Tenth Blogiversary of Fro-yo Girl Speaks

Fro-yo girl here. This is embarrassing, but I forgot to acknowledge my tenth blogiversary on October 20, 2018. I was so busy planning for Halloween that it just slipped my mind. This week I finally organized my froyo spoon collection and I realized I’ve been collecting froyo spoons for almost ten years. I have so many spoons that I need to sell or trade some of them (see my next post).

Ten years. I’ve seen so many froyo shops come and go. The ones that closed that I really miss are:

• Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt in Palo Alto (my 2008 cup of Culture strawberry froyo with nectarines is pictured, the first picture ever posted to this blog) 
• Jubili in San Francisco: The first place I tried tart froyo and mochi balls
• The original (1st) Tuttimelon on Irving St. in San Francisco 
• Pinkberry in Pasadena and Glendale 
• Sno:la in Beverly Hills 

The question I get asked the most is who has the best froyo. During the past few years while froyo shops have added soft serve ice cream, gelato, and frozen custard, along with indulgent flavors, I’ve been obsessed with the simplicity of the plain Greek frozen yogurt with Greek toppings at Souvla in San Francisco, the organic, sophisticated flavors at Easy Breezy in San Francisco, and the plant-based, organic, kosher, soy-free, probiotic luscious offerings at Yoga-urt in Glendale, CA. The frozen yogurt at the three places I listed tastes fresher and less processed.

If I lived in NYC, I’m sure that I would be a frequent visitor to Culture. I’m happy that I’ve been there more than once. 

My favorite froyo memories over the years are:

• Attending the 2014 Critics Choice TV Awards as Yogurtland's guest. Yogurtland served froyo at the event. The big winners that year were Orange Is the New Black, Masters of Sex, and True Detective. Thanks, Yogurtland!!!
• Attending YoCream's Froyo Conference in 2011 as YoCream's guest. I learned about froyo store operations, toured the factory, and met the founder of YoCream, John Hanna, and other important people in froyo. Thanks, YoCream!!!
• Visiting Yogurtland HQ and talking to Phillip Chang in his office.
• Visiting Menchie's HQ and talking to Amit Kleinberger. He kept smiling!
• Meeting the Pinkberry team, including Ron Graves, and sampling test flavors at Pinkberry HQ
• Attending the NRA Show in Chicago
• Meeting Roy Lam of Tuttimelon and getting the VIP treatment at Tuttimelon openings. I still have all the t-shirts, Tuttimelon merchandise, and Tuttimelon bear.
• Visiting Jonathan Rim, the owner of Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt in Dublin and getting free froyo to take home
• Spending time with the owners of the Bay Area Red Mango locations: Richard, Steven and Yul
• Every National/International Frozen Yogurt Day
• Starting the National Frozen Yogurt Association
• Conducting froyo research
• Winning the Yogurtland San Francisco marketing plan competition
• The time Yogurtland sent me a set of Tokidoki froyo spoons and a Tokidoki t-shirt

I started the blog in 2008 to track frozen yogurt news – and that’s still the main purpose. Thank you so much to my fans and readers and keep eating frozen yogurt! 

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.

Celebrating the Ninth Blogiversary

Fro-yo girl here. Today, Fro-yo Girl Speaks, my blog, turns nine. So much has happened since October 2008, including the waxing and waning of frozen yogurt itself. Only two of the top 10 froyo shops that I named in October 2008 are still open. The number of froyo shops that have closed far outnumbers the ones that are still open, but nine years is a long time. On a positive note, very few Menchie’s and Yogurtland locations have closed in the Bay Area. And, froyo is now an official word in the Merriam Webster dictionary.

I still have many froyo shops to visit in Southern California and I’m happy to see that there are high quality, independent shops like Yoga-urt in Glendale, CA and Go Greek. Yes, I miss my Bay Area froyo shops, but I feel like Souvla’s froyo has inspired other restaurants across the country, including Spread Kitchen in downtown LA, GRK Fresh Kitchen, Kentro in Fullerton, CA, Kali (new) in Palo Alto, CA, Yalla, and Greko in Nashville, TN. These eateries only offer one flavor of froyo, plain, with gourmet Greek inspired toppings.

After all, plain frozen yogurt is still one of the best if not the best, flavor available. I like the simplicity of this new wave of Greek froyo, with the emphasis on quality over quantity. Will it have wide appeal? Probably not, but it will appeal to those who appreciate the true taste of yogurt and it seems fitting, since original tart yogurt is what started wave 2 of the froyo frenzy. It’s not gimmicky, like activated charcoal froyo, 24K gold froyo, unicorn froyo, froyo rolls, or liquid nitrogen froyo, but it’s just great froyo.

If you love frozen yogurt, be sure to join the International Frozen Yogurt Association, the association that I founded in 2013. It’s free to join. The monthly enewsletter is also free and will deliver froyo industry news to your inbox.

Thank you so much to my fans and readers and keep eating frozen yogurt!

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.

Fro-Yo Girl Speaks 6th Blogiversary

Fro-yo girl here. Fro-Yo Girl Speaks turns 6 years old today: October 20, 2014. Happy blogiversary!

Earlier this year I moved to the Greater Los Angeles area, the capital of the second wave of frozen yogurt. Unfortunately, the move makes it nearly impossible for me to meet my original goal of visiting every frozen yogurt shop in the Bay Area. I thought I was going to reach the goal since fewer new froyo stores were opening. On the positive side, I’m now living in an area with hundreds of frozen yogurt shops that I’ve never visited before.

Since I’ve moved, it makes sense for this blog to expand its coverage to include Northern and Southern California froyo. I recently put together my list of notable froyo shops in SoCal. Be sure to check it out later this week.

I also stopped writing for Yelp last October. For those of you who enjoy my food and froyo shop reviews, be sure to check out my review blog on Tumblr: http://formeryelpers.tumblr.com/

Join the International Frozen Yogurt Association, the association that I founded. It’s free to join. The monthly enewsletter is also free and will deliver froyo industry news to your inbox. http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/

Froyo fans, be sure to sign the petition to make froyo the official state food of California! Tell your friends to sign too: http://tinyurl.com/qdnuqkx

Thank you so much to my fans and readers and keep eating frozen yogurt!

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.

Fro-Yo Girl Speaks is 5 Years Old

Fro-yo girl here. Yes, it's the fifth blogiversary for Fro-Yo Girl Speaks. 

It’s been a very exciting year for me because I decided to start the International Frozen Yogurt Association (IFYA) which launched at the end of July 2013. The IFYA promotes the success of the frozen yogurt industry by recognizing quality frozen yogurt stores, increasing access to quality frozen yogurt information, and educating and engaging frozen yogurt consumers. The association is for everyone who loves frozen yogurt. Membership is free. 

I'm excited about IFYA's Swirl of Honor, the first quality seal program specifically for frozen yogurt shops, recognizes shops for their commitment to quality. I hope to see plenty of Swirl of Honor stickers on shop windows.

Initially I thought that after I launched the IFYA, I'd have less content for Fro-Yo Girl Speaks, but the opposite has occurred. Now I spend even more of my time thinking about and writing about frozen yogurt. 

I'm very close to reaching my goal of visiting every frozen yogurt shop in the Bay Area. There aren't as many openings these days and some places have closed before I had a chance to visit them. 

Thank you so much to my fans and readers and keep eating frozen yogurt!

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.