The Food Scout

Perhaps you’ve heard about those boutique frozen yogurt stores that have popped up in L.A., like Pinkberry (now numbering 21 stores). For those tracking the lives of fashion models and celebrities, this has been a novel trend to watch. But sometimes such chi-chi fa-fa trends can roll over to the mainstream, which is exactly what is happening to frozen yogurt — again.

If you were one of the millions of consumers who frequented TCBY in the 80s, you may have also been one of the thousands of disappointed consumers who happened upon a TCBY in the 90s or 2000s, perhaps in an airport, and discovered that the concept was only a pale reflection of what it used to be. All the fat and sugar had been sucked out of the now-icy-and-gummy yogurt and poured into ice cream tubs with the Mrs. Field’s brand. And who needed fat-free, sugar-free ice cream that was topped with fatty and sugary candies, anyway?

Needless to say, frozen yogurt lost its shine as America moved on to Maggie Moo’s, Coldstone Creamery, and even Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s in the 90s, where health halos were marginal and unwelcome.

But now we have this awkward obesity issue to face, and it’s time to dress up our frozen treats with health, sunshine, and new trend appeal. Pinkberry has done just that, which is probably why Howard Schultz’s Maveron venture capital group took a shining to it and passed on some cold cash to Pinkberry’s owners this year.

Will TCBY take this lying down? Not a chance. All the while, it appears TCBY has been plotting a revival of its own. If you hit the right places in the U.S., you will find at least 13 of TCBY’s new concept stores called Beriyo (a smoothie concept) and Yovana Yogurt Cafe (upscale frozen yogurt). These units feature better-for-you treats and drinks, made with fruit and frozen yogurt, while offering only a minor role for more indulgent frappes, shakes and other frozen concoctions. Likewise the interiors are trendy and Jamba Juice-like, just oozing with healthy connotations.

And on a broader scale, TCBY announced earlier this week that it was returning to its frozen yogurt “roots,” having rooted out ice cream and bad frozen yogurt base. Now the yogurt base features as many as 7 life active cultures to “help improve digestion and absorption of nutrients,” and now it appears consumers can find the Beriyo-branded smoothie drinks at 100 TCBY units that have been remodeled across the country as well. In these locations, TCBY’s director of marketing, Steve Willes, says the stores have enjoyed 25% growth.

And there are a string of other, less prominent Yogurt 2.0 stores, including FreshBerry, Red Mango, and SweetGreen, all vying for attention and nursing hopes of meteoric growth in the indulgence-with-a-conscience era.

Meanwhile, in a related chain, Jamba Juice is said to have opened a new “concept store” in Denver on November 9. The store is said to be featuring a new, more modern design that is a more inviting third-place to hang out (a la coffeehouses). Stay tuned.