Tag: self-serve frozen yogurt

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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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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. If you have any problem with fruit flies contact us to purchase Fruit Fly Strips that will take care of the problem.

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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SmoothYo Frozen Yogurt Launches First Store

May 15, 2014, Dominican Republic – SmoothYo Frozen Yogurt, an international frozen yogurt concept, opened its first location and is poised for rapid expansion. The first store is located in the Dominican Republic and has disrupted the traditional frozen yogurt store business model.

With extremely low start-up costs and minimal space requirement, the inaugural SmoothYo store start-up costs were one-tenth of the industry average for frozen yogurt startups. Low start-up costs allow operators to turn a profit more quickly and also charge lower prices that are more suitable to the local market.

“SmoothYo is so easy to set up that you could start a shop literally anywhere in the world,” said Luis Macouzet Zepeda, owner of the SmoothYo store in the Dominican Republic. “And the frozen yogurt mix is incredible. It’s easy to use and customers love it!”

The SmoothYo Frozen Yogurt brand is part of a start-up package offered by Wudel Incorporated, manufacturers and distributors of Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt mixes and flavorings.

“The best part about the SmoothYo licensing concept is the flexibility,” commented Johny Wudel, Vice President at Wudel Incorporated. “We can help you with everything from a full scale frozen yogurt shop to a one machine kiosk.”

About Wudel Incorporated and Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt

Wudel Inc. manufacturers and distributes Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt mixes and flavorings in more than 30 countries worldwide. With more than 25 years of experience in the frozen yogurt industry, Wudel is the leader in powder frozen yogurt mixes in the world. Wudel Inc. offers the SmoothYo Frozen Yogurt brand for licensing around the world.

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Review of Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt

Check out this review of our frozen yogurt mixes by The Frozen Yogurt Review website. This is a neutral third party that wrote this review — we have no affiliation or connection to them.

You can read the full review on their website at: http://www.thefrozenyogurtreview.com/2014/03/12/review-nancis-frozen-yogurt-mix/

Review of Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt by TheFrozenYogurtReview.com

“Whenever I go into a frozen yogurt store I am curious to see what type of frozen yogurt mix they use.  Last month I had a delicious mix of chocolate and low fat vanilla. The yogurt tasted perfect! It was creamy, cold, and had a delicious clean and rich flavor.  It was not too sweet and it also did not leave a poor aftertaste. I asked the cashier what product they used and she told me Nanci’s. This young lady was very helpful and gave me a little bit of background on Nanci’s frozen yogurt mix. She shared that the customers have always complimented on the stores flavors and that she has not heard of any of their customers being unhappy with the frozen yogurt product.

“I believed it. My cup of fro-yo was delicious. The chocolate was dreamy and the vanilla was velvety! I wanted to share my experience with you guys because the one thing that left me shocked is that Nanci’s frozen yogurt is a dry powder mix!! Dry powder mix? Yes it is a powder base and all you need to do is add water!!! I thought this was amazing that a powder base mix could taste so creamy, milky, and fluffy!

“After talking to the store employees about the frozen yogurt mix they used I went home and did a little research and contacted Nanci’s. I emailed the owner and he got back to me right away which showed me professionalism and dedication to his company. He was more than happy to give me information on his frozen yogurt mix so that I could share it with The Frozen Yogurt Review readers.”

 

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New Profit Calculator

We have relaunched our new and improved Frozen Yogurt Profit Calculator. You can access the Profit Calculator here: /resources/profit-calculator-2/.The results will now display immediately upon submission. You can also change your inputs and try multiple scenarios. Feel free to call us to discuss the profit model or to talk about how you can structure your business to be more profitable.

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Friday Fun: The Most Popular Brands by State

Branding is powerful! Every consumer-facing company fights to gain brand recognition and consumer mind-share. As a frozen yogurt store owner, you want people to think of your brand first when asked looking for frozen yogurt. Here is a fun article and map that shows the most famous brands for each of the 50 U.S. states.

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/corporate-states-america-map-shows-each-states-most-famous-brand-150794

brand-map-hed-2013
Courtesy of steve-lovelace.com and AdWeek.com

 

 

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November Flavor Deals

Flavor Deal of the Month One of the things that makes Nanci’s unique is our wide variety of flavors. We have more than 100 flavors and 250 possible flavor combinations…have you tried them all?

For the rest of November you can get 25% off any of these three great flavors:
  • Concord Grape
  • Toasted Coconut
  • Gingerbread

Available in Gallon or Half Gallon sizes. While supplies last.

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The Secret Ingredient for Amazing Frozen Yogurt

Close your office door and make sure no one is listening because I’m about to share with you the secret to making amazing frozen yogurt…ready…here it is…AIR. That’s right – one of the key components of smooth and creamy frozen yogurt is to have air or overrun in the product. If the product comes out icy and dense that means there isn’t enough air in the mix. This is especially important with natural frozen yogurt mixes.

All frozen yogurt machines have a hopper and freezing cylinder. The hopper is where you pour the mix, and the freezing cylinder is the horizontal empty cylinder behind the handles where the mix is frozen and the air is whipped into it. Inside the freezing cylinder there should be at least 30-40% air. This gives room for the product to expand and create a nice, creamy consistency.

Getting air into the product will depend on the type of soft-serve machine you have. Here is a quick breakdown. For more detailed instructions and help contact us at 1-800-788-0808 or info@nancis.com. You can also visit our Training Page for a howto video on adding air into the product.

Pressurized or Pump Soft-Serve Machine

These machines pump the product into the freezing cylinder with the exact amount of air you want – up to 100% air. Pump machines allow for you to set the precise amount of air. Consult the operators manual for your machine to find out how to adjust these settings.

Gravity Soft-Serve Machines

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 45% air.

One very important piece on the machine is the carburetor tube or air tube. The carburetor 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 carburetor 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 6 steps:

  1. Pour the frozen yogurt mix into the hopper without the carburetor tube and wait for the bubbling from the intake hole to stop. The freezing cylinder is now full.
  2. Insert the carburetor tube to stop the product from flowing into the freezing cylinder.
  3. Turn on the soft-serve machine and wait for it to freeze down and shut off.
  4. Keeping the intake closed, dispense 8-10 ounces of frozen yogurt into a clean cup. This product can be put back into the hopper.
  5. Wait for the machine to cycle off then open the air intake either by flipping the tube around or sliding the sleeve on the tube.
  6. 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.
Another important factor in dispensing a great product is the temperature on the frozen yogurt coming out of the machine. Nanci’s mixes are best served at 17 degrees F.

If you have any questions, please contact us.