Fro-yo girl here. About three weeks ago, I noticed that my Yogurtland switched to generic pink yogurt spoons. These generic spoons do not say Yogurtland on them. I thought they ran out of spoons and were waiting for a new shipment…however, it’s been three weeks, they still only give out generic pink spoons. Not only that, but I went to another Yogurtland location which only had generic pink spoons.
A quick search on Instagram revealed that most of the recent Yogurtland pictures feature generic pink spoons.
Could this be the end of the Yogurtland’s custom spoons?
The trade war with China is driving up costs of yogurt cups and spoons, according to my packaging source.
Somehow my froyo doesn’t taste as good with a generic spoon, and it certainly doesn’t look as nice. But I do have to ask myself whether I'd rather pay more for froyo or have generic spoons. I guess generic spoons are okay if they have special spoons for campaigns. But what if the Yogurtland cups go away too? Hmm...
In a 2012 interview with Yogurtland founder, Phillip Chang, he said:
"Fifteen million spoons are used a year in our stores. So we made our spoon really substantial. All the customers notice the spoons and they keep them. … They have them in their kitchen drawers.
Chang says the fact that Yogurtland’s signature spoons are reusable makes them “green,” something that he says is important to his business fundamentals.
“I can’t accept something that is used once and thrown away,” he says. “It doesn’t go with my philosophy of frugality.”
Another bonus: “Little kids love the spoon,” Chang says, making the one in the kitchen drawer a constant reminder of Yogurtland."
Speaking of cups, I wonder why Yogurtland is still using the Joy cup design? That Joy promotion was last summer’s promotion. The Joy cups have been around for a year now.
Thanks, Yogurtland, for reaching out to tell me that Yogurtland custom spoons will return. The Joy cup design became the standard cup design because they liked the design so much, but a new cup design will be released in 2019.
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 here. My froyo ambassador notified me that Planet Yogurt inside Serramonte Center in Daly City, CA, has finally closed. I never liked their yogurt and probably last went in 2012, when I reviewed it for thefrozenyogurtreview.com. I gave it 2.5 stars out of 5 at the time. Half a star was for offering more tart flavors than average. Daly City has always had poor froyo options, for some reason. Remember Yogurt Circle?
Planet Yogurt opened at the Serramonte in 2008. It was a smaller shop with 12 self-serve fro-yo flavors a day and the usual toppings of nuts, mochi, cookies, candy, fruit, jellies, popping boba, cereal and syrups. It was definitely cheap and convenient if you happened to be at the mall.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* PLANET YOGURT: 40 Serramonte Ctr, Daly City, CA 94105
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 here. It looks like Menchie’s Port Hueneme is close to open. They are currently hiring employees. While the main sign hasn’t gone up outside of the building, the interior looks close to being finished. The shop was filled with boxes of supplies. The furniture was inside as well.
There will be 12 self-serve froyo flavors a day for 59 cents an ounce. Menchie’s is located next to the Habit.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* MENCHIE’S MANDALAY VILLAGE: 563 West Channel Islands Blvd., Port Hueneme, CA 93041
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 here. Peachwave is a self-serve froyo chain founded in 2009. A new owner and CEO took over in 2015 with the goal of growing the brand. Unlike many froyo chains, Peachwave does not charge its licensees a fee or royalties. And so, the first Peachwave opened in the land of frozen yogurt (Southern California) in late July. Peachwave Calabasas is in a new strip mall that’s mostly vacant at the moment.
The space is brand new and it looked clean, bright, and spacious inside. There were 12 self-serve flavors a day with housemade waffle bowls, cup dividers, toppings, and sauces for 49 cents an ounce. The toppings bar is extensive and included fresh fruit, mochi, popping boba, cookie dough, coconut, candy, cookies, nuts, granola, marshmallows, and sauces. Toppings were labeled.
They use Stoelting soft serve machines. I found the texture to be too soft. The yogurt wasn’t special. I found the froyo flavor selection to be rather boring (e.g., chocolate, vanilla, salted caramel, cookies & cream) though they had NSA flavors, gelato, and non-dairy options. I wish the flavors were more interesting and that they had more than one tart flavor. Also, if you blindfolded me, I could not tell the difference between sweetFrog and Peachwave. Peachwave has better décor without all the Biblical quotes and the knockoff Keroppi mascots.
You can also create your own smoothie or shake, using the clear cups. They have a special, No Weigh Thursdays. Because of the excellent service, I hope they are successful in Calabasas.
According to the Peachwave website, another location is opening in downtown Los Angeles.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* PEACHWAVE: 5755 Las Virgenes Rd, Ste B, Calabasas, CA 91302
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 here. COYO is the first commercially available cultured yogurt alternative made with coconuts. The founder grew up in Fiji, where he collected coconuts and scraped them for dinner. Later, this inspired him to make yogurt out of coconut milk with probiotics.
Whole Foods has been carrying COYO for awhile now. I found COYO for $2.99. It is dairy-free, gluten free, non-GMO, vegan/paleo, gum free and has no added sugar.
* Natural: I was surprised by how thick and clumpy the yogurt was when I opened it. It was thicker than Greek yogurt and even skyr. I recommend stirring it so that it looks smoother and less clumpy. It was so thick that it reminded me of cream cheese, only coconut flavored. Sourness was present but not overwhelmingly so. The coconut flavor was quite prominent. It was too rich and heavy to eat like a regular yogurt, but I quite liked it spread on toast. It would work well for savory applications as well.
One container is 5.3 oz. One serving is 5.3 oz, 390 calories, 38g total fat, 5g sugars, 3g protein, and 10g carbohydrates.
Ingredients (natural): Coconut cream (coconut extract, water), tapioca, pectin, probiotic cultures.
Available flavors: Natural, Mango, Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Mixed Berry
You can use the store locator to find COYO.
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.
Fro-yo girl here. Today is World Plant Milk Day. It seemed like a good day for a Pressed Freeze. I was delighted to spot a new test flavor at the Glendale/Americana Pressed Juicery, Coffee.
I’ve never had Pressed Juicery’s Vanilla Coffee drink. It’s made with almond milk, dates, Kona coffee, and vanilla bean. The Coffee Freeze probably has the same short list of natural ingredients. Like other flavors of Freeze, it’s plant-based, vegan, and has no added sugar.
I no longer see Vanilla Coffee listed on the Pressed Juicery website, so perhaps it's been discontinued or is seasonal.
* Coffee Freeze: The coffee flavor is mellow and smooth. It’s probably not made with dark roast coffee beans? What I like best about Freeze is that it’s not that sweet, it’s very refreshing, and the aftertaste is very clean. It’s one of the better Freeze flavors for sure.
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 here. Cocomo Froyo made its debut at Smorgsaburg LA on July 22, 2018. The new food stand is from the Goa Taco folks.
Cocomo Froyo starts with handmade traditional yogurt made from coconuts that is then slowly churned into frozen yogurt. It’s plant-based, vegan, dairy-free, and soy-free. They also don’t use plastic spoons or cups.
Right now, Cocomo Froyo is only available at Smorgsaburg, which is held most Sundays from 10 AM – 4 PM. You can find their stall in Ice Cream Alley, to the left of the main entrance.
There were two flavor combinations available:
* Fresh summer berries, raspberry chia pudding, rose jelly, basil
* Toasted coconut, fresh pineapple, pineapple chips, fresh mint
One serving comes with two scoops and toppings for $7. The creation is assembled to order. They even had an anti-griddle to make little coconut discs.
The summer berries creation was very pretty. It included fresh flower petals. The blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries were super fresh. The frozen yogurt was light and refreshing, with some larger ice chunks. It wasn’t as smooth as I expected, but the lightness and the fact that it wasn’t too sweet made it well suited to a hot Sunday afternoon. It reminded me of shaved ice. The toppings were impeccably fresh and/or interesting. I particularly liked the microbasil – the pop of flavor it added. The toppings seemed better than the frozen yogurt. The froyo had no tang.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* COCOMO FROYO: 787 S Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA
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.
