Calling All US Froyo Shop Owners: The National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey is Now Open

 

Fro-yo girl here. The National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey, sponsored by the International Frozen Yogurt Association, is now open.

Who Should Take the Survey

Anyone who owns a frozen yogurt shop or a business that serves frozen yogurt in the US is invited to participate. Owners who take the survey will be able to sign up to receive the survey results while taking the survey. The results will help froyo shop owners better understand how their shop compares to other shops. This year’s results will also be compared to last year’s results. The results should be available in November.

The National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey asks shop owners about shop performance, satisfaction with suppliers, operational practices, management practices, outlook, etc. This year's survey includes new questions about profitability and pricing.

The anonymous online survey takes about 7 minutes to complete and can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2021froyoowner

The survey will remain open from now till midnight PST on Sunday, October 31, 2021.

How to See the Results

Suppliers and others who are interested in the results but do not own a frozen yogurt store can receive the survey results by sharing IFYA’s pinned Facebook (@froyoassociation) post about the survey, reposting the Instagram post about the survey (@froyossociation) or retweeting the pinned survey tweet (@froyogirl).

Only foodservice business owners who participate in the current National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey, those who share the survey URL, and IFYA advisory board members will have free access to the full results of the shop owner survey. IFYA members will have free access to a limited set of results.

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.

Menchie’s Closes in Glendale, CA

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s has closed in Glendale, California. I’m in the area all the time and the outdoor Menchie’s signs were up until maybe a week ago? The exterior signs and the froyo machines have been removed.

Yelp says the location is temporarily closed and scheduled to reopen on January 1, 2022. Google marks it as permanently closed. Since they removed the signs and the location is no longer listed on the Menchie’s website, I’m pretty sure that it’s permanently closed. The last four reviewers on Yelp gave Menchie’s Glendale one star. People complained about the limited flavors, limited texture and terrible texture. Sadly, the same things can be said about the Menchie’s in South Pasadena.

Menchie’s Glendale opened in February 2017.

Meanwhile, Menchie’s Burbank/Toluca Lake is temporarily closed. They’re staying in the same plaza and should reopen in the spring of 2022.

MENCHIE’S GLENDALE: 251 N Brand Blvd Glendale, CA 91203

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.

The Last Tuttimelon Location

Tuttimelon Novato

Fro-yo girl. Four years ago, I wrote about the history of Tuttimelon, which at one point had about 30 locations. By 2017, there were only four branches left: Alameda, Fairfield, Novato, and Ontario. Tuttimelon Ontario closed in 2019. Tuttimelon Alameda and Tuttimelon Fairfield made it to 2020 but closed for good in late 2020, due to the pandemic.

This means that there is just one last Tuttimelon open, Tuttimelon Novato. It seems to be going strong. Tuttimelon Novato, established in 2010. Tuttimelon is still going strong in Novato. “Tuttimelon specializes in premium self created fat free frozen yogurt along with an extensive toppings bar. Featuring "Tutti-WOW" with only 64 calories /cup, all natural, lactose free and very low carbs! Come taste a truly guiltless pleasure. We also serve 26 wonderful flavors of hand crafted, artisan Gelatos. While you're there, try the 100% fruit and vegetable granitas (smoothies) from Italy and the fresh baked gourmet stuffed soft pretzels and Belgium Waffles. The Novato location specializes in creating their own unique flavor offerings in Yogurt and Gelato, featuring the best / healthiest ingredients available.”

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

TUTTIMELON: Vintage Oaks At Novato, 132 Vintage Way #F-9, Novato, CA 94945

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.

National Spoon Day Promo & New Flavor at Yogurtland: Milk Tea

Fro-yo girl here. Happy National Spoon Day, October 7! I had my calendar marked and visited Yogurtland today for the National Spoon Day promo: get a free giant spoon with a minimum $10 in-store transaction. The giant spoon is brand new and raspberry in color. It says Yogurtland on the front of the spoon (on the handle) and nothing on the back. The spoon is 12 inches long. The giant spoon is available today while supplies last (one spoon per transaction). Online and third party delivery orders are excluded from the promo.

I heard each Yogurtland store only received a bag full of giant spoons (not a case worth of spoons). Also, some diehard spoon collectors were waiting outside my local Yogurtland before they even opened. Wow.

And yes, there’s a new flavor, Milk Tea frozen yogurt. Yogurtland describes it as, “Our delicious new Milk Tea flavor is a throwback to the first Yogurtland, which started as a boba tea shop. It's enhanced with notes of brown sugar and made with real black tea!” Finally! I’ve been asking for milk tea froyo for many years. Also, since Yogurtland did start as a boba shop, I thought they would come out with a milk tea flavor a long time ago. Milk Tea froyo should be their official 15th anniversary flavor. They should have provided boba as a topping.

Milk Tea froyo: Liked it a lot! It tasted like real black milk tea only in yogurt form. I could taste the black tea. It was creamy and smooth. Recommended toppings: chocolate chips, mochi. Milk Tea froyo is nonfat and gluten-free.

I also spied a new topping: orange sprinkles. Cute.

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.

Formula Brew Booch Pops Review

Fro-yo girl here. I was excited to find the world’s first nationally distributed frozen kombucha pops, Booch Pops, at Bristol Farms in South Pasadena, CA. Erewhon also carries Booch Pops though the Silverlake location was out of stock when I checked. One box contains 4 pops. A box was $6.99 regular price at Bristol Farms.

Booch Pops are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, organic, and lower in sugar than your typical sugary frozen pops. Available flavors: raspberry lime watermelon, strawberry ginger, lemon turmeric pepper, and pineapple mango. One pop is 2.5 fl oz and is made with fresh fruit and kombucha tea. The pops are all-natural and contain live kombucha cultures.

I’m glad that I found the Lemon Turmeric Pepper flavor because it has the least amount of sugar. It was firm and icy, but packed with flavor. It tasted like a tart lemonade but more intense, and slightly spicy because of the ginger. I couldn’t tell that it was kombucha and I couldn’t detect the black pepper. One pop is 20 calories, 0g fat, 5g total carbs, 4g sugars, and 0g protein. I enjoyed how flavorful the pop was.

4 out of 5 stars.

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.

Boston Style Pizza and Mix-In Froyo in Boston

Photo credit: Sally B., Yelp

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve seen froyo offered in all kinds of places, from other types of restaurants to rest stops and car washes. Over the years, I’ve written about hidden places for froyo multiple times. But in this post, I wanted to cover local froyo combinations – that is, food combinations involving froyo that are favored by certain locales.

I remember being in Vancouver years ago and coming across the Boston Pizza chain. At the time, I didn’t know that there was anything different or special about pizza in Boston. Boston Pizza has over 380 restaurants in Canada, so there must be something different about pizza in Boston. Boston-style pizza, aka Greek style or Greek pizza, is pan pizza. The Greek community in Boston invented pan pizza in the early 1950s. The pizza dough is pressed into a well-oiled pan and develops a crispy crust in the oven.

Anyway, several pizza places in and around Boston offer mix-in style froyo, so it must be a thing there. Here are the ones that I found.

• Andalus Pizza, 153 Sutherland Rd, Brighton, MA 02135
• Arlington Café, 475 Summer St, Arlington, MA 02474
• Bits & Bites Café, 912 Main St, Waltham, MA 02451
• Brighton’s Best Pizza, 600 Washington St, Boston, MA 02135
• Broadway’s Best Pizza, 483 E Broadway, Boston, MA 02127
• Café 472, 472 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
• Café Podima, 168 Cambridge St, Boston, MA 02114
• Cappy’s Pizza, 82 Westland Ave., Boston, MA 02115
• Hidyan Mediterranean Grill, 80 Kilmarnock St, Boston, MA 02115
• Natalie’s Pizzeria, 1312 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02134
• Nicole’s Pizza, 639 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02118
• Pizza Connection Plus, 41 Safford St, Quincy, MA 02170
• Supreme House of Pizza, 313 Old Colony Ave, Boston, MA 02127

See, I told you it was a thing in Boston. Not all the shops on the list have Boston-style pizza and mix-in froyo but they do have pizza and froyo. I think they all deliver too!

I can see why the Greeks created Greek style pizza in the 1950s. They probably saw that the Italians were doing well with their pizza shops and they decided to put a Greek spin on pizza to stand out. But why do so many pizzerias in Boston carry froyo? My guess is that it goes back to the popularity of frozen yogurt in the 1970s when the first frozen yogurt shop in the country, The Spa, opened at Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA). They served health food and froyo, but not pizza. But they could have easily inspired local pizza places to carry froyo. And Bostonians might have many fond memories of eating pizza and froyo, so newer froyo shops might have been inspired to carry on a local tradition.

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 Menchie’s Spooktacular Halloween Spoons

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s has new limited time only, collectible Halloween spoons. The Halloween 2021 spoon design features Menchie as a vampire, surrounded by bats. You can see Chip in a pumpkin on the back of the spoon. The spoon is orange and says Spooktacular on it. They look like the spoons from Halloween 2021 only those were blue.

I also spotted the return of their pumpkin froyo flavor, Pumpkin Harvest.

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.