Sorry Ice Cream

3 years ago, a new wave of insanity hit California. The wave came in frozen, creamy form, and the result - thousands of parking tickets.

Pinkberry, a frozen yogurt store, opened in January 2005. Its success spurred openings in California and New York faster than Britney Spears could come up with ways to shock the nation with her ridiculous antics. However, like Britney, Pinkberry and frozen yogurt have stuck around to many's surprise. Over the past 3 years, Pinkberry has successfully opened 50 stores and I'm sure they have more to come.

Although I'm not sure if Pinkberry was the first to start this craze, many other entrepreneurs saw the popularity of Pinkberry's delicious fro-yo and saw it as a great investment opportunity. These investors were very clever for trying to capitalize on the fad, but I really think they could have worked on the names of their stores. The most ridiculous ones that I have heard of are: Berri Good, Dietberry, and Yogurberry. Maybe they think that success of the store is contingent on whether or not the word 'berry' is in the name of the store...who knows.

But where did Pinkberry come from? As much as loyal Pinkberry-goers like to believe, frozen yogurt is not a new thing. In fact, the first national frozen yogurt chain in America, TCBY (This Can't Be Yogurt), was formed in 1981. Frozen yogurt entered a slump in the cool, creamy dessert market for a while, and then a store called Red Mango entered the arena.

Red Mango may be responsible for the revival of frozen yogurt. The first location opened in 2002 in Korea, and this is where Pinkberry founders got the idea to open a similar store in the states. I earlier picked on other frozen yogurt locations, so I have to be fair and poke fun at Pinkberry as well. Not only did Pinkberry borrow the idea of frozen yogurt from Red Mango, but they borrowed a more subtle version of the name. Red shifted to pink and mango shrank to berry. Clever.

So what pulled Americans out of the frozen yogurt slump in 2005? The heavy emphasis on health benefits? The colorful fruit and cereal toppings that dress the frozen dessert? Or its fresh, tart taste? All of these things were probably responsible for the resurrection of frozen yogurt, but I would say that its unique taste is what got everyone addicted to "crackberry". Unlike the traditional fro-yo you get at TCBY, this frozen yogurt is so tart it's almost sour. Just imagine eating plain Dannon or Yoplait yogurt in an icy form. Some really like it, but I know of others who can't stand the less-sweet alternative to ice cream.

I had my first experience of this new type of frozen yogurt last fall at Swirll in Houston's West U area. I was initially drawn in by the modern, hip design of the store, and was even more intrigued when I saw nutritional facts displaying the low number of calories this treat packed. The next thing my eyes were drawn to was the topping bar. Half of the toppings were fruits and the other half were fun toppings ranging from sunflower seeds, granola, and Fruity Pebbles. I was sold when I saw the colorful cereal as a potential topping. Who knew that I wasn't the only wacko around who liked cereal on top of their ice cream?

I was definitely taken by surprise when I took my first bite of the creamy concoction. I was not expecting such a tart taste, but my tastebuds slowly learned that I wasn't eating ice cream. Ever since that first experience, I've been hooked. Each time I'm in Houston, I make a special trip to satisfy my fro-yo craving.

The owner, who opened his first location in West U during the summer of 2007, has since opened 2 more locations - one in River Oaks and the other in Post Oak by the Galleria. In August of 2008, he will be opening another location in Austin, right by UT's campus on "the Drag" (thank goodness!)

If you haven't had the opportunity to give frozen yogurt a try, I highly recommend finding a location near you. With its extreme popularity, I wouldn't imagine it to be very difficult to find a frozen yogurt store in most large cities.

Get on the bandwagon before this trend ends. You never know, you might miss your opportunity and another frozen dessert akin to frozen yogurt might take it off the radar like Jamie Lynn did to Britney. Do it. Your mouth will be glad you did.