Frozen Yogurt Wars Cont.: Pinkberry Stalling in Little Tokyo, Yogen Fruz Is on Its Way
Friday, September 21, 2007

2007_09_pinkberry%20little%20tokyo.jpg
Yes, another one. From Angelenic

LITTLE TOKYO: Downtown watcher Angelenic says the Pinkberry in Little Tokyo won't be swirling any time soon. A Pinkberry rep told the blog that the 2nd Street location suffers the typical bout with bureaucratic red tape: "We never know when the city officials will give us our permits that allow us to operate." But one of our faithful readers sent this tip in earlier this week: "The downtown Pinkberry on 2nd street is FINALLY going to open. I was just by there over lunch and a guy was working on cleaning up cardboard panels inside. He said next week they will finally open the doors (maybe even by Wednesday, he said). So next week at some point lines should be a lot shorter at Cefiore." Sounds like the Pinkberry official wants to keep something a secret. Shocking.

LOS ANGELES: It seems kind of late in the game, but a Canadian company called Yogen Früz is looking to launch in California. We got an overly puffy email from someone saying that Yogen Früz is the "longest running frozen yogurt concept to date," open for 21 years; it's in "80 different countries including Korea where the copycats are coming from"; and it hopes to have more than 300 stores in U.S. by the end of 2008. First: If it was so good, why is it in 80 other countries but the U.S., which shares a border with Canada? Second: TCBY, while maybe not the same tangy kind of frozen dessert treat, started in Little Rock, AR in 1981, so maybe Yogen Früz is the oldest in Canadia, but not in the world. And third: The official website claims Yogen Früz is in only 30 countries, not 80. Someone needs to work on their fact checking skills. We don't know if this is a new franchise owner trying to create buzz or what, but we just called Yogen Fruz in Canada and the person who answered said, "We'll be bringing some interesting things to the party in California." Eater will have the official word soon.

The anon tipster also was very proud of "probiotic," the new buzzword for frozen yogurt companies that want to prove they are the antithesis of the powder-happy, secretive Pinkberry. Red Mango, for instance, just sent a press release about being accepted into the International Probiotics Association (IPA), which basically just means it's got that all that healthy yogurt bacteria stuff.
· Frozen Yogurt Wars Part IX: The Little Tokyo Showdown [~ELA~]
· Read the Frozen Yogurt War Chronicles here [~ELA~]

Posted in Buzz: The New Black




Comments (3 extant)

1.

Im gonna go with: who gives a fuck about pinkberry or little tokyo?

By acebrigade at September 23, 2007 2:01 AM

2.


actually, i'd say 70% of the people who live and work in the area actually DO give a fuck that a store that has been finished has just been sitting there for the last 3 months. People want to know what is going on with the space.

By yourmoms at September 24, 2007 9:51 AM

3.

I happen to know Yogen Fruz really well, as I am from Canada and want to say that it is wicked stuff. It's by far the most natural looking and tasting frozen yogurt around. I remember when the first store opened back in 1986 in a mall in Thornhill, Ontario. It has grown quite a bit since. Not sure who Pinkberry is nor do I care because they are not in Canada. TCBY is yuk and if the other yogurts are powdered base then yuk to them too! Nice to hear Yogen Fruz is expanding into the States!!
Sandra

By Sandra Dean at September 27, 2007 7:33 PM





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