Frozen Yogurt’s Global Popularity & the Call for an International Frozen Yogurt Day

White's & Co. in Auckland, NZ

White’s & Co. in Auckland, NZ

While the majority of frozen yogurt shops are in the US, the rest of the world has clearly fallen in love with frozen yogurt as well. Frozen yogurt stores are just about everywhere now. You can find them in countries and territories with fewer than 500,000 inhabitants like Iceland, Brunei, Bermuda, and Grenada.

Based on IFYA’s online research, here’s the list of ten countries with the most frozen yogurt shops, from most to least:

  1. United States
  2. Canada
  3. Greece
  4. Brazil
  5. Italy
  6. Malaysia
  7. Spain
  8. Philippines
  9. Mexico
  10. Australia

All the countries on the list have over 100 froyo shops. We noted rapid growth in the number of frozen yogurt shops in South Africa (Wakaberry), Germany, and parts of the Middle East (e.g., Kuwait, United Arab Emirates). Many chain stores have established locations in the Middle East, including Menchie’s, Red Mango, Pinkberry, Snog, FreshBerry, Tutti Frutti, Yogen Fruz, Yogorino, Llaollao, Yogurberry, TCBY, and Golden Spoon.

In the Philippines, you can get frozen yogurt at fast food and coffee shops like The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Kenny Rogers Roasters. YoYogurt and Yogorino are battling it out for Italy, while Tutti Frutti and Moyo have the most locations in Mexico.

History of National Frozen Yogurt Day

National (U.S.) food holidays are typically created officially by Congressional legislation or by presidential proclamation or unofficially (e.g., a company or organization declares a food holiday). The United States celebrates National Frozen Yogurt Day twice a year. The official dates for NFYD are disputed but February 6 is the date that most (e.g., foodreference.com) seem to agree upon. We found no evidence that National Frozen Yogurt Day was created by Congressional legislation or by presidential proclamation.

In 1993, TCBY declared June as National Frozen Yogurt Month, the first week of June as National Frozen Yogurt Week and the first Sunday (“Sundae”) of June as National Frozen Yogurt Day.

Why National Frozen Yogurt Day Should Be International Frozen Yogurt Day

While the U.S. has a frozen yogurt month, two frozen yogurt days, and a frozen yogurt week, the rest of the world did not have a frozen yogurt holiday to call its own. The IFYA declares what was once known as National Frozen Yogurt Day, February 6, to be renamed as International Frozen Yogurt Day, to recognize the global popularity of frozen yogurt. International Frozen Yogurt Day (#IFYD) was created to celebrate and appreciate frozen yogurt with all frozen yogurt fans, regardless of their country of residence. So get ready for International Frozen Yogurt Day on 2/6 and be sure to wish a froyo fan happy IFYD!

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