New Passion Fruit Froyo at Van Leeuwen

Fro-yo girl here. Van Leeuwen just dropped a new froyo flavor, Passion Fruit, at all Van Leeuwen locations with froyo (i.e., 14 VL scoop shops). It’s a tart-based froyo made with organic A2 Bulgarian yogurt and passion fruit puree.

Passion fruit froyo: The froyo was creamy and soft in texture. The flavor was punchy and very tangy. It definitely tasted like passion fruit and yogurt (even with a slightly fermented flavor). It also was quite sweet. I don’t love passion fruit, but I don’t hate it either. When it comes to passion fruit froyo, I prefer passion fruit combined with another fruit flavor. Recommended toppings: toasted coconut, honey slivered almonds, passion fruit sauce or raspberry puree.

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

* VAN LEEUWEN, 321 N San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502

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.

Normal Ice Cream Soft Serve Pop-up

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve seen Normal Ice Cream pints in stores and walked by the brick & mortar shop in Salt Lake City (it’s on the same street as Yagoot), but I haven’t tried it yet. When I saw that they had a soft serve pop-up in Atwater Village, I stopped by. The LA pop-ups have been going on for over a year, and the next one takes place on August 30 at Gjusta Grocer in Venice, CA, from 1 PM – 4 PM.

The bright yellow cart was set up outside of Wine & Eggs. There was one soft serve flavor, salted vanilla bean, available in a cup or cone ($6), with the option of adding a dark chocolate or almond butter dip ($3), and fancy toppings (pretzel shortbread, lemon curd, raspberry jam, chocolate chip cookie, raspberry powder).

The soft serve was soft, silky, and very creamy. The flavor was so mild though. It tasted like milk soft serve. I couldn’t taste vanilla or salt. The pretzel shortbread added a nice crunch, but it tasted like regular shortbread. I could not taste the pretzel. The lemon curd didn’t have much tang. The flavors were muted, but the ingredients were high quality.

I wish I had visited when they offered a more interesting flavor than vanilla.

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 Pinkberry Froyo Flavor, Midnight Margarita & Practical Magic 2 Sweepstakes

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry just launched a flavor inspired by the movie, Practical Magic 2. In Practical Magic, the main witches make margaritas at midnight. Some fans add a witchy twist by adding blackberries.

Pinkberry’s Midnight Margarita froyo blends blackberries and limes (and I think a sweet and sour mix?). It tastes more like lime than blackberries, but it also tastes like something other than blackberries, lime, and froyo. I liked how it was sour and tangy. It’s not the most natural tasting, but I still enjoyed the very lime-forward, sweet/sour froyo. Pinkberry recommends adding fresh blackberries, black salt, purple sugar, and a lime slice.

They had Practical Magic 2 cups. There’s also a Midnight Margarita refresher.

Enter the Practical Magic 2 sweepstakes for a chance to win a private screening of the movie, PM2 merchandise, and a Pinkberry gift card.

Practical Magic 2 arrives in theaters on September 10.

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 Opens in El Monte’s Santa Fe Trail Plaza

Fro-yo girl here. Good news. Yogurtland just opened this week in El Monte, CA, at Santa Fe Trail Plaza. It took over the old Menchie’s space. The Menchie’s owner wanted to retire, hence Menchie’s was replaced by Yogurtland.

I was afraid that they would keep the old Menchie's machines and do a quick renovation, but fortunately, they did a full renovation, building a new wall for the froyo machines and a new toppings bar. Also, the soft serve machines are new, and they’re working very well. The texture of the froyo is better than at most Yogurtland locations. There are 16 flavors a day and the usual Yogurtland toppings and sauces. It’s $0.81/oz.

Root beer float froyo is the current seasonal flavor.

I heard that the owner of Yogurtland Santa Fe Trail also owns the Yogurtland in Walnut. No date has been set for the grand opening.

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

* YOGURTLAND, 10619 Valley Blvd Unit D, El Monte, CA 91731

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.

Want Want QQ Kitty Paw Gummy Yogurt Candy Review

 

Fro-yo girl here. Weee! is currently selling Want Want QQ Kitty Paw Gummy candy for $1.79 each. One pouch is 45g. The paws are yogurt-flavored gummies imported from China.

Each pouch is resealable. One serving (1 packet) is 145 calories. Each paw has two layers, a bottom white layer and a fruity top layer. The candy is squishy but very firm. The white yogurt- flavored layer is a bit spongier and sweeter. The yogurt flavor tastes like Yakult.

Available flavors: grape yogurt, orange yogurt, strawberry yogurt

• Strawberry yogurt: similarly sweet, firm, and chewy with mild artificial strawberry flavor
• Grape yogurt: very sweet, very firm yet chewy, hint of fake grape flavor
• Orange yogurt: the yogurt flavor seems stronger, but that’s not a good thing. The orange flavor is very faint.

It’s candy, so I can understand why the flavors are artificial, but the flavor is too sweet with little tang, and the candy is too firm. The strawberry was my favorite flavor.

3 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.

Revisiting Coconut Cult in 2026

 

Fro-yo girl here. I first tried and reviewed Coconut Cult in 2022. I tried the Original Coconut Yogurt and found the texture to be grainy and the fermented flavor was very strong. The ingredients were simple: coconuts and probiotics.

Recently, I noticed that Target started carrying Coconut Cult mini 4 oz cups. The packaging looked appealing. There is 200 billion CFU per cup and 16 live probiotic strains. The cups are $3.99 each.

Coconut Cult minis are made with the same live fermented coconut yogurt as the larger 8 fl oz and 16 fl oz jars. The yogurt is organic and contains no gums, fillers, or preservatives.

One thing to note is that the minis are small, smaller than your typical cup of yogurt, and each cup contains two servings. One serving is a mere 2 oz. 

Available flavors:

• Apple cinnamon roll
• Cookies & cream
• Banana cream pie
• Organic berry basket: very intense berry flavor but also intense coconut flavor, it’s super rich, super thick, and super tangy. The yogurt is made with freeze-dried raspberries and blueberries. One 2 oz serving is 160 calories, 12g total fat, 8g total carbs, 6g total sugars, and 2g protein.
• Lemon meringue: thick, rich, super tangy, also pretty sweet, strong coconut and lemon flavors. One 2 oz serving is 100 calories, 8g total fat, 7g total carbs, 5g total sugars, and 2g protein. It's not as thick as berry basket though.

I’m glad I gave Coconut Cult another try. The yogurt is super flavorful, thick, and rich, thanks to the coconut cream and the fermentation. 

Coconut Cult froyo launched this year. You can get it at Nude Miami and Sunlife Organics in the Hamptons.

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.

626 Night Market 2026: Asian Food Trends

Fro-yo girl here. Froyo is back but there wasn’t any at 626 Night Market this year. I did get some frozen yogurt skewers last year from MOJO, but MOJO wasn’t there this year. 626 Night Market seemed much better before the pandemic. It felt like there were more Korean vendors than ever this year and fewer Chinese vendors. Only one place offers stinky tofu now. In the good old days, you could smell a lot of stinky tofu.

For desserts, I spotted taiyaki, taiyaki ice cream, Italian ice, Hawaiian honey cones, funnel cakes, shaved ice, ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, churros, crème brulee, cinnamon rolls, mango sticky rice, cheesecake on a stick, and banana pudding.

I didn’t see any food trucks, and the vendors that I went to last year weren’t there. But there were new vendors, more seating, and misting stations. It felt less exciting and novel though. Sushi tacos and sushi pizza might have been new.

I did try the Japanese sandwich pop-up, Sandoitchi, but it was disappointing since they didn’t use milk bread, and they didn’t cut all the crusts off my $15 egg salad sando.

Free parking. Admission is $8. They used to always have the last market of the year during Labor Day weekend, but this year they only had the market in June and August. Foodieland acquired 626 Night Market last year.

The food is better at Smorgasburg, which has free parking and free admission, but it’s not open at night. I also think Wat Thai Temple in North Hollywood has better, more affordable food, but it’s mostly Thai and not open at night. It’s hard to find a regular night market, though there is a new one in Hollywood.

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.