Revele, Maker of the World’s First Vegan Chocolate Covered Frozen Yogurt Bars, Is No More

Fro-yo girl here. It just struck me that I haven’t seen anything from Revele in over a year. Based in Huntington Beach, California, the dessert start-up launched the world’s first vegan chocolate covered frozen yogurt bars in late 2019. I first heard about Revele, at that time called Revele Gelato, in late 2017, when they introduced whipped gelato pints. Made with real milk, cream, and sugar, Revele Gelato was a better-for-you, low calorie treat (80-90 calories per serving, with no sugar substitutes). They didn’t have froyo at the time, so I wasn’t too interested.

During the summer of 2018, they introduced a new line of products, whipped frozen Greek yogurt bars. They were hard to find but I finally tracked them down in early 2019. I didn’t like them.

Then, in October 2019, Revele (no longer Revele Gelato), they introduced the world’s first vegan chocolate covered frozen yogurt bars. In another first, Revele was the first to use allucose, a naturally occurring rare sugar, in a frozen dessert. They moved away from whipping their product with air and emphasized the probiotics, low calorie, and plant-based nature of their new froyo bars. The available flavors were Yellow Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Banana, Pink Chocolate Covered Matcha Tea, Dark Chocolate Covered Toasted Coconut, Milk Chocolate Covered Snickerdoodle and Toffee Bits, and Milk Chocolate Covered Toffee. They were clearly created with the snacking millennial in mind.

The last Instagram post by Revele was on November 28, 2019. I’m unable to view the website or Facebook page. The last tweet was on June 20, 2019. RIP, Revele.

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.

My Best Froyo Swirl of 2020

Fro-yo girl here. What a strange year…I’ve barely swirled any froyo cups since mid-March, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s mid-December and I probably won’t serve my own froyo again this year, though I still expect to buy more froyo.

My best looking froyo swirl of 2020 is…a cup of Yogurtland’s Classic Cookies & Cream froyo with toffee bits, crushed Oreos and chocolate chips. I swirled it in March 2020 at Yogurtland San Gabriel, right before the lockdown. It’s a nicely defined swirl with a peak that points up and the toppings look neatly placed.

This year I consumed 153 cups, pints or froyo novelties. I’m guessing I’ll reach 160 by the end of the year, the same amount that I consumed last year. Most of the froyo shops in my area stayed open even during the pandemic lockdown. My first cup of the year was from Yogurtland San Gabriel in January (probably January 1).

Looking for trends, I found the following:

Most froyo shops stopped offering self-serve due to the pandemic. This year, I dispensed my own froyo (aka, self-swirled) 24% of the time. Last year, 64% of my froyo was self-swirled. Big difference!

Single flavor (90%) vs. more than one flavor per cup (10%) in 2020. This was almost identical to last year, even though froyo shops are offering differently now. Most aren’t offering samples, so I chose more than one flavor in a few cases, just to try a new flavor. But some self-serve places that offer full service are also limiting how many flavors you can select – e.g., when you order a small at some Menchie’s locations, you can only choose one flavor.

Dairy (75%) vs. non-dairy (25%) in 2020. Last year, 76% of my cups were non-dairy. I’m so consistent without trying to be - scary.

You can see every cup that I consumed on Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/froyogirl/2020-froyo-consumed-by-me/

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.

California Froyo Shop Openings and Closings in 2020

Easy Breezy, Corte Madera

Fro-yo girl here. Since it's December, it's time for my annual update of the froyo shop openings and closings in California. It was a tough year for businesses in general, but even more so for froyo shops that on proximity to schools, gyms, movie theaters, tourists, etc. With fewer large gatherings, catering could not help counter the decline in foot traffic. Most of the self-serve shops that I visited switched to full service.

While the focus of this post is on froyo shops, I also tried to track froyo not served in froyo shops but served from a soft serve machine, including restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, cafeterias, hospitals, frozen yogurt trucks and trailers. 

It's always much easier to track openings since most frozen yogurt have a social media presence and Yelp listing. However, many shops close quietly, without making any announcement. Some of the "temporary" closures will become permanent. It's even harder to tell if a shop is permanently or temporarily closed due to the pandemic.

Here’s my attempt to track froyo shop openings and closings in California this year. 

Froyo Shop Openings (in alphabetical order): 

1. Big Kahuna Frozen Yogurt, Orland
2. Boba Junkie, Costa Mesa
3. Easy Breezy, Corte Madera
4. Go Crazy Frozen Yogurt, Concord
5. Golden Spoon, Whittier
6. Holsom by Yogurtland, Huntington Beach
7. Kona Shaved Ice, Winters
8. Menchie’s, Carlsbad, Bressi Ranch
9. Menchie’s, Riverbank
10. Mickey’s Yogurt, Riverside
11. Otter Yogurt, Half Moon Bay
12. Peachwave, Redondo Beach
13. Pinkberry, Santa Clara
14. Slices & Swirls, Loma Linda
15. Urban Desserts, Gold River
16. Twisted Tulip Frozen Yogurt, Ripon
17. Yogo Farm, Los Angeles
18. Yogurt Bear, Pomona
19. Yogurt Creations, Center Point Mall, Oxnard
20. Yogurt & Yogurt, Moreno Valley
21. Yogurt Me, Covina
22. Yummy Yogurt, West Covina

I found 22 openings which isn't bad considering what an off year it's been (coronavirus impact). I found 30 new openings last year and I added a few to that list after the initial publication in December 2019. Most of these were independent froyo shops. Yogurtland renamed an existing location this year but didn't open a brand new location in California. Menchie's opened two new locations in California. 

Froyo Shop Permanent Closures (in alphabetical order):

1. America's Cup, Costa Mesa - not sure if it's closed or not but Boba Junkie is at the same location now
2. Beach N Yogurt, Avila Beach
3. Berry Twist, San Rafael 
4. Besties Cool Treats, San Diego
5. Big Kahuna, Visalia
6. Big Kahuna, Clovis
7. Big Kahuna, West Sacramento
8. Blizz Frozen Yogurt, Sherman Oaks
9. Blush Frozen Yogurt, Dublin  
10. Blush Frozen Yogurt, Pleasanton
11. California Yogurt Factory, Foothill Ranch 
12. Crazy for Yogurt, Carmichael 
13. Cup O’Tea, Menlo Park 
14. Dolci Mango, Poway 
15. Fraiche, San Francisco Airport
16. Frozen Café, San Ramon 
17. Go Greek Yogurt, Woodland Hills
18. Golden Spoon, Glendora
19. Golden Spoon, San Juan Capistrano
20. Kiwiblast, Bakersfield
21. Menchie’s, Alhambra 
22. Menchie's, Baldwin Park
23. Menchie’s, Bell Gardens 
24. Menchie’s, Calabasas
25. Menchie’s, Florence-Firestone, Los Angeles 
26. Menchie's, Fullerton
27. Menchie’s Mandalay Village, Port Hueneme
28. Menchie’s, San Jose International Airport, San Jose
29. Menchie's, South El Monte 
30. Menchie's, Upland/Sycamore Hills
31. Miyo Yogurt, Pomona
32. Moyo’s Frozen Yogurt, San Francisco 
33. Otter Yogurt, Half Moon Bay
34. Peachwave Yogurt, Calabasas
35. Penguin's Frozen Yogurt, South Pasadena
36. Pinkberry, Chino Hills 
37. Razzle Dazzle, Upland
38. Red Mango, San Jose International Airport, San Jose
39. Redberry, Sacramento
40. The Scoop, Winters (now Kona Shaved Ice, still has froyo) 
41. Spoon Me Yogurt, Orange 
42. Sub Zero Ice Cream & Yogurt, Ventura
43. SweetFrog, Riverside
44. Swirls, Camarillo
45. Tops Yogurt, Elk Grove
46. Tutti Frutti Grossmont Center, La Mesa
47. Tutti Frutti, Oxnard 
48. Tutti Frutti Piedmont Ave, Oakland (reported closed on Yelp but not Google Local) 
49. Tutti Frutti, West Covina
50. Tutti Frutti, Corona
51. Tutti Frutti, Rowland Heights
52. Tutti Frutti, Dublin
53. Tuttimelon, Alameda
54. Tuttimelon, Fairfield
55. U-Swirl, Downey
56. Woody's Frozen Yogurt, Buellton
57. Woody’s Yogurt Place, Mill Valley
58. Xtreme Frozen Yogurt, Murrieta
59. Yogi Berry, Fresno 
60. YoGo, Sacramento
61. Yogo Farm, Los Angeles
62. Yogurt & More, Sierra Madre 
63. Yogurt Creations, Oxnard
64. Yogurt Station, Monterey
65. Yogurtland, California Ave., Bakersfield
66. Yogurtland, Marina Del Rey 
67. Yogurtland, Mission Valley East, San Diego
68. Yogurtland Pico & Lincoln, Santa Monica 
69. Yogurtland Edinger, Huntington Beach (converted into Holsom by Yogurtland) 
70. Yogurtland, San Ramon 
71. Yogurtland, Irvine - Jeffrey Rd.
72. Yogurtland, Torrance Crossroads, Torrance 
73. Yogurtland, Temecula
74. Yogurtland, Ventura
75. Yogurtland, Camarillo
76. Yogurtlicious, Loma Linda
77. YOLO, San Anselmo
78. Yoyo's Frozen Yogurt, El Cajon

I found 78 froyo shop closures in 2020. Most of the shops on the list were open a long time (none longer than Woody's Yogurt Place? maybe Penguin's?), like over 10 years. Others like Yogi Berry, Otter Yogurt, and Cup O' Tea were open for less than a year. I was a regular at Blush Dublin and Yogurtland San Ramon. There were 10 Menchie's, 11 Yogurtland, 1 Pinkberry, 1 Red Mango, 1 sweetFrog, and 7 Tutti Frutti locations on the list, so 48% of the California closures were part of a large national frozen yogurt chain.

In 2019, I found 74 froyo shop closures (68 in 2018, 99 in 2017). There were more closures than openings but considering what a tough year it's been for restaurants, the number of closures is less than I expected. I didn't track the temporary "seasonal" froyo shop closures but I know of a few. They're relatively uncommon in California but much more common this year.

I also didn't count places that serve froyo but aren't froyo shops. But I tried to track those types of locations too.

New Places Serving Froyo But Not a Froyo Shop: 

• The Corral Sandwich Shop, Oakdale
• La Dolce Vita, Milpitas
• Loop Neighborhood (2 locations), Sacramento
• Loop Neighborhood, Sacramento
• Nick the Greek, Napa
• Nick the Greek, Ventura
• Nick the Greek, Union City
• Nick the Greek, Westwood, Los Angeles
• Nick the Greek, Newport Beach

Nick the Greek is a fast-casual Greek chain that's currently in growth mode in the Bay Area. Loop Neighborhood Market continues to offer self-serve froyo. 

And there were some closures of places that offered froyo but weren't froyo shops.

Closed, Not a Froyo Shop But Offered Froyo:

• AL’s Deli, San Francisco
• Currying Flavors, Agoura Hills (carried Pinkberry, briefly)
• Kirin Buffet, Arcadia
• Madison Station Café, Carmichael (COVID)
• Planet Smoothie & Tasti Dlite, Santa Monica
• Slusheeland, Tarzana
• Spread Mediterranean Kitchen, Los Angeles
• Swirl Fiesta, Riverside

Not Closed, But Stopped Offering Froyo:

• Bee & Tea, San Jose

I also noted ownership change announcements. 

New Ownership, Froyo Shop:

• Cherry on Top, Riverside 
• Cloud 9 Frozen Yogurt, San Diego
• Crazy For Yogurt, Carmichael
• Major Brain Freeze, Redlands
• Menchie’s, San Marcos
• Yoyo’s Frozen Yogurt, Rancho San Diego

Some of the openings that were supposed to happen in 2020 have been delayed. But expect to see many new Nick the Greek locations in 2021. Reis & Irvy's has been very silent this year - so much for froyo robots? I've lumped froyo and non-froyo shops together for the coming soon list.

Coming Soon:

• Active Culture, Marin
• Fraiche Yogurt, Stanford Hospital
• Frosted Love, Stockton
• Fro Zone, Folsom
• IKEA, San Francisco
• Menchie’s, Hanford
• Myo, Carmel
• Myo, Alamo (taken off the website)?
• Nick the Greek, San Diego
• Nick the Greek, South San Francisco
• Nick the Greek, Mountain View
• Nick the Greek, Gilroy
• Nick the Greek, Livermore (taken off the website)?
• Nick the Greek, Castro Valley
• Nick the Greek, Dublin
• Nick the Greek, Fremont
• Nick the Greek, Vallejo
• Nick the Greek, San Mateo
• Nick the Greek, San Diego
• Pinkberry, Santa Clarita
• Prinkipia Frozen Yogurt, Glendale (?)
• Toppings, Santa Rosa

I didn't find any new froyo trucks or trailers in California this year. Since I find out about openings and closings after publishing my post, I’ll keep updating this post. Did I miss any openings or closings? Let me know. 

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.

Penguin’s Frozen Yogurt in South Pasadena Has Closed

Fro-yo girl here. Penguin’s Frozen Yogurt in South Pasadena is now permanently closed. The first time I visited a few years ago, the chocolate dip tasted terrible and waxy, so I didn’t go back for a few years. I didn’t realize that ownership changed in 2015. Before 2015, the same people owned the Penguin’s in La Canada Flintridge and South Pasadena. 

I knew times were tough during the coronavirus, so I went back a few months ago and bought two takeout cups of peanut butter froyo. The froyo wasn’t the best ever but service was pleasant and they had many flavors of froyo to choose from and even ice cream, froyo cakes, froyo pies, muffins, cookies, sundaes, floats, shakes, smoothies, and Peet’s coffee. They were open early, so you could even get froyo for breakfast. And they had free wi-fi, easy parking, and plenty of places to sit, including outdoors.

It looks like the closure occurred in late July. I think I went in early July. The sign is still there, so I didn’t notice anything when driving by (I drive by that area often). The contents have been removed. There was no sign on the door explaining the closure. This leaves one froyo shop in South Pasadena, Menchie’s. Menchie’s South Pasadena is only open Friday-Sunday now and they only offer 6 flavors now.

Penguin’s was once of the largest froyo chains in California, peaking at 123 locations. It filed for bankruptcy in 1991. The only locations left are in Westwood and Marina Del Rey (Los Angeles). Penguin’s La Canada closed in 2018, Torrance in 2014, and Redondo Beach in 2015.

Penguin’s Frozen Yogurt, 1105 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena, CA 91030

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.

Painful Froyo Shop Closures of 2020

Fro-yo girl here. I’m usually sad when I hear about a froyo shop closing, but some closures hurt much more than others. I’ve already written about the closure of three of the shops on this list. These are the most painful froyo shop closures of 2020 (in alphabetical order). I've visited all the places on this list.

Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt, 4640 Tassajara Rd, Dublin, CA 94568

I have so many fond memories of going to Blush after work, chatting with the owner, Jonathan, and driving home with a cooler full of froyo. His swirling skills were legendary and he was so passionate about developing the best froyo flavors. He was so dedicated and the froyo was something special. My favorite flavors were Green Tea Tart, Original, Blush, and Pumpkin Tart. I also loved Pineapple Tart, Acai Blueberry Tart, Gingerbread, Mango Tart…the list goes on. Blush Dublin first opened in 2008. It closed in May 2020.

Zoeyogurt, 6900 East Green Lake Way N E, Seattle, WA 98115

The original Zoeyogurt, in Green Lake, closed after nine years in Green Lake (Seattle, WA). I visited once and really liked the cozy atmosphere, cleanliness and froyo texture. The owner, Donna, was an earlier supporter of the International Frozen Yogurt Association and all three Zoeyogurt shops were IFYA Swirl of Honor shops.

Woody’s Yogurt Place, 802 Strawberry Village, Mill Valley, CA 94941

A local institution, Woody’s Yogurt Place was owned by the same family, the Woodsons, since 1998. Another Swirl of Honor shop, Woody’s won numerous “best of” froyo and ice cream awards over the years. Woody’s donated gift certificates to every nearby school for their auctions and fundraisers, hosted free ice cream socials for local schools, and more. Woody’s Yogurt Place closed in January due to the rising cost of rent at Strawberry Village.

Yogurtland Fullerton, 501 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92831

Yogurtland #1, the original location, closed in October, a victim of the economic effects of COVID-19. The shop was located near Cal State Fullerton and with students staying at home, business must have been slow. The shop first opened in February 2006 and shared a space with Phillip Chang’s other business, Boba Loca, a bubble tea shop. They offered 16 self-serve, non-fat fro-yo flavors a day and toppings for 30 cents. This was the format that early Yogurtland locations continued to offer during the early years.

 

Yogurtland, 152 Sunset Dr., San Ramon, CA 94583

Sure there are plenty of Yogurtland locations, especially in California, but only a few were my regular spots. Yogurtland San Ramon opened in 2009, back when I used to work in San Ramon. I remember when it first opened. I went there many times, often for lunch with my good friend, S (our regular spots were Yogurtland and Top Dog). I collected many froyo spoons from that location, including the Tokidoki Yogurtland spoons. The pandemic led to the closure. 

Yogurtland, 4960 Telephone Rd, Ste 104, Ventura, CA 93003

This was my regular spot whenever I was in Ventura visiting family. Open from 2013-2020, it was the best option in town. The shop was in the shopping plaza with Barnes & Noble, Kohl’s, and Starbucks.

Farewell, old friends. You are missed.

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 Yoga-urt Flavor: Chocolate Peppermint

Fro-yo girl here. Yoga-urt has a brand new holiday flavor this year and this one is Christmas inspired. Chocolate Peppermint is made with Yoga-urt’s own hand-crafted almond milk/cashew base. It’s all-natural, vegan/plant-based, organic, probiotic, hand-crafted, kosher, soy-free and gluten-free, like all their other flavors. 

Chocolate Peppermint: If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that I don’t love chocolate froyo, but I do really like chocolate variants. The freshness of peppermint really makes the Chocolate Peppermint froyo sing. It’s that little extra something that keeps chocolate from being too monotonous or heavy. The froyo is thick and rich and even better with toppings. It’s not as nutty tasting as some of the other Yoga-urt flavors. Recommended toppings: Housemade chocolate shell and vegan whipped cream. Even better, get the limited time only warm gluten-free brownie as a base and ask for the chocolate shell and whipped cream.

Chocolate Peppermint froyo is available for a limited time only. Check Yoga-urt’s Instagram page, @yoga_urt for the current flavors. Also, check the freezer for pints.

P.S. Don’t miss the holiday promo. Purchase a $25 gift card and get a free mini froyo.

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

* YOGA-URT, 1407 ½ W Kenneth Rd., Glendale, CA 91201 and 2211 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

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 Froyo Spoons of 2020

Fro-yo girl here. Froyo spoon collectors, I’ve been tracking the collectible new froyo spoons that were released this year (there weren’t that many because it’s been a tough year) and here’s the short list:

• Yogurtland logo, berry color
• Yogurtland giant spoon, red color
• Menchie’s Spring Sprinkle spoon, yellow color
• Menchie’s Best Friends spoons, Chip, green color
• Menchie’s Best Friends spoons, Menchie, magenta color

The Spring Sprinkle spoon was supposed to be handed out during Menchie’s Hello Sunshine Spring Party. Most locations postponed or cancelled the event due to the COVID-19 outbreak though. There were seven new froyo spoons last year and just four this year. Yogurtland is still handing out giant pink and green spoons for special promotional events like National Spoon Day. 

The giant red Yogurtland spoon was a Valentine's Day promo. It was given out on Valentine's Day with a minimum $10 purchase after 5 PM.

Check out all the fancy froyo spoons on the Pinterest board, Fancy Froyo Spoons.

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.