Frozen yogurt was once a thriving business and trend, with locations popping up all over the country. However, frozen yogurt shops began disappearing in 2020.
Frozen yogurt, aka “Froyo,” was invented in New England in the 1970s. The business experienced a resurgence in popularity during the 2000s due to claims that frozen yogurt was a healthier alternative to ice cream. With 1/5 less calories than ice cream, the sweet treat had high demand.
There are several reasons frozen yogurt stores were thriving businesses, even though their prosperity was short-lived. The health benefits alone from the media helped draw in a customer base. Leaving businesses with little to no need to promote or market their store. The self-serve style minimizes labor costs and offers something for every customer. Many frozen yogurt shops charge per weight of the cup. This strategy allows the businesses to make more profit, with customers filling up their cups with loads of heavy toppings.
Kaia Brown (9) misses how there are seemingly no more frozen yogurt places in Spartanburg,
“Some of my favorite frozen yogurt shops are TCBY and Twisty’s. I think many frozen yogurt shops have closed recently since ice cream is more common and popular,” Brown said.
Although frozen yogurt was a thriving business opportunity over a decade ago, most shops closed in 2020. COVID-19 hit frozen yogurt shops hard because social distancing kept customers from coming into stores to customize their Froyo.
Addyson Crocker (12) realizes that the pandemic took a toll on Froyo.
“My favorite frozen yogurt shop is Sweet Frog. I think that after the pandemic, it was hard for frozen yogurt shops to still run the way they do because they depend heavily on people picking their own toppings and stuff like that. I miss being able to go with my friends and just hang out for a couple of hours,” Crocker said.
The local fan favorite, Twisty’s Frozen Yogurt and Smoothies, shut their doors in 2020. Located in the Hillcrest Shopping Center, Twisty’s was the perfect after-school treat.
Jon Garner was the owner of Twisty’s and did not see the store lasting through another 10-year lease.
“We opened with 13 flavors and 85 toppings. At one point we had 115 toppings. Yogurt stores are not highly profitable. It is an advantage to have multiple locations spread around the city and county. Our advantage was that we were next to our other business, Garner’s, and the two drew customers from each other,” Garner said.
Another reason Froyo became less popular is the change in customer preferences. After the pandemic, customers preferred a drive-thru or a delivery service to attain their food. The build-your-own strategy makes stores unable to offer drive-thrus and frozen yogurt would melt before reaching customer’s doorsteps. In addition, frozen yogurt was replaced by other trends such as boba and acai bowls.
Most trends die, but they eventually have a resurgence in popularity. According to fortunebusinessinsights.com, the Froyo business is expected to grow 1.87 billion dollars in 2024. Greenville and Charleston are already reopening the doors of Froyo shops, meaning Spartanburg might be next.
