Farewell, Frozen Yogurt
By Christopher St Cavish, Jul 17th, 2009 | In Nightlife
In our maddening rush to the future, we don't stop, pause, and reflect nearly enough on the ideas we've got to trample to get there. I'm proposing we all take a moment out of our day today and reflect on the Great Frozen Yogurt Cull of 2008.
This time last year, frozen yogurt was IT. There were, what?, seven wanna-be chain stores trying to cash in, with varying degrees of success and IPR violations -- Cefiore, Yodio, Berryfresh, SweeTart, California Balance, Aloha, and Froyo Farm.
But where are they today, when it's four hundred degrees outside and we could all use a little froyo-by-the-pound? Done, gone, melted. Yodio is the only one left standing, which is cool, because along with Berryfresh -- a faithful and complete rip-off of Pinkberry -- they were the best. But even they've closed their flagship store, near Xintiandi, and exist solely in Pudong now. Berryfresh died in an unfortunate fire. The owner didn't try to call it a comeback. I think he sells textiles in Jiaxing now. Maybe not.
So what happened?
Well, for a start, the frozen yogurt at SweeTart, Aloha, and Froyo Farm was terrible. They went the cheap, local route but cheap locals didn't like their harsh, chemical flavors. California Balance and Cefiore were much better, but here's the thing about selling froyo: Winter. Rent isn't so easy to make in winter, when people want hot pot and hot chocolate, not frozen yogurt. You know where the frozen yogurt trend germinated in America? Southern California. There's no five-month expanse of Shanghai winter in sunny SoCal. So when the Big Grey Damp came last year, and just about everyone was already in a dicey situation, it was the final blow.
Let's all just think about that for a second. Frozen Yogurt is dead. Long live Frozen Yogurt.
This time last year, frozen yogurt was IT. There were, what?, seven wanna-be chain stores trying to cash in, with varying degrees of success and IPR violations -- Cefiore, Yodio, Berryfresh, SweeTart, California Balance, Aloha, and Froyo Farm.
But where are they today, when it's four hundred degrees outside and we could all use a little froyo-by-the-pound? Done, gone, melted. Yodio is the only one left standing, which is cool, because along with Berryfresh -- a faithful and complete rip-off of Pinkberry -- they were the best. But even they've closed their flagship store, near Xintiandi, and exist solely in Pudong now. Berryfresh died in an unfortunate fire. The owner didn't try to call it a comeback. I think he sells textiles in Jiaxing now. Maybe not.
So what happened?
Well, for a start, the frozen yogurt at SweeTart, Aloha, and Froyo Farm was terrible. They went the cheap, local route but cheap locals didn't like their harsh, chemical flavors. California Balance and Cefiore were much better, but here's the thing about selling froyo: Winter. Rent isn't so easy to make in winter, when people want hot pot and hot chocolate, not frozen yogurt. You know where the frozen yogurt trend germinated in America? Southern California. There's no five-month expanse of Shanghai winter in sunny SoCal. So when the Big Grey Damp came last year, and just about everyone was already in a dicey situation, it was the final blow.
Let's all just think about that for a second. Frozen Yogurt is dead. Long live Frozen Yogurt.
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