Target and Freshii Expand Test Market to California

Fro-yo girl here. Frozen yogurt is everywhere, from large cities to small towns it’s a global phenomenon. Frozen kefir, like yogurt, is a cultured milk product, but it's relatively hard to find (though that could soon be changing - read on). Both contain live and active cultures. Kefir has a higher probiotic count and more types of probiotic bacteria though and the consistency tends to be thinner (it’s often sold as a drink). Kefir contains beneficial yeasts that yogurt does not.

Lifeway describes the difference between yogurt and kefir as: “Lifeway Kefir contains 12 live and active probiotic cultures and is fermented for 14-18 hours after pasteurization. This results in more CFU per serving (7-10 billion) compared to most other commercially available cultured dairy products, including yogurt. The probiotic activity is what produces kefir’s signature fizz, which is why we delightfully refer to it as the Champagne of Dairy!”

The few times that I’ve had frozen kefir, it had an icier texture. It was tangy and tasted like frozen yogurt but the texture wasn’t as pleasing. Granted, so few places offer frozen kefir that the machine settings might have been responsible for the iciness but from what I’ve experienced, frozen yogurt is better than frozen kefir – though the taste is similar the texture of frozen yogurt is superior. I’d say that frozen kefir doesn’t taste as good as the best frozen yogurt but it doesn’t taste different enough from yogurt to make a difference to the consumer. However, if the consumer understands and cares that kefir is healthier than yogurt, it might make a difference for a segment of frozen yogurt consumers. Right now it’s difficult to find frozen kefir other than at the supermarket but that could change.

Target and Freshii announced a partnership late last year. Target is rebranding some of its cafes (it's unclear how many will be remodeled and rebranded) with Freshii opening locations in nine test markets in Chicago and Minneapolis. California will be the next test market for Freshii. With 1,700 Target stores with cafes, you could be seeing frozen kefir 
much closer to you. Update: The Freshii inside the Target on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, CA is open but it doesn't have frozen kefir. Froyo is on the menu (though the machine wasn't ready to serve any during my visit).

I spotted a Freshii inside the Old Town Pasadena location and it looks like it's about to open. The soft serve machine was there and frozen kefir was on the menu.

Lifeway’s Starfruit Café serves frozen kefir in the Chicago area. Freshii switched from frozen yogurt to frozen kefir at some locations last summer, including in the Chicago area. Some Argo Tea locations in Chicago offer Lifeway frozen kefir.

Other frozen kefir purveyors outside of Chicago include:

• deKefir: 333 Bay St., Toronto, Canada
• Swirls Frozen Kefir, Unit 195A SM Mall of Asia JW Diokno Blvd., Pasay, Pasay City, Philippines
• Vanilla Jill’s, 298 Blair Blvd., Eugene, OR

Treat Petite was a frozen kefir shop in New York City that closed in 2012.

Lifeway’s frozen kefir products are distributed in the US, Canada, and the UK and can be found using the store locator: http://lifewaykefir.com/where-to-buy/

Babushka produces frozen kefir and is available at markets in Australia: http://babushkaskefir.com.au/find-us/

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.

New Fro-yo Trend: Bottoms Bars

Fro-yo girl here. Everyone knows about fro-yo toppings. But what about fro-yo bottoms? Fro-yo bottoms (aka bottoming) represent a new trend in the fro-yo industry. I’m not sure exactly who started the trend (though apparently it was someone on the East Coast) but several fro-yo shops now offer bottoms. Bottoms bars seem much more popular in the East/Midwest. While many fro-yo shops offer cones and waffle bowls, bottoms have expanded to include other items, mostly baked goods. 

* Brrrberry in NC calls their bottoms bar the “original” bottoms bar. The bottoms bar features cookies, brownies and pecan pies.
* Zinga, with locations in MA, CA, CO, TX, VA and NH, makes fresh baked bottoms. The bottoms are baked at the store and “include vanilla and gluten-free chocolate cake, waffle bowls, brownies and other seasonal selections.”
* Yogurtology in AZ & FL offers donuts, moon pies, cookies and brownies as bottoms.
* Twister’z in Richmond, VA offers cake bottoms and waffle cones.
* Yogeez in Ohio has cookies, doughnuts, brownies and vanilla wafers as bottoms.

Locally, Yogurt Hill in downtown Hayward offers a bottoms bar with cinnamon rolls, brownies, pretzels, and cookies. I’ve had steel cut oatmeal underneath my fro-yo at Fraiche Yogurt (SF, Palo Alto), but they don’t use the term bottoms.

There’s something disturbing about putting a doughnut under my fro-yo. On the other hand, warm brown rice (Vanilla Jill’s in Eugene, OR) and warm steel cut oatmeal make delicious, healthy bottoms.

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

* YOGURT HILL: 1081 B Street, Hayward, CA 94541

Fro-yo West Coast Road Trip

Fro-yo girl here. It’s summertime and the perfect time for a fro-yo road trip. I recently took a road trip from Washington to California, stopping at Vanilla Jill’s in Eugene, OR for fro-yo. During the drive through Southern Oregon on the I-5, I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the “larger” towns had fro-yo shops. It’s not a fro-yo wasteland out there. 

Yogurt Hut in has three locations in Southern Oregon: Medford, Grants Pass, and Ashland. Each location features 10 flavors of self-serve fro-yo a day. Medford has two fro-yo shops..

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

Vanilla Jill’s: Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight

Fro-yo girl here. There are plenty of fro-yo shops out there but very few offer something unique and innovative. Vanilla Jill’s in Eugene, OR is one of the few shops that took me by surprise and provided me with something truly different. The shop clearly reflects the vision of the owners.

Their frozen yogurt is organic and made with local ingredients like Nancy’s organic kefir. It comes in scoopable and soft-serve form. They have vegan flavors too. You can find Vanilla Jill’s fro-yo pints at the shop and several markets in Eugene. They offer a great vanilla bean flavor (of course), tart, and creative flavors like carrot-cinnamon and coconut-lime.Their fro-yo tastes like natural yogurt. It’s on the icy side (but not watery), making it extra refreshing.

The toppings are not what you typically see either. They carry specialty syrups (flavors include rose, lavender and espresso), nuts, cookies, crystallized ginger, steamed brown rice, fresh fruit, applesauce, maple syrup, chocolate ganache sauce, etc. I loved the sweet steamed brown rice under my tart fro-yo. The nutty, warm, chewy texture was a perfect complement to the fro-yo. Organic rainbow sprinkles are always free.

Vanilla Jill’s also has fro-yo shakes, smoothies, kombucha, and shop special combos.

The place has family friendly wholesome charm and doesn’t look or feel like your typical fro-yo shop. There’s a cute story about the company on the wall, children’s crayon drawings on the wall and a Vanilla Jill’s cart on wheels. It's eco-friendly too.

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

* VANILLA JILL’S: 460 Coburg Rd. #300, Eugene, OR

Fro-yo Pictures From Portland, OR

Fro-yo girl here. I have some fro-yo related pictures to share from Portland, OR. The 2011 Portland Visitor’s Map has a fro-yo shop, Tartberry self-serve yogurt, on the cover. Tartberry is on the map too. View the map online at http://portlandmap.com/

I spotted Vanilla Jill’s fro-yo (local, handmade fro-yo from Eugene, OR) at a local food cooperative, Food Front, but didn’t get a chance to try it. They carried quite a few flavors, including strawberry, peanut butter, dark chocolate, vanilla bean, carrot-cinnamon, lemon, tart. Some were vegan. A pint was $6.49. Unfortunately, our hotel didn’t have a in room fridge/freezer and we were too full to eat a pint of fro-yo. I’d hate to buy a pint and waste most of it. 

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

* FOOD FRONT COOPERATIVE GROCERY: 2375 NW Thurman St., Northwest Portland, OR

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