Chill, Ontario
3. Go Crazy, Concord
4. Hogi Yogi, Redlands
5. Menchie’s South Pasadena
6. Menchie's, Santa Maria
7. Mickey’s Yogurt, Riverside
8. Owl’s Ice Cream, Porter Ranch
9. PennyLane, Campbell
10. Riyo Yogurt, Lotus
11. Tutti Frutti, Buena Park
12. Tutti Frutti, North Hills
13. Tutti Frutti, Piedmont, Oakland
14. Valley Swirl, Los Angeles (moved)
15. YoFrutti, Moorpark
16. Yogurt Creations, Santa Maria
17. Yogurt World USA, Petaluma
18. Yogurtland, Santa Ana – Main Place Mall
19. Yogurtland, Brentwood
20. Yogurtland, Burbank - Downtown
21. Yogurtland, Whittier

As for froyo shop closings, I found twenty-one this year (and some weren't technically froyo shops, but I grouped them together since most were froyo shops). Three Yogurtland locations closed in Southern California and two Menchie's locations. One Yogurtland location closed in Northern California. In 2021, I found 45 closings, including 8 Menchie’s locations, 2 Pinkberry locations, 4 Tutti Frutti locations, and 6 Yogurtland locations. 

And more froyo is on the way. I found 20 places listed as opening soon.

Coming soon

1. Beary Bliss, Big Bear Lake
2. Menchie's, Burbank (moved)
3. Nick the Greek, Berkeley
4. Nick the Greek, Folsom
5. Nick the Greek, Hayward
6. Nick the Greek, Hollister
7. Nick the Greek, Marin
8. Nick the Greek, Monterey
9. Nick the Greek, Mountain View
10. Nick the Greek, Natomas
11. Nick the Greek, Oakland
12. Nick the Greek, Palo Alto
13. Nick the Greek, Sacramento
14. Nick the Greek, Salinas
15. Nick the Greek, Sonoma
16. Nick the Greek, Stockton
17. Nick the Greek, Tracy
18. Pinkberry, Manteca (1st drive-thru)
19. Souvla, Larkspur
20. Yoba, Ontario

Since I find out about openings and closings after publishing my post, I’ll keep updating this post. Did I miss any openings or closings? Let me know.

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.

October 20, Blogiversary Number 14

Amazon Go, Whittier

Fro-yo girl here. I’m celebrating blogiversary #14 today, October 20, 2022 by reflecting on the previous year. Self-serve froyo is back and most people no longer wear masks indoors. A few froyo shops still offer hand sanitizer and gloves. There have been a few froyo shop openings and closings in California, but nothing in Los Angeles – unless you count non-froyo shops like Israel’s Anita Gelato in Tarzana and Amazon Go, the new convenience store in Whittier that serves Pinkberry. Also, iCream has installed five Pinkberry vending machines in Southern California with a sixth location just announced.

Yogurtland in downtown Burbank closed and so did Menchie’s in South Pasadena. It’s still easy for me to get to multiple Yogurtland locations but harder to get to Pinkberry and Menchie’s now. More new flavors and new froyo spoons have come out compared to 2020 – 2021.

Noosa finally introduced their frozen yogurt gelato. I first heard about it five years ago. Well, their yogurt is better than their frozen yogurt gelato. The latter is more like gelato than yogurt.

I’ve been to one froyo shop grand opening, Golden Spoon in Valencia, but they didn’t seem to be celebrating. Maybe it was the soft opening?

Prices are up at froyo shops – hovering in the mid to high $0.60 cent range at self-serve shops.

The first thick cut, bite-size, frozen yogurt cube shop opened in the US – in Seattle, Washington. The shop is called YoYo & CoCo. The trend started in mainland China and spread to Australia and Asia. I wonder if yogurt cube shops will open in California.

Many of the Yomie’s purple rice yogurt shops have changed names. I’ve had hard/old purple rice a few times recently, so I’m hesitant to get more purple rice yogurt.

Several lower sugar Asian bakeries have opened. Yu Cake is the best one that I’ve tried. They have locations in San Gabriel, Rosemead, and City of Industry. My favorite cake is the yogurt cake roll. The cake has a filling of yogurt flavored whipped cream that’s tangy and tastes like yogurt. So good! Pretty too! They even have yogurt flavored cake in other forms: box cake, jar cake, and mille crepe cake.

Acai places keep opening. I went to a couple and the base doesn't have much flavor as froyo. The toppings are good though. The fruit is often fresher than the fruit at froyo shops and they have more nut butters, seeds, and healthier toppings.

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.

Pinkberry Vending Machines Added to Additional Malls in Southern California

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry vending machines powered by iCream have now been installed in five shopping malls in Southern California: Beverly Center (Los Angeles), Cabazon Outlets (Cabazon), Westfield Santa Anita (Arcadia), Westfield Topanga (Canoga Park) and The Oaks (Thousand Oaks).

I spotted the Pinkberry vending machine at Westfield Topanga by the food court. Like the other Pinkberry vending machine, there’s one size (small), one flavor (original tart), and toppings. It starts at $5 for a small yogurt with no toppings. 

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.

Spotted the New Pinkberry Vending Machine at Westfield Santa Anita

Fro-yo girl here. Last summer, iCream, a soft serve vending machine, made its debut at Westfield Century City and rolled out at other malls in Southern California. I spotted the iCream vending machine at Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA a few months ago. Since it served ice cream, I didn’t buy anything.

However, iCream just announced a partnership with Pinkberry and the vending machine at Westfield Santa Anita now dispenses Pinkberry frozen yogurt!

The first ever Pinkberry vending machines opened in late March at the Premium Outlets in Cabazon. The Westfield Santa Anita machine is located by the food court (by Chick-fil-a). It serves one flavor (Original Tart). There are 3 dry toppings and 3 sauces to choose from. A plain froyo is $5 and it’s $0.25 per topping and per sauce.

The amount of yogurt dispensed is small (3 ounces?) and the texture was a little icy and not as smooth as I expected from Pinkberry, but it did taste like Pinkberry original yogurt. Also, the machine dispenses the yogurt in a cute plastic Pinkberry cup with a foldable spoon underneath.

The machine accepts cash and credit cards but does not provide any change.

Can you believe that I wished to get froyo from a froyo vending machine back in 2013? It took 9 years for that wish to come true.

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.