FroYo Craze Heats up in Philadelphia, Western Suburbs

Frozen yogurt is nothing new, but it is back in style and FroYo has been popping up all over our area in the last 18 months.

FroYo is Big Business

In 2011, revenue from frozen yogurt stores reached $1.6 billion, according to a report from IBISWorld.

Since February 2011, at least 12 frozen yogurt shops have opened in Northwest Philadelphia and the western suburbs, and six more are slated to open in the coming months.

Kiwi Yogurt, which opened as Sprinkles, appears to have been the first in the area with a store opening in in late 2009. Since then, Kiwi has grown into the biggest regional chain in our area with restaurants open in Haverford, and West Chester among many others and Wayne, Newtown Square, Malvern and Exton slated to open soon.

There are some independent stores and a number of chains, but most don’t have too many locations in this area. Whirled Peace has locations in Manayunk and Paoli and another one set for University City.

Red Mango has one location in Wayne and another in Philadelphia, but the chain that started in 2007, according to its website, now has 190 locations nationwide. It also has some locations in India, according to The Economic Times.

What’s the Hype About?

Most frozen yogurt stores are self serve and offer one or two size cups. It’s sold by the ounce, 49 to 50 cents per ounce, for all the frozen yogurt and toppings you can fit into that cup.

Many stores vary their flavors, changing some anywhere from every week to every few months. Most keep some flavors standard.

It's Yogurt, So It Must Be Healthy, Right?

How many ounces you put into that cup may depend on how healthy it is (or maybe not).

"A very distinctive health benefit can be the consumption of frozen yogurt
containing live, active cultures, aka probiotics. The presence of viable
cultures present at the time of manufacturing can be identified by the
National Yogurt Association's (NYA) Live & Active Cultures seal," said Nancy Falini, RD, LDN, consultant to the Celiac Center at .

"Often frozen yogurt is lower in calories and fat than regular ice cream. Caution
should be taken when indulging in fro-yo, especially the self serve type.
Often the price is based on weight in ounces and a consumer can easily fill
the very large cup provided with 8 plus ounces that can be extremely pricey
and exceed desirable calories, fat and sugar (and this doesn't even take
into account the toppings that are often selected)."

Local FroYos

• , 2009 Opening
• , May 2010 Opening
• , February 2011 Opening
• , April 2011 Opening
• , May 2011 Opening
• , July 2011 Opening
• , August 2011 Opening
• , December 2011 Opening
• , February 2012 Opening
• , May 2012 Opening
• , May 2012 Opening
• , July 2012 Opening
• , August 2012 Opening

Coming Soon

• in September.
• Twisted Mango is slated to open in Paoli in September.
• Kiwi Yogurt is slated to open in Wayne this week.
• Kiwi Yogurt is coming soon to Malvern.
• Kiwi Yogurt is coming soon to Exton.
• Kiwi Yogurt is coming soon to Newtown Square.

Do you like frozen yogurt? What flavors do you like best? Which toppings are the best? Do you prefer being a yourself or have someone do it for you? What do you think of the newest frozen treat craze? Share your opinions in the comments.