History of "Tofu Frozen Yogurt"

Fro-yo girl here. While I was putting together my list of froyo shops that offer soy frozen yogurt last April for National Soy Foods Month, I noticed that three cafes in the greater Boston area serve soy froyo. Not only that, they all called it tofu frozen yogurt. And at least one of those cafes has been around for decades, so it didn’t seem like a new thing. They also all serve mix-in style froyo. I also remember that years ago, I spotted some old signs at Shy Giant in Seattle, the oldest froyo shop in the Pacific Northwest. One of the signs said tofu frozen yogurt.

I was inspired to research tofu frozen yogurt and found the history very interesting. In 1983, a time when frozen yogurt and low cholesterol diets were popular, Tofu Time introduced Tofutti, tofu soft serve ice cream. The founder of Tofu Time, David Mintz, started making tofu and developed Tofutti as an ice cream alternative. Tofutti was served at Bloomingdale’s and Zabar’s in New York City starting in 1982 and then “spread to Hawaii, California and Massachusetts. Tofu frozen yogurt or ice cream was cholesterol free, dairy-free, and lactose free. Tofutti was kosher as well.

By the mid-80’s there were several tofu frozen dessert competitors, including Glace, Tofulite, Tofait, Tofree from Colombo Yogurt, and Ice Bean. Haagen-Dazs sold Tofutti in its 28,000 shops. At one point there were as many as 30 different competitors in the soy frozen dessert space. Competition and media scrutiny over the high calorie count of soy desserts led to a sales decline.

According to the SoyInfoCenter.com, “the boom years for soy ice cream in America were 1984-1988. When the craze died down, four national brands were left: Tofutti, Ice Bean, Tofulite and Mocha Mix.” Tofutti is still around but it refers to the name of the company. The name was changed in 1986. They still sell frozen desserts made with soy, in pint form and as Tofutti ice cream sandwiches. By 2004, Turtle Mountain, makers of Soy Delicious non-dairy frozen desserts (later renamed So Delicious), had surpassed Tofutti in sales in the natural foods channel.

I don’t think Tofutti ever had probiotics but it was seen as a competitor to soft serve frozen yogurt, which probably explains why some people called it tofu frozen yogurt. David Mintz created it as an alternative to ice cream. He died last month at the age of 89.

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.