Upcoming Fro-yo Open Houses in Northern CA

Fro-yo girl here. YoCream is sponsoring a series of open houses in Northern California. The events, which are attended by fro-yo shop owners (existing ones and aspiring) are a place for fro-yo networking and information gathering. You can learn about industry trends and store operations, and try new fro-yo flavors and toppings, etc. Vendors will be on hand from 10 AM - 4 PM.

YoCream will be there with their brand new product line, Activia soft serve fro-yo. I'm excited about trying it.

June 1: Taylor Freezers, 221 Harris Ct, South San Francisco, CA
June 2: Taylor Freezers, 524 Display Way, West Sacramento, CA
June 9: Western Freezers, 42285 Osgood Rd, Unit F, Fremont, CA

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

Northern California Soft Serve Show

Fro-yo girl here. I checked out today's Northern California Soft Serve Show, sponsored by Southwest Traders, at the Electro-Freeze Showroom in Pleasanton today. Attendance was free and most of the attendees were fro-yo shop owners. The show was a chance to meet the vendors and check out the latest in fro-yo. And there was free fro-yo.

TR Toppers table of toppings took up the center of the room. You could sample toppings like iced animal cookies, mini peanut butter cups, Andes mints, etc. They now offer mini fruit pies. New toppings included gold nuggets (pieces of chocolate), mini sour gummi worms and chocolate coated waffle pieces. I liked the strawberry fizzy candy - nice crunch and not too sweet.



There were 12 flavors of fro-yo available for sampling from Rainbow's End, Summit, and Miss Karen's. Summit had two new fro-yo flavors, maraschino cherry tart and mandarin orange tart. Southwest Traders no longer carries YoCream (a shocking turn of events, I'm not sure what happened). Miss Karen's has been around since the 1970s and I was curious to try their fro-yo. They had red velvet, butter pecan, chocolate decadence, pineapple express tart and genuine tart. The red velvet flavor was very, very sweet, like a regular chocolate fro-yo but sweeter. The pineapple express tart was very creamy and didn't have that refreshing quality that I like in tart fro-yo. The aftertaste was somewhat bitter.

Other vendors had samples of syrups, smoothies, and paper cups.

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

* ELECTRO-FREEZE: 1032 Serpentine Lane #102, Pleasanton, CA

Fro-yo Trade Show Coverage (4/23 at Taylor Freezers)

Fro-yo girl here. I swung by the frozen yogurt trade show at the Taylor Freezers in South San Francisco. It was such a thrill to see the warehouse area with Taylor equipment and parts. Taylor has special events (check http://www.taylorfreezers.com) like gelato school (and maybe fro-yo school?)

The fro-yo show brought together the key suppliers of the fro-yo industry. And yes, there was free fro-yo (from YoCream, Rainbow’s End and Sambazon) and fro-yo toppings (TR Toppers, Nell Davis Old Fashioned Ice Cream Company).

A bit about the vendors:
* TAYLOR: If you’ve ever had soft serve anything, you’re sure to have seen their soft serve equipment. I’ve heard that they have a market share of 80 – 90%.
* YOCREAM (http://www.yocream.com/): Founded in 1976, YoCream is the leading supplier of the frozen yogurt mix. I met Barbara R., their key account manager. A true fro-yo industry legend and veteran, she once represented Honey Hill Farms. Her son, Jason R., represents another fro-yo brand, Rainbow’s End. I’m hoping to go to Portland, OR for a YoCream factory tour and to see their brand new retail store which opened last month.
* LOLLICUP (http://www.cupdepot.com/): I thought they might bring boba/pearl tea samples but they didn’t. I learned that Lollicup is the leading manufacturer of cold/hot paper food containers (under the Karat brand). They supply 90% of fro-yo businesses and offer custom logo cups. I saw cups with the logos of Tuttimelon, Chill, Whimsical, Yogurt Bar, and many more.
* SOUTHWEST TRADERS (http://www.southwesttraders.com): The leading distributor offers one stop shopping for quick service restaurants (including frozen yogurt shops).
* TR TOPPERS (http://www.trtoppers.com/products.html): TR Toppers offers chopped and non-chopped candies, baked goods, and other toppings, including Reese’s™ Peanut Butter Cups, cheesecake pieces, sprinkles, yogurt chips, Kit Kat, etc.
* SMOOTHEZE and SUMMIT PREMIUM GELATO (http://www.srfoodgroup.com/product.html): They offer healthy smoothie mixes (just scoop, add water and blend) and premium gelato. I saw the free gelato but I didn’t try any – I’m all about the fro-yo.
* SAMBAZON (http://www.sambazon.com/): They brought a tasty acai fro-yo to the show. Sambazon is the first company to import certified Organic Acai from Brazil to the US.
* NELL DAVIS OLD FASHIONED ICE CREAM COMPANY: They offer toppings. At the show they had Dae Doo Food Co. pastel mochi and fruity jelly cubes, along with candy toppings. I always wondered about those Korean jelly cubes (I’ve seen them at Kukje). I don’t think I’d like them on fro-yo.

Attendees included fro-yo luminaries as Roy L. (Mr. Tuttimelon) and the owners of Icebee, Yumygurt, etc.

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

Fro-Yo Trade Show in South SF on 4/23

Fro-yo girl here. Are you interested in learning more about the fro-yo business? Want to attend a fro-yo/gelato trade show? Southwest Traders, a distributor of fro-yo, ice cream, smoothies and juice is sponsoring a FREE product show featuring:

* Soft serve fro-yo and sorbet (new flavors!)
* New toppings
* Soft serve gelato
* Italian gelato (including recipes)
* All in one smoothies
* Acai frozen yogurt and smoothies
* Cream whippers that make flavored whipped cream

Get quotes for personalized logo containers and cups. Buy Taylor freezer equipment.

It’s your chance to meet with YoCream, Rainbow’s End, Lollicup, TR Toppers, Smootheze, Summit Premium Gelato Base, Sambazon, and Nell Davis Old Fashioned Ice Cream Company. Sample their wares! Learn more about their products!

* SF show (4/23 from 10 AM – 4 PM): Taylor Freezers, 221 Harris Ct., South San Francisco, CA
* Sacramento show (4/24 from 10 AM – 4 PM): Taylor Freezers, 545 Jefferson Blvd, West Sacramento, CA