As summer fast approaches, a sure-fast way to beat the heat lies in the season’s newest trend: FroYo. FroYo, otherwise known as frozen yogurt, is emerging as the latest health kick, and the frozen treat is riding a wave of popularity on the University’s campus. Accredited as a healthy alternative to ice cream (less fat is used due to milk instead of cream), FroYo has revamped its old TCBY-esque image of the 90’s and now offers a wide variety of self-serve options in an array of flavors and toppings.
On campus, the University’s newest FroYo addition is Yogurt Extreme, located on 13th Ave next to the Duck Store. With a shocking bright pink exterior and a collection of colorful balloons at the entrance, the high-energy shop has become a student- and family-friendly hot-spot. With a Wii and flat-screen TV, comfy bean bag chairs to lounge on and a cheery, upbeat atmosphere to boot, Yogurt Extreme has quickly become a popular campus fixture. Plus, its self-serve layout gives the customer hundreds of choices to choose from.
“We see it as a healthy treat where you can create your own masterpiece,” says Yogurt Extreme’s Jonathan Humphreys. “Our customers love that they can pick their own portion sizes and add their own toppings. Plus, people like that it’s less in fat than regular ice cream.”
Humphreys’ wife and owner of Yogurt Extreme, Kate Humphreys, agrees.
“It’s a guilt-free dessert with healthy probiotics,” says Kate. “And being self-serve, the customer gets to be in control of what they want to eat, which has really helped propel our business forward.”
Originally introduced on the New England coast in the 70’s, the FroYo trend has since spread across to Southern California, where a health-conscious clientele popularized the tangy frozen dessert. The more-recent advent of self-serve FroYo has slowly made its way up the West Coast in the past ten or so years with FroYo chains such as PinkBerry and Red Mango.
One of the first FroYo eateries in Eugene, Vanilla Jill’s Frozen Yogurt, boasts organic and nutritious homemade yogurt. Although not self-serve, Vanilla Jill has recently celebrated their first anniversary and is one of the few FroYo spots to offer vegan non-sorbet options. Additionally, the owners proudly source almost all their organic products locally (all the summertime berry flavors come from fresh-picked Saturday Market berries), and their wholesale yogurt product is sold at Sweet Life Patisserie, with hopes to expand by offering packaged pints for sale.
“We want to make what looks good,” says Tim Stevens, owner of Vanilla Jill’s Frozen Yogurt with a shrug of his shoulders. “And what looks good is something that’s healthy and organic. We make all our yogurt from scratch, and it’s always been about the craft of creating something that’s natural and fresh.”
From chocolate-y tarts to fruity sorbet flavors, the hype surrounding the FroYo trend makes it clear that the healthy treat will be a necessary addition to this summer’s sizzle.
(Photo credits: Yogurt Extreme, TripAdvisor, and Kendall Fields)