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Frozen Yogurt is back in a major way this year, with a new generation of purveyors generating social media-fueled lines around the block for their soft serve creations. But there’s more to Fro-Yo’s new wave than meets the eye (or tastebuds):
Frozen Yogurt History 101
This isn’t the first frozen yogurt boom. Fro-yo first became popular in the early 1980s through chains like TCBY as a low-calorie dessert craze fit for the aerobics era. Its popularity next spiked in the mid-2000s, thanks to colorful new chains like Pinkberry and 16 Handles that caught the eye of millennials.
TikTok-Fueled Popularity
The third wave of frozen yogurt has something the first two didn’t have: social media. Viral TikTok and Instagram content focused on Y2K nostalgia turned fro-yo shops into trendy meccas with hour-long lines that wrap around the block. All year, reporters have been flocking to these stores to report on the delicious madness.
Redefining “Healthy”
This generation of frozen yogurt (thankfully) lacks the low-fat focus on calorie counts while still clinging to its identity as a “healthy” dessert. Instead, today’s more holistic health messaging paints fro-yo as a tasty source of protein and gut-boosting probiotics.
Probiotic-Packed Beauty
Beauty brands are capitalizing on the frozen yogurt craze to promote their related beauty lines by partnering with trendy fro-yo brands. Korres created a “Greek Glow” bowl with Go Greek to promote their Greek Yoghurt Probiotic Foaming Cream Cleanser and Lemme turned their Skin Firming & Hydrating Gummy Rings into a fro-yo topping at Mimi’s.
The Heart of the Fro-Yo Matter
Today’s Fro-Yo boom might be fueled by social media, but it’s driven by a stressful world with increasingly fewer outlets for affordable fun. Going to get fancy froyo covered in toppings with your BFF is an accessible “treat yourself” experience (like visiting a museum with unlimited ice cream) that nourishes both body and mind.
