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FroYo Craze Heats up in Philadelphia, Western Suburbs

More than a dozen frozen yogurt shops have opened in the last 18 months and six more are set to open soon.

 

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 West Chester 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 Paoli Hospital.

"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

Coming Soon

  • Chill the Hill is slated to open to Chestnut Hill 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.

  • What's the best frozen treat?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • Frozen Yogurt
        9 (42%)
    • Ice Cream
        11 (52%)
    • Water Ice
        1 (4%)
    • Popsicle
        0 (0%)
    Total votes: 21
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: Froyo, Frozen Yogurt, Kiwi Yogurt, Mango’s FroYo, Red Mango, So Fun, SwirlFrutti, Top This, Whirled Peace, and YoCreations

Deb Hodies

6:29 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

WHIRLED PEACE sells THE BEST yogurt! Period!
All Whirled Peace locations are GREEN and they donate a % of their profits to philanthropic causes -- a WIN WIN for everyone! Try the tart flavor -- it's SOOOO deeelicious, you'll want more!

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richard castrovillo

7:17 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

whirled peace on main st ........awesome

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Sam Fran Scavuzzo

9:19 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Agreed, Rich and Deb. Whirled Peace does great stuff in our area.

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Laura Haas

8:22 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

I lived in Texas where frozen yogurt was already popular. That makes sense since it's hot there year round. In Texas all the places I went to had sizes small, medium, and large. The person working there would fill the cup according to the size you picked and add the toppings you want. I like that model much better because I don't over consume and I know exactly how much it will cost. This fill your own cup business is a money pit. I went to Red Mango in June and my yogurt cost over $7!! Never again!

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James Evert

9:11 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Kiwi in Haverford has the best coconut froyo - fat free!

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Lani Frank

10:25 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

try the non-fat coconut froyo at Whirled Peace Paoli this week. Match that with the Pineapple tart for a pina colada

Phil Tripp

9:26 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Anyone remember TCBY? Guess their timing was just a little off!

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Lucy Bennett

9:44 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

It seems like TCBY was the last FroYo trend and this is the new FroYo trend. (but yes, I remember it)

Lani Frank

10:21 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Try whirled peace coconut fat free Froyo in Paoli this week along with our espresso low fat Froyo

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Anthony Wayne

12:09 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Of the twenty listed above my bet would be fourteen closed in three years. The business model being missed here is to seperate yourself from the competition. Where is the old fashioned shave ice. That was the best by far. Our family won't eat yogurt no matter how much sugar you put in it.

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Ed Goss

12:16 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Whirled Peace rocks! It is amazingly delicious, the people are extraordinarily customer friendly, and the fact that they care about the environment and local charities seals the deal for me.

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Robert Gasparro

12:20 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

I'm going to weigh in on this argument (no pun intended). Having completed a few semesters of cooking classes at Temple, I've made made dozens if not hundreds of gallons of home made ice cream. The best "home made," is milk and fresh fruit. You must consume right away, in a few days milk turns to a block of ice. Cream prevents fusion of the ice crystals. Yogurt, of course, is milk. Since it's made on the spot at these stores, no need to worry about storage issues, or fat. But watch out for the sugar! Also, do they use gum to stabilize the product and hold it together? We buy lots of frozen yogurt at Super Fresh and add fruit at home.

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Robert Gasparro

12:58 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Sorry, forgot to mention that the frozen yogurt at supermarkets contains an additive preventing it from turning into a block of ice. That's the price you pay for store bought over home made. Should you examine the grams of fat in some of the cheaper super market ice creams, you may find it's the same as milk. They simply place an additive in it to make it as smooth and store as long as ice cream.

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Kelly, co-owner ShoppeFlare

4:02 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

My husband and I took our three children to the YOGO FACTORY in Newtown Square...what a huge expense! It cost us $33.00 for 5 cups of yogurt with toppings. Not my idea of a fun and inexpensive family outing.

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kevin

11:49 am on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

How did you forget to mention Sweet Frog? It's opening in the Andorra Shopping center on labor day weekend. It's a chain thats big down south (virginia area) but the selection of yogurt flavors and toppings puts whirrled peace to shame every time. Can't wait!

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Morgan King

12:05 pm on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Sweet Frog's also aggressively Christian (from their website 'F.R.O.G stands for Fully Rely On God'), their yogurt isn't organic, their flavors much more banal, and the toppings are largely of the 'crumbled candy bar' variety, and their choice in piped-in music is the height in execrable pablum. I can't fathom ever choosing them in any environment where they have competition - in VA it's the only choice, in Philly there's dozens of better places.

angela

7:46 pm on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

I'm going to assume Morgan King has never been to a Sweet Frog, otherwise he would be inclined to speak more highly of the chain. Banal flavors? Would that be the Blood Orange Tart? The Honey Lavendar? The Ginger Lemonade? Clearly none of these flavors are by any means banal, especially when faced with the average Vanilla, Chocolate and Raspberry at Whirled Peace. The toppings bar is three times the size of Whirled Peace as well, boasting not only a 'crumbled candy bar' section, but a section fully devoted to 6-8 varieties of fresh fruit, a cake bar (including cheesecake pieces, brownies, and angel food cake - to name a few), as well as a about 8 different sauces including hot fudge, kiwi sauce, and marshmallow fluff! Your assertion that they are aggressively Christian is asinine considering they don't discriminate against homosexuality like a famous chicken sandwich chain, and they only assert their religion in philanthropy by helping young African children living in a war-torn country. I'm also sure to avoid the execrable pablum, you patronize Starbucks, which isn't overplayed at all ...

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Morgan King

12:22 am on Thursday, August 30, 2012

You would assume wrongly, then - I've been to the one in Winchester VA in a few times with my inlaws - there was nothing remotely that interesting there - 8 flavors, of the chocolate, vanilla, strawberry variety. Their website lists more exotics, but they certainly weren't there. They certainly didn't have freshly shredded coconut or diced mangos like Whirled Peace has. I wouldn't go Starbucks ever, given the choice, but I am familiar with their general musical aesthetic, which is, indeed, also largely awful pablum. The Christianity thing is a huge turnoff to me, and indicative of a much greater problem I wouldn't place at their business's feet, exactly, but I guess your mileage may vary - I found it oppressive and cloying.

Ellen Goss

12:04 pm on Sunday, September 2, 2012

Count me in for Whirled Peace! Still the best. I think the contest for the most flavors is crazy.....how many variations does one need if the yogurt is rich and fresh, the toppings plentiful, the smoothie combinations imaginative and healthy? I, for one, get bleary eyed reading all the contrived combinations: as long as there are sweets, tarts, and a couple of unusuals to try I am good to go. I hope Whirled Peace continues to grow and opens more shops.....I also applaud their quest for "greening" with their utensils that are not plastic, but made of corn that will decompose-and I like the way they feel. In fact, all of their paper products and containers are compostable.

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Adam Hendricks

11:46 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013

YoGo Factory by far best of all of these. Gotta check em' out. I think they are in Doylestown and Edgmont/Newtown Square as of today but are opening in Exton and some other areas according to the girl I spoke to at the store today.

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Ellen Goss

10:57 am on Sunday, February 24, 2013

Bigger is not always better. I still stand by Whirled Peace in Paoli and Manayunk. Its yogurt is incredible, its smoothies unique, its toppings varied and creative with REAL fresh fruit always available. Because it is small, we have fun meeting other customers and always end up having some great conversations. Great staff, great owners, great place!

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