The History of Frozen Yogurt
Saturday, March 01, 2008 by The Frozen Yogurt Review
The first thing people think about when it comes to frozen yogurt is Pinkberry. Pinkberry has become a cultural phenomenon in the past three years. It has become a catalyst for the uprising of numerous different yogurt shops in Southern California and New York.
Frozen yogurt was actually a fad back in the 80's and the early 90's. People were in love with the alternative taste to ice cream due to the fact it was lower in calories and had some health benefits. However, as more reduced fat ice-creams appeared in the mid 90’s, the sales and popularity of frozen yogurt plummeted.
That all changed in 2005. Shelly Hwang and Young Lee originally wanted to open an English teahouse, but were denied permits to open one. They quickly decided to open up a shop that would revive the 80's yogurt frenzy. They opened their first Pinkberry yogurt store in January 2005. After one month, profits were already reeling in. People were soon driving across town and standing in line for up to 20 to 30 minutes to get their fix of "the taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets". The second store opened in September of 2006, and since then, stores have been springing up all over Southern California and also branches in New York.
As Pinkberry found lucrative success, competitors were forming from left to right as the yogurt fad exploded into new heights. Kiwiberry, Cefiore, Berri Good, and Snowberry are just some of the yogurt shops that try to imitate Pinkberry’s yogurts and designs of its stores and logos. All of the yogurt shops that came after Pinkberry claim that they are not rip-offs of Pinkberry and exclaim that their yogurt’s tastes and environment offers something different than that of Pinkberry’s.
Frozen yogurt’s rebirth appears to be an outgrowth of American’s obsession with food that offers health benefits. It seems that this cultural phenomenon of frozen yogurt has just breached the surface. Do not be surprised to see a yogurt shop in every corner or plaza in the near future. Matter of fact, they may already be there or in the process of opening one.
Frozen yogurt was actually a fad back in the 80's and the early 90's. People were in love with the alternative taste to ice cream due to the fact it was lower in calories and had some health benefits. However, as more reduced fat ice-creams appeared in the mid 90’s, the sales and popularity of frozen yogurt plummeted.
That all changed in 2005. Shelly Hwang and Young Lee originally wanted to open an English teahouse, but were denied permits to open one. They quickly decided to open up a shop that would revive the 80's yogurt frenzy. They opened their first Pinkberry yogurt store in January 2005. After one month, profits were already reeling in. People were soon driving across town and standing in line for up to 20 to 30 minutes to get their fix of "the taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets". The second store opened in September of 2006, and since then, stores have been springing up all over Southern California and also branches in New York.
As Pinkberry found lucrative success, competitors were forming from left to right as the yogurt fad exploded into new heights. Kiwiberry, Cefiore, Berri Good, and Snowberry are just some of the yogurt shops that try to imitate Pinkberry’s yogurts and designs of its stores and logos. All of the yogurt shops that came after Pinkberry claim that they are not rip-offs of Pinkberry and exclaim that their yogurt’s tastes and environment offers something different than that of Pinkberry’s.
Frozen yogurt’s rebirth appears to be an outgrowth of American’s obsession with food that offers health benefits. It seems that this cultural phenomenon of frozen yogurt has just breached the surface. Do not be surprised to see a yogurt shop in every corner or plaza in the near future. Matter of fact, they may already be there or in the process of opening one.
