2009: The Fro-yo Year in Review

Fro-yo girl here. Back in January 2008, I developed my wish list for 2009. Most of my wishes had come true by June 2009. Here’s a look back at what I wished for and what actually happened.

* Soy fro-yo: Not much has changed. It’s still offered by Fraiche but hasn’t caught on. WholeSoy & Co. offers pints of organic soy fro-yo at health food supermarkets but I haven’t seen it yet: http://www.wholesoyco.com/product_frozen.html and it doesn’t come in any tart flavors
* Kefir fro-yo: Culture offered it a few times but not for long. Apparently it didn’t agree with their fro-yo machines. Starfruit Café in Chicago added a second location in 2009.
* New fro-yo flavors: There was much progress in this area from all over the world. In the Bay Area, Blush introduced the first organic cookies n’ cream flavor, along with guava and pina colada. Tuttimelon launched many new flavors including passionfruit, coconut, guava, and almond. Pinkberry added passionfruit, coconut, and chocolate. Red Mango added pumpkin spice and the unique Tangomonium. Sadly, some unique flavors like Chill Café’s Red Tea are no longer available.
* Mochi at Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt: I’m very frustrated that they still don’t have mochi. It’s almost unforgivable. I know that they aren’t like other fro-yo shops but mochi is my favorite fro-yo topping.
* More homemade mochi all over: This really happened at places like Sweet Orchid in Fremont, Coco Swirl, Hello Desserts, Yogurtastic, and Fraiche. And flavored mochi became fairly common.
* Tuttimelon’s growth continues: Tuttimelon continues to be the largest fro-yo player in the Bay Area, expanding into almost every SF neighborhood, the South Bay, Peninsula, East Bay, Asia, and Canada. Most of the new locations are self-serve.
* Fro-yo at Target and Trader Joe’s: Trader Joe’s offers frozen tart fro-yo. Target carries Ben & Jerry’s fro-yo.
* Tart fro-yo in your local supermarket freezer section: Trader Joe’s, Dreyer’s, Haagen Daaz and Cefiore answered the call for supermarket tart fro-yo.

I’m fairly happy with 2009 because most people in the Bay Area can now get fro-yo without driving too far and fro-yo shops keep on opening. There were also unexpected surprises like my new collection of Yogurtland spoons.

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

New Items at Culture: Frozen Kefir (the first in the Bay Area), Yo’Wiches, Fro-yo Shakes

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been curious about frozen kefir for a long time and Culture just started offering it! It’s blueberry flavored and excellent (sweeter/less sour than their original tart). They’re the first shop in the Bay Area to offer frozen kefir.

Culture is also the first in the Bay Area to offer Yo’Wiches (fro-yo sandwiches), a heavenly combination of Mary’s housemade cookies and Alexis’s organic fro-yo ($4.49). They have two flavors right now: Chocolate cookies w/ chocolate fro-yo and Gingersnap cookies w/ vanilla fro-yo.

Fro-yo shakes are now on the menu too! You can even add malt to the mix. Malted fro-yo shakes. Mmm.

Love Mary’s crisps? You can now pre-order the crisps and enjoy them at home.

They still don’t have mochi though. I almost don’t miss it which is saying a lot because that’s usually my favorite topping.

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

* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: 340 S California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306

Fro-Yo Girl's Wish List for 2009

Fro-yo girl here. A new year of fro-yo is upon us accompanied as usual with hopes and dreams for a better future. What does fro-yo girl wish for? Let’s see.

• Soy fro-yo: It already exists but is hard to find. Soy milk is mainstream now and there are plenty of lactose intolerant individuals. I’m not lactose intolerant but I love soy milk.
• Kefir fro-yo: The new Starfruit in Chicago offers kefir fro-yo. I’m definitely intrigued.
• New fro-yo flavors: I hope more fro-yo shops follow the example set by Culture and Chill by coming up with new fro-yo flavors. I’m hoping for two flavors in particular: honey and Meyer lemon.
• Mochi at Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt: Everyone knows that I love Culture and its homemade toppings but I still miss my mochi balls. I also wish I didn’t have to drive 40 miles for their fro-yo.
• More homemade mochi all over: What can I say, mochi balls are my favorite fro-yo topping. Maybe some place will even offer moffles (mochi waffles)?
• Tuttimelon’s growth continues: Tuttimelon already has the most locations in the Bay Area (5 in 2008) and there are 9 more on the way (for now). I’m all for the world domination of Tuttimelon!
• Fro-yo at Target and Trader Joe’s: They carry yogurt parfaits and are responsive to trends. Adding fro-yo wouldn’t be so difficult.
• Tart fro-yo in your local supermarket freezer section. There’s a real market opportunity here that I’m sure someone will see and pursue in 2009.

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