By Rebecca Lynne Tan

Frozen yogurt is churning into something big.

In the last 10 months, no fewer than 10 new joints have popped up, all offering various flavours of the frozen treat known affectionately to aficionados as fro-yo.

And another eight stores are set to open this year.

The newest fro-yo outlet to welcome customers is Red Mango in Wilkie Edge, which opened earlier this month.

This is the Korean brand's fifth shop since it opened in Suntec City Mall in 2008. Its other outlets are located at Far East Square, Changi Business Park and 8 Shenton Way.

Wilkie Edge's Red Mango franchise owner Stephanny Suryanata, 37, who works in the IT industry, had been looking for a business opportunity for some time.

She says: "We thought that a healthy food concept was the way to go and fro-yo was a concept that would work well here."

Fro-yo was popular here in the 1980s and 1990s with names such as American frozen yogurt chain TCBY (short for The Country's Best Yoghurt) and local players J. Higby's, Plain Haven and Yami Yoghurt dominating the market.

As with many trends, the fro-yo one died down, leaving only Yami Yoghurt standing.

But like the once outdated acidwashed jeans that came back into fashion, fro-yo has gained popularity once more.

In the last five years, the fancy fruit-topped yogurt swirl has been making waves in the United States, with names such as Los Angeles-based Pinkberry and Korean brands Red Mango and Yogurberry sweeping the nation.

The fro-yo craze has finally reached Singapore shores, with franchises such as Red Mango and home-grown brands such as Frolick, Berrylite, Yoguru and OiO (say oh-yo) setting up shop.

Berrylite, which began as a modest push-cart outside Boon Lay MRT Station in 2008, has since opened fro-yo cafes in Parkway Parade and Iluma at Bugis Junction.

Its owner, Mr Marc Ng, 31, was inspired by his fro-yo indulging days as a university student in downtown Los Angeles.

Another fro-yo entrant, OiO, owned by four Indonesian-Chinese partners, opened its first outlet in VivoCity last month.

And operators reveal that more fro-yo joints are in the works.

Yoguru, which has three outlets, in Kallang Leisure Park, Raffles City Shopping Centre and Tangs Orchard, has plans to open two more this year while competitor Frolick is setting up three more shops.

Korean-American Sam Lee, 34, owner of Yoguru, says: "Fro-yo is doing well in Singapore - you see a lot of people trying to do the same thing and that is a good indication of how the market is doing."

Mr Bernard Ho, 45, shareholder of the master franchise for Red Mango Singapore, adds: "It is a healthy alternative and we knew people would love the product." Fro-yo operators also tout its nutritional value, saying it is low in fat or fat-free.

But Ms Alefia A. Vasanwala, 37, a dietitian at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, warns that although frozen yogurt may be lower in fat, it may have similar or a higher sugar content than ice cream.

She says frozen yogurt is often fruit-based and while it "adds to the flavour and texture of yogurt", it also "increases the total sugar and caloric value". Toppings can be quite deceiving, too.

Adds Ms Alefia: "The various toppings added to the frozen yogurt will increase the overall calories, fat and protein values." But there is some benefit in opting for fro-yo over ice cream because of the good bacteria present in yogurt culture.

Ms Alefia says: "Frozen yogurt also has yogurt culture, so it has some benefits of the lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria, and hence provides similar health benefits to natural yogurt."

Benefits include better digestion. Fro-yo fans here are excited that it is finally catching on here.

Graduate student Yeo Jia-Jun reckons fro-yo here was a long time coming. Says the 27-year-old who is a fan of Pinkberry in the US: "In a place like Singapore, you would think ice cream and fro-yo would catch on. And they have - first with the home-grown ice cream outlets, and now fro-yo just makes sense."

Real-estate agent Chris Tan, 32, who eats a jumbo serving of natural-flavoured Yami Yoghurt at least twice a week, says: "The blend of tangy and sweet acts as a palate cleanser and is a nice finish to any meal."

rltan@sph.com.sg

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