2016 Froyo Shop Halloween Spirit Award Winner Announced

Fro-yo girl here. Happy Froyo Halloween! Halloween is my favorite holiday and during Halloween season, I’m always on the lookout for Halloween spirit at froyo shops. Each year I’ll pick out a froyo shop (or froyo chain) for showing the most Halloween spirit.

The previous winners were:

2013: Menchie’s

2014: 16 Handles

2015: Wakaberry

Last year’s winner, Wakaberry, had a Halloween promotion with the new movie, Hotel Transylvania 2. They had Halloween cups, flavors, toppings, and a contest with Halloween prizes.

This year, 16 Handles has a limited time Midnight Tahitian Vanilla flavor that’s black as the night. So fun! But the 2016 Froyo Shop Halloween Spirit Award goes to… Menchie’s. Menchie’s has always shown Halloween spirit and this year they had Halloween spoons (Chip and Mookie in costume). You can also get Halloween froyo cakes and waffles with Halloween designs at select locations. Of course they brought back their pumpkin froyo, Harvest Pumpkin. I’ve also seen some Menchie’s locations with Halloween decorations, including Menchie's in Japan.

You can get free froyo at the Menchie’s in El Monte, CA on Halloween between 5 – 7 PM if you come in costume. Other Menchie’s locations have Halloween promos too. Be sure to share your ghoulish Menchie’s creations with the hashtag, #MenchiesMonsterMix.

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.

2016 Halloween Froyo Specials

Fro-yo girl here. Happy Froyo Halloween! In case you missed it, the International Frozen Yogurt Association has the most comprehensive list of froyo shops with Halloween specials. This list is constantly updated.

Shops all over the world are celebrating Halloween with specials, contests, toppings, flavors, etc. Some offer free froyo on or near Halloween though you should be ready to wear a costume.

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 DreamWorks Animation Trolls Inspired Flavor at Yogurtland: Blueberry Mangosteen Tart

Fro-yo girl here. The Yogurtland Celebrates Trolls promotion continues with a new limited time flavor, Satin & Chenille’s Blueberry Mangosteen Tart.

The flavor is described as “The Fashion Twins know everything about up and coming trends, which is why they’re all about our super refreshing Blueberry Mangosteen Tart. It combines real blueberries with sweet and tangy mangosteen for a vitamin C-fortified treat that’s bursting with flavor.” It’s non-fat.

I don’t think I’ve had mangosteen yet, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect. But I tried Blueberry Mangosteen Tart and I really like it. It’s tangier than usual and I taste the blueberries (love blueberries) and something else – it tasted grape like to me but others describe mangosteen as tasting like strawberries, kiwis, plums, peaches, etc. I remember how much I liked the Blueberry Acai flavor at Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt. The mangosteen gives the flavor that extra punch; it’s intriguing. Recommended toppings: blueberry puree, strawberries, lychee, and mochi.

Mangosteens have high levels of anti-oxidants and are considered to be superfruit. In Asia, the mangosteen is known as the queen of fruit.

The next new flavor is Cooper’s Caramel Apple, which starts swirling on November 3.

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.

Last Free Standing Yogen Fruz Locations in California Close

Fro-yo girl here. At one time Yogen Fruz had multiple free standing locations in California, including shops in San Francisco, Novato, San Jose, Tarzana, La Jolla, Torrance, Monterey Park, Beverly Hills, etc. Yogen Fruz, founded in Toronto, Canada in 1986, grew rapidly in the 80’s and 90’s. 

Seeing the growth of frozen yogurt in California in mid-2000’s, Yogen Fruz decided to expand their US presence. In 2008, they opened multiple locations in California. Those locations feature their Mix It style froyo (the customer chooses the base and the add ins, and everything is blended together) and Top It style. Top It was similar to the other soft serve style frozen yogurt products found at most froyo shops. In 2010, Yogen Fruz opened its first self-serve location; their self-serve offering is called U Serve. The Tarzana location switched to a self-serve format.

Earlier this year the last free standing Yogen Fruz locations closed. Yogen Fruz still has a presence in California, inside a few AMC movie theaters.

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.

Yogurtland Celebrates DreamWorks Trolls

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland’s new holiday promotion started today and it runs through December 21. Yogurtland Celebrates DreamWorks Trolls (a new movie) will include “ten hair-raising flavors,” limited edition Trolls cups, and 2 collectible Trolls spoons.

The promotional flavors and release dates are:

* Poppy’s White Chocolate Raspberry starting October 20

* Creek’s Butterscotch Pudding Gelato starting October 20

* Satin & Chenille’s Blueberry Mangosteen Tart starting October 27

* Cooper’s Caramel Apple starting November 3

* DJ Suki’s Cranberry Raspberry Tart starting November 10

* Biggie’s Frosted Cookie starting November 17

* Branch’s Peanut Butter Caramel starting November 24

* King Peppy’s Chocolate Covered Pretzel starting December 1

* Guy Diamond’s White Chocolate Peppermint starting December 8

* Smidge’s Cinnamon Donut Holes starting December 15

You’ll notice that not all of the flavors are brand new but most are. Also, there’s a new promotional flavor every week. Plus they started the promotion on Thursday rather than Friday. The Yogurtland staff wore Trolls blue t-shirts and visors that had tufts of troll hair - cute.

During my visit I received blue Troll spoons. I think the featured Troll is named Branch. The spoon doesn’t say and his back isn’t detailed. They had the Trolls cups and a new topping, chocolate covered pretzels.

Poppy’s White Chocolate Raspberry is described as “Poppy sings, she dances, and she’s the most insanely happy Troll of all. Duh! That’s what happens when you dig into this decadent flavor that blends real white chocolate and raspberries all in one spoonful.” It’s a lowfat flavor. The raspberry flavor is stronger than the white chocolate but the white chocolate mellows the raspberry. The raspberry isn’t tart at all. Recommended toppings: granola, raspberries, white chocolate chips.

Creek’s Butterscotch Pudding Gelato is described as, “The sweet, buttery flavor of butterscotch and the creaminess of pudding pair perfectly in this decadent gelato by Creek, so you can experience just how delicious life can be.” Their gelato has live and active cultures. The creamy flavor tastes like sweet butterscotch without being cloyingly sweet. Recommended toppings: almonds, cheesecake, graham cracker crumbs

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.

Eighth Blogiversary of Fro-Yo Girl Speaks

Fro-yo girl here. Fro-yo Girl speaks turns 8 years old today, October 20, 2016. I’m still living in Southern California and going to different frozen yogurt shops. There are still way too many shops for me to get to all of them, though of course I’ve been to all the shops within a 20 minute drive. The shops downtown are more challenging to get to with the heat and the lack of parking.

Traveling and moving have allowed me to directly observe that frozen yogurt is much more popular in Southern California. It’s a lot warmer here and it’s warm-to-hot all year. While some froyo shops are closing, even more are still opening (believe it or not). There are fewer new shops opening in Northern California.

San Francisco is an odd city – it doesn’t have a big chain frozen yogurt shop, except Pinkberry. Yogen Fruz and Yogurtland used to have shops there. There aren’t many Menchie’s locations in the Bay Area. They’re not in San Francisco or Palo Alto. Of course both places have high rents.

The last time I visited San Francisco and had froyo at my favorite places, I was alarmed that several of them are no longer as good as they used to be. This definitely saddens me.

I’m always asked for froyo shop recommendations. My current recommendations are the following:

• Souvla (San Francisco, CA – various locations): Their simple Greek housemade frozen yogurt is delicious and refreshing. It also pairs well with their short selection of toppings. I recommend the housemade baklava and sour cherry syrup. Their salads are simple but so good too.
• Yoga-urt (1407 W Kenneth Rd., Glendale, CA): I didn’t know about Kenneth Village till Yoga-urt opened a little over a year ago. Their non-dairy, organic frozen yogurt is amazing – rich, creamy, with probiotics. It’s Mr. Froyo’s favorite place. I do miss the tang of cow milk yogurt that nut based milk yogurt doesn’t have but I appreciate the quality and flavors at Yoga-urt.
• Go Greek Yogurt (Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar): Their yogurt is imported from Greece and it does taste different. They make their frozen yogurt with that Greek yogurt and it’s a rich, indulgent treat. I love that they have Greek toppings too. Try the rose preserve.
• Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (1954 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles): For the best scoopable frozen yogurt, head to Jeni's in Los Feliz. While Jeni's is known for ice cream, their biodynamic frozen yogurt is even better than their ice cream. The frozen yogurt bursts with tangy flavor.

Lately I’ve been obsessed with plain tart frozen yogurt with housemade baklava at Souvla. Housemade toppings are such a treat!

If you love frozen yogurt, be sure to 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/

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.

Search For the Best Froyo in San Diego

Fro-yo girl here. I’m back from San Diego. I hadn’t visited for years so I had a lot of froyo to catch up on. There are over 200 froyo shops in the greater San Diego area and many of them are small independent shops. Frozen yogurt is everywhere and I saw many froyo shops while we were out and about. There are froyo kiosks at the airport, inside the Hilton Bayfront Hotel (across from the Convention Center) and Petco Park.

Many of the froyo shops are highly reviewed, including My Yogurt, Fiji Yogurt, Yogurt on the Rocks, In the Mix, Rockie’s Frozen Yogurt, Yogurt Express, Cloud 9, Forbidden Yogurt, and more.

Froyo shops visited:

• Chillbox (214 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA): Located in downtown San Diego right by Petco Park, Chillbox is Greece’s largest self-serve frozen yogurt chain. Their frozen yogurt comes from Greece and it’s richer, creamier, thicker and milder than other yogurts. They only carry 4 flavors a day. Try the natural flavor.
• In the Mix (Poway, CA): Winner of the 2016 Best Frozen Yogurt in San Diego A-List award, In the Mix is known for its unique specialty flavors like ube and banana shake. This quaint small family owned shop feels well-maintained and clean. While we were there someone came out to test/maintain the machine. The ube was sweet, creamy, mild and pleasant. The tart frozen yogurts tasted more tart than average. 
• Rockie’s Frozen Yogurt (7612 Linda Vista Rd #114, San Diego, CA): This is the old school option but where they swirl the froyo for you (and the swirls are generous). There’s just as much variety as with self-serve shops with 16 flavors a day. They also have smoothies, acai bowls and other treats. We loved the old school vibe and the original froyo artwork on the walls. The froyo also had wonderful consistency and appearance. The flavors weren’t the best that I’ve had but I was definitely charmed.
• Yogurt World (4646 Convoy St., San Diego, CA): Yogurt World was one of the earliest self-serve shops in the San Diego area. This is their first location; it opened in 2007. There are 16 self-serve flavors a day, including “Asian” flavors like green coconut, taro and Asian peach tart. The consistency was on the loose, icy side and the toppings didn’t look fresh.

Each of the froyo shops we visited had a different vibe. For sweet froyo, I would go to Rockie’s. For tart froyo, the choice is a bit more difficult. Chillbox is definitely different but their tart froyo is not that tart nor is it refreshing. I’d probably go to In the Mix or a chain (Pinkberry, Yogurtland).

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.