What is low carb frozen yogurt? How does it differ from regular frozen yogurt? We asked IFYA’s marketing and business strategy expert and Vice President of Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt, Johny Wudel, to provide an overview of low carb frozen yogurt.
Low Carb Frozen Yogurt Mix
By Johny Wudel
Ever wonder what low carbohydrate (aka low carb) froyo really is? Low carbohydrate frozen yogurt was introduced to the market by Good Humor-Breyers in 1984, and rose to popularity when low carb diets, like the Atkins Diet, became mainstream. Low carb frozen yogurt has about half the number of carbs per serving as regular frozen yogurt and typically has much less sugar.
Low carb frozen yogurt relies on fructose, a natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables, or alternative sweeteners (like Stevia, Sucralose, or Aspartame), to sweeten the yogurt, while regular frozen yogurt uses table sugar or corn syrup.
Popular low carb frozen yogurt brands include Nanci’s, Only 8, Sweet 8, Carb D’Lite and Wow Cow. Here’s a quick look at each of these low carb frozen yogurt brands:
- Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt has both fructose-sweetened and Stevia-sweetened mixes with encapsulated yogurt cultures that are protected in dry form. The encapsulated probiotics protect yogurt cultures in the dry form and in extreme heat. Unlike most probiotics that die at room temperature, encapsulated yogurt cultures can be stored at room temperature for more than a year. Nanci’s low-carb mix has 24 calories per ounce and is sweetened with Stevia, a natural leaf. It is kosher certified and gluten free. http://www.nancis.com/
- Only 8 is a fat free, all natural frozen yogurt that’s sweetened with fructose and has live yogurt cultures. It’s kosher certified and gluten free. Only 8 has 23 calories per ounce. http://www.only8frozenyogurt.com/
- Sweet 8 is a new frozen yogurt brand based in Colorado. Sweet 8 is whey based, gluten free, fat free, and has active yogurt cultures. It is sweetened with fructose.
- Carb D’Lite is a low calorie, low carb frozen yogurt made from Wisconsin yogurt and whey. It has 23 calories per ounce. It comes as a powder mix to which you add water. It is sugar free, fat free and has active yogurt cultures. Carb D’Lite is sweetened with Sucralose. http://healthsmartfoods.com/
- Wow Cow from Big Train is a no sugar added, fat free, whey based soft serve sweetened with aspartame. It comes as a powder mix and has 22 calories per fluid ounce. While it’s made with cultured whey, the ingredients list does not contain any yogurt cultures. Wow Cow is a yogurt flavored soft serve but not true frozen yogurt because of the lack of active yogurt cultures. http://www.bigtrain.com/
When comparing nutritional values such as calories, carbs, and sugars, make sure that each product has the same servings size by grams not ounces. For example, Only 8 and Carb D’Lite use 40 grams as its serving size, while Wow Cow uses 65 grams and Nanci’s uses 83 grams.
If the mix uses an alternative sweetener, like Stevia, Sucralose or Aspartame, then it is also a no sugar added mix. Sugar refers to refined sweeteners like table sugar, fructose, or corn syrup.
With a very high rate of diabetes with in the US (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20.9 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes) and internationally, low carb and no sugar added mixes have become extremely popular and should be a staple for every frozen yogurt shop.
About Johny Wudel
I’ve been in the frozen yogurt business my entire life. Nanci’s was started by my dad, who is a food chemist, and now the next generation is taking the torch. I understand all aspects of starting and running a frozen yogurt business — from machines to mix.
In additional to working in the frozen yogurt world, I have experience in marketing, sales, and operations. I’ve worked with companies such as Burger King, Google, Under Armour, LL Bean, United Way, University of Phoenix, and the Boston Red Sox. I have an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. When not spending time with my wife and four children, I love running, hiking, and triathlons.
About Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt
Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt is a manufacturer and international wholesaler of soft-serve mixes including Frozen Yogurt, Fruit Freezer Sorbet, Non-Dairy Soft Serve, No Sugar Added mixes, Smoothie base mix, Granita mixes and more than 100 flavors. Based in the western United States, the family owned company has been in business since 1979, when the first line of healthy dessert products entered the market. It was originally established by John and Nanci Wudel in Utah in 1979. Three years later, John was awarded a dairy patent for the first fructose-sweetened ice cream in the United States.
The Wudel’s focus changed from ice cream to frozen yogurt as health trends shifted to low fat diets. After the company moved to Arizona, distribution of Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt grew regionally with the liquid pre-mixed line. With the invention of dry powder mixes that taste every bit as good as liquid, the company’s regional focus shifted to national and international growth. Nanci’s products are now exported to over 20 countries on 6 continents.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Frozen Yogurt Association.
