Category: Frozen Yogurt Business

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Comparing frozen yogurt nutrition facts

Nutrition facts can be very confusing, especially in the world of frozen yogurt where you deal with both weight and volume. Because frozen yogurt contains air, the weight and volume are not the same.

Unfortunately, some companies have used this to promote misguided nutrition facts.

Check out this story in a New Orleans newspaper that uncovers some of this misinformation: http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2012/08/5_ways_to_avoid_potentially_hi.html

When evaluating nutrition facts for frozen yogurt make sure to look at the grams in the serving size – not just the ounces. Most companies use about 80-90 grams as their serving size.

Feel free to contact us at Nanci’s if you want to further discuss any of our Health Benefits and nutrition information.

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Two Magic Numbers for Frozen Yogurt

The correct temperature setting on your soft-serve machine is critical for making a good frozen yogurt product and for extending the life of your mix. Every frozen yogurt shop owner should have a good food thermometer like this one: https://frocup.com/product/digital-thermometer/

Use a thermometer to check the temperature in the hopper (the reservoir where you pour the mix) and the temperature of the product when you dispense it from the machine.

Magic Number #1

Hopper Temperature = around 35 degrees F (between 34 to 39 degrees)

The hopper temperature is critical for keeping the product fresh The temperature in the hopper should be under 40 degrees F. Any warmer and the product can go bad. It should also be warmer than 32 degrees or else the product in the hopper will freeze. If you see the product freezing in the hopper, just raise the temperature a degree or two.

Magic Number #2

Finished Product Temperature = 17-19 degrees F

The temperature of the product when it is dispensed should be between 17-19 degrees F. This would also be the temperature of the freezing cylinder. Because Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt use pure fruit sugar, the temperature for our mixes needs to be a little lower than for cane sugar mixes. A sugar mix might come out stiff at 22 degrees, but Nanci’s mixes are better at around 18 degrees. This can easily be adjusted on your machine – just consult your manual or contact the manufacturer if you need help.

If your product ever comes out wet, soupy, or melted then you need to lower the temperature. Frozen yogurt should come out stiff, creamy, and frozen (not wet). It’s amazing what a difference a couple of degrees makes.

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The Rise of FroYo and the Decline of Ice Cream

Check out this video and article on Yahoo! Finance about the decline of ice cream and the rise of frozen yogurt.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/decline-american-treat-140930869.html

Here are a few highlights:

  • The number of frozen yogurt shops increased by 24% between 2011 to 2012, while the number of ice cream shops declined.
  • Ice cream sales are on track to hit their lowest levels since the mid 1990s.
  • Consumers are leaving ice cream because of health reasons and because it hasn’t kept up with the more innovate and fun vibe of frozen yogurt.

 

 

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How to Get the Most out of Your Machines

Frozen yogurt machines have two main jobs: 1) freeze the frozen yogurt mix, and 2) whip air into the mix. There are a few settings and components you should be familiar with on your machine to get the best performance and to make the best frozen yogurt.

Air

Air is the secret ingredient to making frozen yogurt come out smooth and creamy. If your product is coming our icy, dense, and dark in color then it doesn’t have enough air in it. Look at our blog article or our instructional video on how to get set the air.

Temperature

If your frozen yogurt comes out wet or soft, it’s because the temperature settings on your machine are not cold enough. Frozen yogurt should come out firm and stiff with no visible “wetness”. A good test of the right consistency is if you can make a curl at the peak of the yogurt swirl. If the machine is too cold the product in the hopper can freeze and the product in the freezing cylinder won’t come out (which can damage your machine).

The ideal temperature for the hopper is 36-40 degrees Fahrenheit or 2-4 degrees Celsius and the ideal temperature for the frozen yogurt as it is dispensed is 16-17 degrees Fahrenheit or about negative 8 degrees Celsius.

Parts

One of the main causes for icy frozen yogurt is worn out scraper blades. Although each frozen yogurt machine is slightly different, they all have a beater that scrapes the inside of the freezing cylinder. This makes sure no frozen ice particles build up on the edges. If the scraper blades are worn down they can’t adequately scrape the inside of the freezing barrel, making the frozen yogurt icier than it should be. The scraper blades on most machines can be pretty easily replaced and they should be switched out every month or so depending on the usage of your machine. O-rings are another part that wears out and should be replaced according the machine manufactures recommendations.

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Marketing tip: don’t post fake online reviews

Check out this article about a sting conducted by the New York Attorney Generals office. They set up a fake frozen yogurt shop in Brooklyn, NY and solicited help from firms that promise to boost online visibility.They caught 19 companies assessed $350,000 in penalties.

Here’s the article: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/09/23/net-us-fake-reviewers-snared-in-ny-attor-idINBRE98M0Z020130923

Online reviews are very helpful to your business, but the costs of posting fake reviews far outweigh the benefits. Even if you never get caught, fake reviews are dishonest and they misrepresent your company. It’s just not good business!

But it is recommended to monitor popular review sights so you can respond to customers that post negative reviews. You can often turn a negative situation into a positive one, by responding to negative comments appropriately.

Here are a couple of good articles about dealing with negative reviews:

Here are some of the top review sites you should be familiar with:

  • Yelp
  • Google Local
  • CitySearch.com
  • UrbanSpoon
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Frozen Yogurt Toppings

Toppings are a critical part of frozen yogurt shop operations. They play a big role in customer satisfaction, but if not managed closely you an actually lose money on your toppings. You should try to be below 30 cents per ounce on your average toppings cost. If you can get down towards 23-25 cents per ounce you are doing great.

Be careful of expensive toppings that are very light, like whipped cream. Here are a couple of tricks to manage the more expensive toppings.:

  1. Put the most expensive toppings the farthest away from the last soft-serve machine so customers fill their cup on the less expensive toppings.
  2. Put the most expensive toppings at the back of the toppings bar so they are a little harder to reach.
  3. Use smaller serving spoons for the more expensive toppings.

Also, with fresh toppings, such as fruits, you should rotate the toppings to ensure that you always have fresh product in the toppings bar.

Here are suggested list of toppings. You can find recommendations for toppings supplies on our Equipment & Supplies page.

Dry Toppings

  • almonds
  • butterfinger
  • cap’n crunch
  • carob chips
  • cocoa pebbles
  • coconut flakes
  • fruity pebbles
  • graham cracker crumbs
  • gummi bears
  • heath toffee
  • jelly bellies
  • kit kat
  • m&m’s
  • peanut m&m’s
  • mini caramel cups
  • chocolate chips
  • mini peanut butter cups
  • nestlé crunch
  • non-fat granola
  • old fashioned granola
  • oreo cookies
  • peanuts
  • pecans
  • peanut butter chips
  • reese’s peanut butter cups
  • snow caps
  • chocolate sprinkles
  • rainbow sprinkles
  • thin mint cookies
  • twix
  • walnuts
  • yogurt chips

Fresh Toppings

  • strawberries
  • raspberries
  • blackberries
  • blueberries
  • peaches
  • mangos
  • kiwi
  • pineapple
  • bananas
  • cinnamon apples
  • mochi
  • cookie dough
  • fudge brownies
  • fat-free brownies
  • cheesecake bits

Hot Toppings

  • hot fudge
  • caramel sauce
  • non fat / no sugar-added fudge

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Importance of Cleaning and Sanitization of Frozen Yogurt Machines

Cleaning your frozen yogurt machines properly can help produce better tasting product and prevent any issues of harmful bacteria. Most manufacturers recommend that you clean and sanitize your machine at least once every three days, but some municipalities may require you to clean the machine every day. Check with your local health department for your local regulations. Dairy products can breed many kinds of harmful bacteria, so it’s important to stay on top of your cleaning and sanitization schedule.

The first thing to do before any cleaning is to look in the owner’s manual for the proper procedure. Many machines will come with a special brush kit to get product out of every part of it. The manual will tell you where to use them. The manual will also tell you what types of sanitizer are and aren’t okay for your machine, and which parts you should inspect every cleaning for possible replacement.

Most frozen yogurt machines follow these procedures. First, drain the machine of product. Depending on the age of the product you could put it into a freezer and reuse it. Next, get access to the hoppers and pour in water. Turn on the cleaning cycle and let it run for the recommended time. Drain the water and use your brushes to any speck of product out. Repeat the rinsing and brushing until it looks clean, then remove the scrapers and any other recommended parts. Clean these thoroughly, and check the hopper again for any missed product.

Once your parts are clean, it’s time to sanitize them. Make sanitizer according to the package directions, then soak any parts you removed for the recommended time. Make another batch to put into the hopper and use it according to your owner’s manual. Once you’re done soaking, rinse out the hopper and the parts, replace them, and then put your product back into the hopper and turn the machine on as normal.

In about 20 minutes, you should be ready to go again with fresh frozen yogurt in a clean and safe machine. Not only that, but your frozen yogurt will taste much better too. The first batch out of a clean machine is the best! Try it yourself and see.

About the Author

Emily is the customer information “champion” at Spaceman USA – a friendly manufacturer of soft serve and frozen yogurt machines. With technical knowledge of the machines and understanding of soft serve business, Emily writes in various topics – from business management to delivering the best food quality to customers.

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Frozen Yogurt vs Soft-Serve Ice Cream

You might not realize that Nanci’s chocolate and vanilla bases are rich and creamy just like soft-serve ice cream. Texture depends on how much air you get in the product and the quality of the ingredients. We don’t sell a soft-serve ice cream because it is so similar in creaminess to our frozen yogurt but lacks the health benefits.  In fact, you could choose to serve Nanci’s and not call it frozen yogurt, some of our customers sell it as soft-serve and don’t even call it frozen yogurt at all.  It is up to you how you want to name it and market it.

The benefits of Frozen Yogurt vs Ice Cream are many:
Frozen Yogurt provides the same satisfaction and tasty treat as soft-serve ice cream with many additional benefits.
What you’ll get with an average ½ cup serving of Ice Cream:
-2x the calories (190)
-10x the Fat (11g)
-Cholesterol (not good for heart disease)
-Sucrose (not good for hunger spikes and diabetes)
-Sweet, Rich and Creamy
-No variations of sweetness or texture available

Here’s what you’ll get with an average ½ cup serving of Frozen Yogurt:
-Half the calories (90)
-Low-fat or no-fat (healthy non-animal fat)
-Probiotic enriched to support a healthy immune system
-No Cholesterol
-No Corn Syrup
-No Sucrose
-Sweet, Rich and Creamy
-Versatile in that it can also have other tastes and textures depending on what you like best.  For example, the Chocolate and Vanilla bases are just like soft-serve ice cream in sweetness and texture.  The Tart bases are uniquely different from ice cream.

In addition, another base mix which is called FRUIT WHIP is a bold and refreshing fruit soft-serve like what is served at Disneyland.  And it has probiotics.  What is really cool is that if you add double the water in your recipe and use a frozen drink machine, the FRUIT WHIP turns into a self-serve smoothie.  See link to two machine options for self-serve smoothies made from just Fruit Whip base + flavor + water.

 

 

 

https://frocup.com/product/elmeco-frozen-beverage-smoothie-machine-call-for-best-price/
https://frocup.com/product/commercial-frozen-drink-machine-donper-xf124/

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Daily Opening Procedures

Every frozen yogurt operator asks how they can make fantastic and consistent frozen yogurt. They want their product to come out of the machine with the same creamy, smooth texture every day. The key to achieving this is doing two daily procedures every morning before opening.

Prime the MachineYogurtInCup

Priming the machine refreshes the product in the freezing cylinder and hopper. Here are the steps:

  1. With the machine on Standby (or Overnight) Mode, remove the air tube (carburetor tube) from the hopper.
  2. Stir the mix in the hopper with a small whisk.
  3. Dispense 1-2 quarts of liquid mix from the machine (by pulling the handle on the front).
  4. Pour the mix back into the hopper and stir with a whisk.

The machine is now primed and ready to have the air set.

Set the Air

With gravity machines, the mix is poured into a hopper on the top of the machine and gravity pulls the mix into the freezing cylinder. On a gravity machines you need to manually set the air, for a maximum of 35% air.

One very important piece on the machine is the carburetor tube or air tube. The air tube is a skinny tube – usually stainless steel – that you insert into the intake hole in the bottom of the hopper. Once inserted, the top of the tube sticks up out of the product allowing air to get down into the product. All air tubes have some way to shut off the product intake – either by flipping the tube over or by closing off the intake hole using a sleeve that fits around the tube.

Here are the steps to set the air:

  1. After you’ve primed the machine, insert the air tube with the feed hole at the top of the tube (sticking out of the mix) to stop the product from flowing into the freezing cylinder.
  2. Keeping the intake closed, dispense 8-10 ounces of frozen yogurt into a clean cup. This product can be put back into the hopper.
  3. Turn on the soft-serve machine and wait for it to freeze down and for the motor turn off.
  4. Once the motor turns off and the product is frozen, open the air intake either by flipping the air tube around so the feed hole is now at the bottom (submerged in the mix) or sliding the sleeve on the tube (depending on your style of air tube).
  5. The overrun is now set and the product should come out smooth and creamy. As long as you leave the air tube in place it will stay this way. You can repeat this process as needed.
Another important factor in dispensing a great product is the temperature of the frozen yogurt coming out of the machine. Nanci’s regular mixes are best served at 17 degrees F, and the stevia and non-dairy mixes are best served at 24-25 degrees F.
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Preparing for “Busy Season”

Did you have a slow winter or maybe even close for the winter cold?  Spring is around the corner which makes now a great time to start preparing to open back up or generate new interest for the year. 

Here are some insights you might consider as you prepare for the warmer weather. 

SOCIAL MEDIA:  To generate interest, don’t forget to use Social Media.  Some people with home businesses ONLY do business using Social Media and understand what a great tool it can be.  Don’t overwhelm your customers or followers with too many posts, but regular reminders and posts are great!

PROMOTIONS:  Start thinking of promotions you can use throughout the year.  Whether it is stamp cards to earn free yogurt, or maybe even a contest where someone gets to choose their favorite flavor as “Flavor of the Week” or have a “Customer of the Month.”  Whatever you choose to do, don’t forget how important it is to be part of your community.  Get involved in sponsoring local teams or schools and get your name out there. 

TRAINING:  Use this time for training your employees better, make sure everyone is on the same page with not only operating procedures but with the excellent customer service you want to offer your customers.  Quiz your staff on product knowledge such as how to put air into the product to make it creamier or why your product is better than most.

NEW MENU ITEMS:  Start thinking of things you can easily add to your menu that will generate more interest and excitement.  Things like salads, soups, and bakery items.  Anything that will help you to diversify and attract new customers is a good thing.  Remember to clear it with your landlord.  

INVENTORY:This is a great time to take a really good inventory.  Go through everything and make sure that expiration and best buy dates are still good.  Move everything that needs to be used first to the front and don’t forget to rotate your stock as new items come in. 

MAINTENANCE: Don’t forget to have your machines looked over.  Replace any worn parts, lube well and clean thoroughly.  The better care you take of your machines, the longer they will last.

NEW FLAVORS:This is a good time to also think about changing out a few yogurt flavors on your menu.  NANCIS.COM is a great resource for flavor ideas and new flavor cards and graphics.  Watch for our newsletters for Nanci’s flavor specials.  And if there is ever a new flavor you’d like us to carry, type it in the “Notes” section at checkout on FroCup.com.  

We love to hear your creative recipe ideas!  Here is one we liked that a client shared:  Candy Bar Flavor: 1/2 bag Chocolate Base + 1/2 bag Vanilla Base + 3 oz Salted Caramel + 3 oz Peanut Butter + 2 gallons water.  Think outside the box and try something new!  You’ll be surprised how many flavors are good in different bases; try Strawberry or Red Raspberry in chocolate and see what you think!