Menchie’s Introduces a New Rewards Program, New Flavor, & New Cups

Fro-yo girl here. There were lots of new things at Menchie’s, including a new flavor, new rewards program called The Swirl Club, and new cups.

There are two featured flavors this month. Classic Vanilla Cupcake froyo, a fan favorite, is back. Juicy mango hibiscus sorbet is a new vegan sorbet made with real hibiscus. The sorbet is nonfat, gluten-free, and made with no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors, and no artificial colors. It was tangier than the typical sorbet and had a pretty pink-orange hue. The hibiscus flavor was stronger than the mango. I enjoyed the tanginess.

The new rewards program, The Swirl Club, has three tiers. For every $1 you spend at Menchie’s, you’ll earn 1 point. The rewards differ by tier.

Bronze

• Earn $6 for every $75 spent
• $6 birthday reward

Silver ($250 minimum spend)

• Earn $6 for every $75 spent
• $6 birthday reward
• $6 tier bonus

Gold ($500 minimum spend)

• Earn $6 for every $75 spent
• $10 birthday reward
• $12 tier bonus

I also spotted a new cup design promoting the contest. Scan the app for a chance to win the ultimate gaming bundle that includes Bandit Trap

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.

Chinese Froyo at AiPaPa Kitchen

 

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve noticed that a few Northern Chinese restaurants offer homemade yogurt. Ai Papa Kitchen in Rowland Heights not only makes yogurt but freezes it. The froyo is $5.99. It’s served in a plastic cup. The restaurant specializes in the cuisine of Northwest China.

Handmade Frozen Yogurt: The yogurt is made daily with (cow’s) milk that is fermented. It’s topped with goji berries, osmanthus flowers, and honey. I was also told that it contained fermented rice. They put the yogurt in the freezer but not in a soft serve machine. The yogurt was not frozen solid but was just a bit colder than regular refrigerated yogurt. The texture was not smooth but seemed to have bits of something else (rice?). It wasn’t frozen enough for me. My friend thought it was icy and too sweet. It tasted like regular yogurt but a bit worse because of the texture. There was no milk skin on top.

* Ai Papa Kitchen, 18495 Colima Rd Ste 8 Rowland Heights, CA 91748

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.

SWRLIES Celebrates 7 Years of Drilling with Free Froyo

Fro-yo girl here. SWRLIES celebrated seven years in business with a generous giveaway of free hand-drilled ice cream or froyo to the first 150 guests and free gifts for the first 30 guests. The gift was a cute SWRLIES canvas tote bag and a SWRLIES sticker. The tote bag does mention froyo. During today’s event, guests could choose any of the five menu items.

I selected La Toxica, a blend of strawberries and pineapple blended into SWRLIE’S tart froyo, topped with chamoy and Tajin. It was the only froyo item on the menu.

SWRLIES was parked at 5050 York Blvd, in Highland Park, Los Angeles. The owner grew up in Highland Park and wanted to bring Mexican-inspired ice cream and froyo to the community. The yogurt base is made in-house and blended to order with fruit.

SWRLIES caters. Follow Swrlies on Instagram, @swrlies

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.

Yo! CHILL Opens in West Adams

Fro-yo girl here. Yo! Chill Frozen Yogurt opened in February, and I have to admit that I only recently found out about it.

It’s a smaller self-serve froyo and snack shop in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles. There are four soft serve machines serving eight flavors a day. The toppings bar is quite small, with dry toppings and syrups towards the front and refrigerated toppings towards the register. Toppings included fresh fruit, mochi, sprinkles, popping boba, cookies, chocolate chips, etc. It’s $0.79/oz.

Froyo flavors of the day:

• Vanilla soft serve
• Chocolate soft serve
• Dole Whip pineapple (available as a float)
• Raspberry sorbet
• Salted caramel froyo
• Strawberry froyo: icy but smooth, did not taste natural, little flavor – didn’t taste like strawberries or yogurt
• Mango froyo
• Original tart froyo: didn’t taste like yogurt, had some flavor but not pleasant

They also sell drinks, snacks (candy, crackers, gum), and branded merch. Unfortunately, this was some of the worst froyo that I’ve ever had. The place did seem clean though and the strawberries were fresh.

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

YO! CHILL FROZEN YOGURT, 5167 West Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016

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.

Tezza Dairy-Free Greek Yogurt Review

 

Fro-yo girl here. I found a new kind of Greek yogurt at Sprouts; Tezza is a new plant-based Greek yogurt made with non-GMO soymilk and sweetened with cane sugar. Each cup contains at least 12g of protein, 4g fiber, and billions of probiotics. Soymilk has much more protein than other plant-based milk alternatives. 

One cup is 5.3 oz. Sprouts is selling Tezza for $2.99. I spotted three flavors there, all but Plain & Simple.

Vanilla Bean: I love soy products more than most people, but I did not enjoy Tezza’s vanilla bean yogurt. The taste was chalky and unpleasant. It was sour yet also pretty sweet at the same time. I could taste the soy. The texture was thick and creamy. One container is 160 calories, 6g total fat, 15g total carbs, 9g total sugars, and 12g protein.

Strawberry: The strawberry is blended into the yogurt. I found it helped mute the soy flavor, though I could still taste the soy. The yogurt was quite tangy but also very sweet. I liked the strawberry flavor a bit more than the vanilla bean.

The packaging is very cute.

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

3 out of 5 stars.

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 Norwalk, CA

 

Fro-yo girl here. Norwalk, CA, is a city in Los Angeles County that is roughly 17 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The current population is 98,230 for 2024/2025 and the median age within the city of Norwalk is 33.5. The median household income is in the $98,000 to $100,000 range.

There is one froyo shop in Norwalk. Yogurtland opened at Norwalk Towne Square in 2014. Neighboring cities like Whittier and Downey have multiple froyo shops.

OPEN

• Yogurtland, 13933 Pioneer Blvd Ste B, the OC-based self-serve froyo chain, opened at Norwalk Towne Square in 2014

FORMER FROYO SHOPS

• Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, 12417 Norwalk Blvd, was a self-serve froyo shop that also served. It opened in 2009 and appears to have closed in 2020 during the pandemic
• Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, 13041 Rosecrans Ave Ste 204, may have opened in 2011 and closed in 2014.
• Yogurt Me, 10931 Alondra Blvd, opened across from Cerritos College in 2011 and closed in 2015

STOPPED SERVING FROYO

These shops are still open but stopped serving froyo.

• Costco, 12324 Hoxie Ave, Norwalk, CA 90650
• Jamba, 12305 Imperial Hwy., Norwalk, CA 90650

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.

Bibizan Probiotic Freeze-Dried Yogurt Cubes Review

Fro-yo girl here. I found another yogurt snack, Bibizan Probiotic Freeze-Dried Yogurt Cubes. These yogurt cubes are imported from China. A 40g resealable bag of yogurt cubes was $3.50 at Shiny Snacks in Rosemead, CA. They only had the blueberry flavor.

The cubes are individually wrapped. Made with freeze-dried fruit and yogurt, the yogurt cubes have probiotics and are positioned as a healthy sweet treat.

Blueberry Yogurt Cubes: The cubes are small and firm. The exterior of the cube has a thin white, slightly tangy coating. The interior is firm and crunchy. I could definitely taste the blueberries and the yogurt. It felt more like candy than a healthy snack. Plus, the cubes are so small that they’re like an after dinner breath mint. These freeze-dried yogurt snacks are similar in taste and texture, but this one is definitely sweeter than average.

Available flavors: Peach, Strawberry, Blueberry

* SHINY SNACKS: 9711 Valley Blvd Unit C, Rosemead, CA 91770

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.