Fro-yo girl here. The plant-based yogurt category keeps expanding. While shopping at Whole Foods, I noticed Harmless Harvest, which started as a coconut water brand, recently added plant-based yogurt. Their yogurt products launched nationwide this month at Whole Foods exclusively, for 90 days.
What’s the difference between Harmless Harvest’s plant-based coconut yogurt and the other brands? The process is different. Harmless Harvest starts with organic hand-scooped coconut meat that’s pureed. They then add the cultures and make the yogurt. It’s all natural and organic. They used fair trade ingredients, which is admirable. Other brands usually start with coconut cream to which they add thickeners and cultures. They claim that this results in a clean-tasting, not overly coconutty yogurt with better texture.
Harmless Harvest coconut yogurt is $2.29 for a 4.4 oz container. That’s smaller than the average cup of yogurt which is 5.3 oz. However, I didn’t notice that it was smaller when I was eating it but I think that’s because I didn’t love it. One serving is 80 calories, 2.5g total fat, 14g total carbsand 5g sugars. They do add sugar to the plain flavor.
Plain: The texture was very smooth and about as thick as regular dairy yogurt. On the positive side, it wasn’t too sweet and the coconut flavor wasn’t overwhelming. On the negative side, the flavor was bland and not that tangy. It would be okay with other things added to it but I wouldn’t eat it plain because it is too plain.
Ingredients: Organic coconutmilk (water, organic coconut meat), organic cane sugar, organic tapioca starch, live and active cultures.
Available flavors: Plain, Strawberry, Blueberry, Vanilla
3.5 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. Blood oranges are currently in season, so they’re a good choice for the first new Pressed Juicery Freeze flavor of the year. Blood Orange Freeze is made with coconut milk, blood orange puree, monk fruit, oat milk, cherry puree and vanilla extract. It’s nut and dairy-free. One size 1 serving is 150 calories – a little higher than the other flavors.
* Blood Orange Freeze: It’s a pretty pale pink (see the swirl on the right of the cup) and not brownish like the other almond milk based, date sweetened flavors. The texture was notably softer, creamier and not as dense as the almond milk-based flavors. The first thing I tasted was the coconut milk. The orange flavor was more of a tangy undertone. The coconut flavor was also mild. The oat milk and monk fruit added an interesting, different taste. I was expecting a stronger orange flavor.
* Blood Orange juice: It’s made with orange, blood orange and kumquat. In contrast to the freeze, the orange flavor was intense. The blood orange made it a little tangier. Bonus points for adding kumquat. Kumquats are delicious but I don’t see them too often.
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. Oat milk was all the rage last year. There was a proliferation of oat milk brands and products, included oat milk ice cream, oat milk creamer, and oat milk yogurt. Last summer, Summit Premium, a brand of Socially Responsible Food Group, Inc. (SR Food Group) and the leader in the non-dairy soft serve category, introduced four new plant-based, Beyond Dairy® varieties: Summit Premium Non-Dairy Oat Milk, Strawberry Oat Milk, Chocolate Almond Milk, and Cookies N Cream Almond Milk Non-Dairy Soft Serve and Shake Mix. The oat milk soft serve products were the first ever available.
I spotted at oat milk soft serve at Swirlz in San Marino. It was toffee flavor, so I’m assuming that they added the toffee flavoring to the base oat milk soft serve. This was my first time trying oat milk soft serve. I’ve had hard scoop oat milk ice cream from Oatly and So Delicious. Both were good.
Oat milk soft serve: The texture wasn’t as creamy as dairy but it wasn’t crazy icy either. It was on the icier side but smooth enough. The toffee flavor was mild and I could still taste the oats. Though it is probiotic, it wasn’t tangy at all. It was decent. The oat flavor is mild but the texture is icier.
If you’d like to try oat milk soft serve at Swirlz, they post their flavors on Twitter, @swirlzsoftserve
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* SWIRLZ: 2136 Huntington Dr., San Marino, CA 91108
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. With Woody’s Yogurt Place of Strawberry Village (Mill Valley) closing on January 5 (RIP, hope they find a new location), the froyo options in Marin County dwindled – but just for a few days, because Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt just crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and landed at Town Center Corte Madera. Believe it or not, it’s the first froyo shop in Corte Madera! It’s at the mall across from REI.
This is Easy Breezy’s fourth shop. The other three are in San Francisco, with the first opening eight years ago. Owner Ariel Ford is the queen of SF froyo! Her shops raise the froyo bar by making froyo daily with their own proprietary recipes. They chop, blend and hand squeeze the fruit they use to flavor their froyo. Having fresh mint in froyo makes a difference. Also, the froyo flavors and toppings are premium and creative. They use organic yogurt and also offer many vegan options. There’s even a coconut milk based soft serve for those with nut and dairy allergies. Flavors are posted on their Facebook page and website. Some of the current flavors are Moscow Mule, Vietnamese Coffee, Chocolate Orange, and S’mores.
EB in Marin County features 8 self-serve flavors a day, quality toppings (including organic berries), and warm sauces for 86 cents an ounce. The shop had a soft opening on January 13, 2020. Expect an opening celebration this spring, after the soft opening.
Choose your cup size or get a cone. Toppings included sauces, candy, cheesecake, mochi, cookie dough, popping boba, fresh fruit (the blueberries and strawberries were organic), brownies, chocolate chips, yogurt chips, granola, cereal, nuts, sprinkles, gobs of cookie dough, potato chips, etc.
The shop is adorable with wood accents and Breezy the mascot. The yogurt comes out of the machine quickly, so that's something of which to be aware. If you want samples, an employee will dispense them for you. Ask for a frequent buyer card. Students get 10% off. They started selling pints! At $9 each, they’re a steal.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* EASY BREEZY FROZEN YOGURT: 119 Corte Madera Town Center, Corte Madera, CA 94925
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. Pinkberry fans, Pinkberry quietly opened inside Valley Fair (2nd floor by Talbot’s and Uniqlo, NOT in the food court area) about four weeks ago. It’s been years since a new Pinkberry opened in the Bay Area and it’s nice to see Pinkberry return so close to the original Santana Row location.
The new location is a sleek looking kiosk with six soft serve flavors a day and smoothies.
Prices: Small $4/ Medium $5/ Large $7. A cone with swirl is $3.50 and I think it comes with more than you’d get in a small cup. The cone is the best deal. The toppings are typical for Pinkberry – fresh fruit, mochi, candy, nuts, luxe sauces, cereal, cookie dough, chocolate chips, cookies, etc.
The flavors during my visit were: Original, Pomegranate, Chocolate Hazelnut, Pinkbee’s Cookies & Cream ice cream, Pinkbee’s Strawberry ice cream and Just Fruit Tropical Mango. The original tart was as good as I remembered it – very smooth, tangy, light and satisfying. Don’t forget to join Pink Card to earn free froyo.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* PINKBERRY: 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95050
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. I came across Yonola frozen Greek yogurt breakfast parfait bars during my last shopping trip to Grocery Outlet in Altadena, CA. I’ve never seen Yonola prior to my trip to Grocery Outlet. The idea is that it’s a frozen version of a yogurt parfait and it’s on a stick for convenience. Yonola is made with Greek yogurt, fruit, and granola. Grocery Outlet only had one flavor left, Vanilla Honey, for 99 cents a box. There were shelf tags for other Yonola flavors.
One box comes with four individually wrapped bars. One bar is 120-130 calories with 5g of protein. A bar is 3 fl oz, probiotic, and kosher. One bar of Vanilla Honey is 120 calories with 3.5g total fat, 17g total carbs, 14g sugars and 6g protein. Available flavors: Peach, Strawbrerry, Triple Berry, and Vanilla Honey
Vanilla Honey bar: The bar was extra firm and hard. The yogurt actually had some tanginess that I appreciated and I could taste the vanilla. I think there were too many oats though. The granola was in tiny pieces throughout the bar. I didn’t appreciate the added sweetness of the granola
Ingredients (Vanilla Honey): Nonfat Greek yogurt (pasteurized nonfat milk, cultures), ultra-filtered nonfat milk, sugar, cream, honey, coconut oil, toasted oats (rolled oats, sugar, soybean oil, honey, brown sugar molasses), quinoa, crisp rice (rice flour, sugar, salt), contains 1% or less of skim milk, milkfat, sunflower lecithin, natural flavors, soy lecithin, carob bean gum.
Trader Joe’s had a similar frozen yogurt parfait bar last summer. The TJ’s bars were better than Yonola’s but Yonola’s are decent. Yonola is a Wells Enterprises product, the largest family-owned and managed ice cream manufacturer in the United States. For some reason, Wells doesn't list Yonola on its website.
3.5 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. Yogurtland’s first new flavor of the year launches today and it’s plant-based and vegan. Plant-based Salted Chocolate Souffle is described by Yogurtland as: “the decadent flavor of a chocolate souffle, elevated with a touch of salt…100% vegan…with a rich and velvety texture.” It’s coconut based, nut free, and gluten free. Yes, there are live and active cultures. It’s 50 calories an ounce (more than average) because of the coconut cream.
Salted Chocolate Souffle: It tasted like a lot of chocolate frozen yogurt, only with a hint of coconut. It was perhaps a little icier than dairy-based yogurt, but that might have been because of the location I went to rather than the yogurt itself.
The new topping, Bear Naked’s White chocolate macadamia nut granola, was in big chunks with whole macadamia nuts. It had a hint of coconut and salt, so it paired well with the Salted Coconut Souffle froyo. With whole macadamia nuts, it's obviously a premium granola.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Here’s the official press release:
Yogurtland Steps Into The Plant-Based Category With New Flavor Launch
Leading Frozen Yogurt Brand Welcomes the New Year with New Plant-Based Flavor and Partnership with Bear Naked Granola
IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Plant-based eaters rejoice! Yogurtland, the leader in self-serve premium frozen yogurt, announces today the launch of the brand's first ever 100% vegan, plant-based chocolate flavor: Salted Chocolate Souffle. This latest flavor is available in Yogurtland locations nationwide beginning today. To ring in the New Year, the brand has also expanded its vast self-serve topping selections to include White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Granola from Bear Naked's artisan-crafted line for a limited time only starting today.
Yogurtland brings an elevated touch to the plant-based confectionery space with the latest flavor in the brand's portfolio of innovative and culinary-inspired recipes. And, for consumers seeking a better-for-you sweet treat topping, the brand is excited to welcome Bear Naked Premium Granola to the topping line-up. Bear Naked's White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Granola boasts a rich and creamy bite of melted fair-trade chocolate and nut butter that is baked using an exclusive technique that creates a cookie-like cluster. Each granola bite features a quality list of organic, gluten-free, Non-GMO Project Verified and fair-trade ingredients, elevating it from the traditional breakfast staple to the indulgent treat you're reaching for at every occasion, including your frozen yogurt creations.
"Yogurtland is committed to crafting innovative flavors and to providing healthy-indulgent options. We are thrilled to partner with Bear Naked to offer our guests a new premium topping choice to create a healthy, better-for-you combination of treats," says Sam Yoon, Senior Vice President of Yogurtland.
"At Bear Naked, we're passionate about creating great-tasting and high quality products everyone can enjoy and that's why Yogurtland's roster of delicious yogurt made with real ingredients was a perfect match for this exciting partnership!" says Gianna DeCaro, Bear Naked Brand Director.
Bringing a wholesome upgrade to a beloved everyday treat, Yogurtland and Bear Naked have created the ultimate swirl of decadent frozen yogurt. For more information, please visit yogurt-land.com or bearnaked.com.
About Yogurtland
Yogurtland is the leader in self-service premium frozen yogurt, delivering over 200 handcrafted artisan flavors providing fans an anytime beloved sweet treat for the whole family. Yogurtland exclusively uses real ingredients and scratch-made, handcrafted flavors from across the globe for fans to enjoy a truly customized dessert in the form of yogurt, Drinkable creation shakes, frappes, and waffle cones. Separating Yogurtland from competitors is the company's team of flavorologists who've developed an extension of options added to the exciting rotation of monthly flavors offering non-fat and low-fat yogurt, ice cream, and non-dairy and no sugar added choices while using milk that contains no antibiotics or added hormones. The company continues to transform the industry with its' latest move into third party delivery, giving customers more flexibility to enjoy dessert wherever they are. Presently Yogurtland has more than 300 locations across the U.S., Australia, Dubai, Guam, Myanmar, Oman, Singapore, and Thailand. Flavors are always subject to creative change and popular demand. For more information, visit www.yogurt-land.com.
About Bear Naked
Bear Naked offers a full line of granolas and snacks bars made with big, delicious chunks of nature to deliver epic taste. Launched in 2002, Bear Naked is the #1 granola brand in the U.S. and is best known for its signature, soft-baked granola made from real whole grains and minimally processed ingredients. The brand is one of the first CPG food brand to successfully adopt fully recyclable packaging. Today, Bear Naked has evolved into a nationally-recognized and loved consumer brand with products available for purchase in natural and conventional retailers such as Sprouts, Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, Amazon and more as well as club stores like Costco.
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.
