MANY years back, frozen yogurt seemed to be all people wanted to eat. Memories of going to places like Frutti FroYo and filling your cup up with whatever toppings you could think of seem to be a staple in a lot of Filipino childhoods. 

But over time, as the craze died down, yogurt shops started closing left and right. This phenomenon wasn’t just happening in the Philippines, it was the same for countries like the U.S., too; in around 2015, the popular yogurt shop Pinkberry started closing down a number of stores because fewer and fewer people were coming in.

For a long time, it seemed as if people stopped caring about the treat that was once everywhere–which is why it’s surprising for many that it seems to have started blowing up once more in the Philippines.

The question now is: Why? What is it about frozen yogurt that’s suddenly gotten everyone lining up just to try it?

What’s your ulam, pare?

The What’s your ulam pare? Facebook group was first created in 2017 as a way for people to share photos and videos of their food, give criticisms and reviews of the different restaurants they try, and recommend hidden gems that others can visit when they have the time. 

At present, it has over 898,000 members. 

One of them is John Salvador, a 29-year-old public school teacher who has been an avid poster, and he has noticed that a lot of the group’s members had been talking about froyo. 

Many have been raving about the taste.

“Na-hype siguro sa postings, pero masarap naman din kasi ang froyo kaya nagustuhan talaga,” said Salvador. 

It is also considered a healthier alternative, he noted.

“Saka ako kasi, iniisip ko na mag-froyo nalang kesa ice cream, kasi nga [mas] healthy daw,” he said.

Avrille Natabio is a 28-year-old freelance graphic artist who joined the group after she would constantly see her friends sharing posts from it.

Natabio noticed sometime in the summer that people have started discussing frozen yogurt in the group; BLK 513, Red Mango, and LLao LLao were some of the first to be talked about on the page. 

Even on other social media sites, frozen yogurt seems to be all the rage. One video from a TikTok user has gotten over a million views since it was posted last May, even though all it shows is a clip of a cup of Llao Llao’s yogurt with the caption: “Llao Llao supremacy.”

And while it seems that a vast majority of the trending yogurt videos on TikTok are of Llao Llao, there are also ones saying that other shops (BLK 513 and Red Mango are some of the first to show up) are much better. The basis for this comparison, we’re still not sure.

FroYo wars

Places like Llao Llao and BLK 513 have constantly been posted on the What’s your ulam pare? page with mixed reviews. Some say that so and so is better and are quick to bash its competitors, looking at things like the flavor, the amount of sauce and toppings on the yogurt, and if making the purchase is worth it based on the price. 

One post, for example, compares the appearance of BLK 513’s yogurt to dinuguan. Meanwhile, another post praises the yogurt place, calling it generous with how much sauce it gives. 

Llao Llao often faces the same mix of criticism and praise; “Patak patak na lang bigayan ng sauce,” one user complained. 

Another praised the food but doesn’t appreciate the customer service. And others continue to love the yogurt so much that they seem to indulge in it on a daily basis.

With practically every yogurt shop in the country, there’s always going to be praise and criticism alike. Sometimes though, comments on posts like these can get brutal. The whole thing has turned into what Salvador refers to as the FroYo Wars.

He said that in this war, the top three contenders most often posted continue to be BLK 513, Llao Llao, and Red Mango.

Salvador has tried both Llao Llao and BLK 513, rating the former a nine out of ten and the latter a ten out of ten. He shares the sentiments of others that Llao Llao tastes good but lacks toppings and sauce. Meanwhile, BLK tastes good, has a lot of servings, and has an accommodating staff, in his view. 

“Masusulit mo sa servings nila yung binayad mo,” he added. 

Natabio shares the same sentiments about BLK 513 being the best among the rest, explaining that the shop has been consistent with regard to the taste and quality of the food even before it started blowing up. 

“They always experiment with flavors, and [with] how they serve it to the customers, kaya hindi nakakasawa,” she said.

Is it here to stay?

It’s hard to say whether or not the popularity of frozen yogurt in the Philippines will last forever. But for now, it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. 

According to Salvador, as long as these yogurt shops continue to market their products properly and provide adequate customer service, there’s no doubt that they’re going to last because the food on its own is already good.

Natabio, on the other hand, noted that trends come and go. But those with quality goods are sure to last much, much longer.