Newish Froyo Shop Opens in Lake Balboa

 

Fro-yo girl here. Joy Sedona Frozen Yogurt opened in October 2022 and I only found out about it. I didn’t see any reviews on Yelp though there were some on Google.

Joy Sedona is a self-serve froyo shop in Los Angeles, specifically the Lake Balboa neighborhood of San Fernando Valley. They also sell slushees, smoothies, acai bowls, and scoopable Thrifty ice cream.

The shop is close to six schools and seems to be catering to high school/middle school students and families. At $0.69/oz, it isn’t cheap but it's the closest to all those schools. There are 10 froyo flavors a day, including a no sugar added option.

They have several cup sizes and you can get your own froyo and most of your own toppings. The refrigerated toppings are not self-serve though. They have hot sauces too. Toppings include fruit, popping boba, nuts, candy, mochi, chocolate chips, granola, chocolate pretzels, cereal, cookies, cupcake bites, etc. Toppings were labeled.

The yogurt that I tried was too soft, loose, and runny. The vanilla was also very sweet and bland.

The shop looked clean and had generic signs. A sign with nutrition facts per serving was posted near the froyo cups. Service was friendly. Ask for a frequent buyer card.

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

* JOY SEDONA FROZEN YOGURT: 16927 Vanowen St, Lake Balboa, CA 91406

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 Flavor at Yogurtland: Strawberries ‘N Cream & A New Topping

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland’s first new flavor of 2023 was Lemon Sorbet but their first new frozen yogurt flavor of 2023 is…Strawberries ‘N Cream. Yogurtland describes Strawberries ‘N Cream froyo as “a classic dessert combination with the flavors of juicy strawberries with a decadent creamy finish.” Strawberries ‘N Cream froyo is gluten-free, nonfat, and made with real strawberries. It also contains cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.

Strawberries ‘N Cream froyo: I tried this new flavor and Yogurtland’s Fresh Strawberry froyo side by side. The flavors are quite similar. SNC was a little darker in color and slightly less creamy; it also had a more pronounced strawberry flavor but there was something about that flavor that seemed less natural than Fresh Strawberry. The two flavors are quite similar but I prefer Fresh Strawberry. Recommended toppings: strawberries, whipped cream, Hello Panda strawberry cookies, mochi, and lemon pound cake bites.

Thumbs up for the cute new topping that pairs with SNC froyo: Meiji Hello Panda strawberry cookies. They’re cute and crispy on the outside and filled with pink strawberry cream.

Strawberries ‘N Cream froyo is available for a limited time at participating Yogurtland locations, while supplies last.

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.

Froyo Scene in Chino Hills, CA

Source: Yelp

Fro-yo girl here. Chino Hills is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County. The population is 82,800. It’s known for its low crime, abundance of parks, and high median income. Over 40% of the population is Asian, followed by 29% white and 28% Hispanic.

While you could once find multiple froyo shops in Chino Hills with Cefiore as the first froyo shop in town, today one shop remains: Yogurtland. Yogurtland, 4505 Chino Hills Pkwy Ste D, opened in 2009. This location at The Commons is known for its annual guest appreciation event. There are 16 self-serve froyo flavors a day.

Former froyo shops in Chino Hills

• Cefiore, 3654 Grand Ave, opened in the summer of 2008 and may have closed in early 2009. It was a counter-serve froyo shop.
• Pinkberry, 13865 City Center Dr. #3085, was at the Shoppes at Chino Hills from 2008 to 2020
• Tutti Frutti, 3030 Chino Ave, was a self-serve shop that opened in 2008 and closed in 2010

Cefiore and Tutti Frutti did not last long in Chino Hills. All the froyo shops that opened in Chino Hills did so in 2008 – 2009. I managed to visit Pinkberry Chino Hills right before it closed in 2020. I'm surprised that Chino Hills didn't have more froyo shops. 

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.

Froyo Scene in Chino, CA

Source: Yelp, 

Fro-yo girl here. Chino, a city in San Bernardino County, has a population of 92,290. It was once known for its dairy farms and is now more industrial/commercial and densely populated with a suburban feel. Fifty-four percent of the population identifies as Hispanic/Latino. It’s interesting that while neighboring Chino Hills is more affluent, Chino Hills only has one froyo shop left, Yogurtland, while Chino has three remaining: It’s Yogurt, Joghurt, and Yogurtland.

The first froyo shop that opened in Chino was Penguin’s Place, which opened in 1987 at Chino Town Square. I’m not sure when it closed but it was open for at least 10 years. Another “old school” froyo shop, Golden Spoon was the next to open. Golden Spoon closed in 2013. Joghurt was the first self-serve froyo shop to open in Chino in 2008.

Froyo Shops Open in Chino

• It’s Yogurt, 12877 Mountain Ave, is a charming, mom & pop independent self-serve froyo shop that first opened in 2015. I went once and found it to be very clean with friendly service. They've added acai bowls, smoothies, snow ice, and milk tea. They were closed for renovations recently.
• Joghurt, 4110 Edison Ave Ste 101, is a self-serve local chain with a few locations in the area. Joghurt opened in Chino in March 2008.
• Yogurtland, 12073 Central Ave, first opened in 2015.

Still Open But No Longer Serves Froyo

Pam’s Doughnuts & Yogurt, 4726 Riverside Dr # C, must have served froyo at some point but I couldn’t determine when. They no longer serve froyo but they have ice cream.

Froyo Shops that Closed

• Golden Spoon, 4013 Grand Ave D, closed in 2013.
• Penguin’s Place, 5525 Philadelphia St Ste D, opened in 1987 in Chino Town Square and I'm not sure when it closed (a long time ago). 

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.

First New Pinkberry Flavor of 2023: Ruby Chocolate Frozen Yogurt & New Toppings

 

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry’s first new flavor of the year is…Ruby Chocolate tart frozen yogurt. Yay for a new tart flavor! It’s made with Quella Ruby cream. Ruby chocolate is a variety of chocolate made with ruby cacao beans; it’s naturally light pink in color and tastes like berries and white chocolate.

Ruby chocolate tart froyo: I’m not a fan of chocolate froyo but ruby chocolate froyo tastes more like raspberries than chocolate. The chocolate notes are mellow like white chocolate. The yogurt seemed richer and creamier than other Pinkberry tart flavors. The complexity of the flavor – raspberries mellowed by a hint of white chocolate and yogurt – made it very intriguing. It’s not as tangy as some of the other tart flavors but it’s definitely tangy. Recommended toppings: dark chocolate crisps, raspberries, mochi.

Pinkberry recommends adding ruby chocolate sauce, edible gold glitter, dark chocolate crisps, and fresh raspberries. The location that I visited didn’t have ruby chocolate sauce or edible gold glitter.

Remember when Pinkberry introduced Raspberry White Chocolate in 2015? I haven’t had that flavor in so long, maybe since 2015?? Anyway, based on what I remember, Ruby Chocolate is similar (but it’s not the same flavor).

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.

Foodcode Freeze Dried Yogurt Snack Review

Fro-yo girl here. On a recent trip to 99 Ranch in Alhambra, CA, I spotted yogurt snacks from Foodcode that I hadn’t seen before. The front to box is mostly in Chinese but says active lactic acid bacteria 1 CFU. There are some other symbols that I can’t read. The first ingredient listed is cultured milk. The yogurt cubes are imported from China.

99 Ranch had three flavors of Foodcode’s freeze dried yogurt: peach, blueberry, and original. A box is 40g and $5.99/each. Each box comes with a ten pouches. Each pouch contains two small, thick freeze-dried yogurt cubes weighing about 4g total. Each cube is about 1 inch x ½ inch. The cube is crunchy but turns creamy as it melts in your mouth. It tastes like slightly tangy, sweet milk. It’s a pleasant taste but doesn’t taste like plain refrigerated yogurt you’d get in a cup. Foodcode’s yogurt is milder and sweeter. Not a bad snack but it is quite small and expensive. In Asia, freeze-dried yogurt has become a popular snack for kids because it’s healthy and convenient. Pepsico even came out with a freeze-dried yogurt snack called Sunbites for the market in China.

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.

G-Pa Ryc Organics Durty Gut YogArt Review

Fro-yo girl here. On a recent trip to the new Meat & Essentials, the new butchery and mindful market in San Marino, I spotted a brand of yogurt that I’ve never seen before, G-Pa Ryc Organics Durty Gut YogArt. It’s organic, vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, and locally produced (in Ventura, CA). I spotted three flavors: Lemon Vanilla Bean, Midnite Magick Dark Chocolate, and Vanilla Bean. They come in glass jars. One 16 oz jar of YogArt was $20. A portion of profits go to building houses for Widows in Ethiopia and orphans in Honduras.

Lemon Vanilla Bean YogArt: The texture is the thickest and smoothest that I’ve ever encountered in a yogurt. It has a pot set quality. It’s very rich but so good too – like eating a dense lemony cream that isn’t too sweet but has an intriguing tang. It tastes so much better than The Coconut Cult but it’s not clear how many active cultures or what type of cultures are in their yogurt.

YogArt is sweetened with maple sugar and coconut sugar, not refined sugar. The main ingredient is coconut cream. It also has active cultures so it’s good for your gut. Coconut cream is super rich, so the serving size is just 1.75 tbsp. One serving is 120 calories, 10g total fat, 0 cholesterol, 3g total sugars, and 0g protein.

5 out of 5 stars.

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

MEAT & ESSENTIALS: 2004 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.