Striving4Zen

Pinkberry, a frozen yogurt chain, inspired a passionate following when its first store opened, in West Hollywood in 2005. Its “original” flavor is smooth and tangy, and tastes like nothing so much as plain yogurt with a small amount of sugar.

The company initially touted its product as healthy, nonfat and all-natural, but did not say exactly what was in it.

There is, it turns out, a great deal more than yogurt in those costly white cups.

The ingredients list for Original Pinkberry has 23 items. Skim milk and nonfat yogurt are listed first, then three kinds of sugar: sucrose, fructose and dextrose. Fructose and maltodextrin, another ingredient, are both laboratory-produced ingredients extracted from corn syrup.

The list includes at least five additives defined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as emulsifiers (propylene glycol esters, lactoglycerides, sodium acid pyrophosphate, mono- and diglycerides); four acidifiers (magnesium oxide, calcium fumarate, citric acid, sodium citrate); tocopherol, a natural preservative; and two ingredients — starch and maltodextrin — that were characterized as fillers by Dr. Gary A. Reineccius, a professor in the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota and an expert in food additives.

Some of them can be characterized as natural, while others are clearly not, he said.

“Isn’t it amazing how many additives it takes to make something taste natural?” Dr. Reineccius said.

Many of the ingredients give Pinkberry qualities that nonfat frozen yogurt would not have naturally, Dr. Reineccius said.

“They are there to make something smooth, sweet and tangy that would otherwise be gritty and flavorless in a frozen state,” he said.

Pinkberry acknowledged that some of the claims it made when its stores first opened could not be backed up.

Pinkberry’s fiercest competitor, Red Mango, uses 14 ingredients in its frozen yogurt, the first of which is water. It also lists four types of active cultures.

Both companies use nonfat dairy products, sweeteners, emulsifiers and acidifiers, but only Pinkberry’s frozen yogurt includes artificial colors and flavors. Guar gum, another ingredient, is commonly used in frozen desserts to slow the melting process.

Pinkberry and Red Mango now enjoy the Live and Active Cultures seal of the National Yogurt Association, certifying that their frozen yogurt contains at least 10 million live cultures per gram at the time of manufacture.

But the specific health effects of live cultures — now called probiotics — and how many of them are needed to provide a beneficial effect have not been determined.

In January another yogurt-related class action lawsuit was filed, against Dannon, challenging the company’s claims that the benefits of its trademarked probiotics were “clinically” and “scientifically” proven.

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Labels: chemicals, Fro-yo, Pinkberry, Probiotics, Red Mango

For a product where wholesomeness is part of its attraction, the fact Red Mango is real yogurt is a selling point, Kim says. Rival Pinkberry has been sued twice by consumers alleging the company shouldn't call its product yogurt because it doesn't have an adequate level of active cultures. Spokeswoman Lundy says, "Pinkberry has a policy not to discuss its formulation. It is a proprietary formula that is being aggressively sought by many competitors." As for the lawsuits, one has been settled and the terms are confidential, Lundy says. The other is pending.

But what is the concept?
The first key ingredient is the product itself, the yogurt. It's real yogurt, meaning it's fermented in much the same way that beer or cheese is made. Most desserts called frozen yogurt are made by mixing powder, milk and sugar.

Red Mango's process leaves behind living organisms called live and active cultures. These cultures give the yogurt probiotics, or organisms believed by some to have health benefits that continue to be studied, says Jeff Blumberg, professor of public health at Tufts University.
Probiotics are thought to assist digestion and the immune system. "It's better for you than ice cream," he says.

Unlike most products served by its competitors, the yogurt at Red Mango meets the National Yogurt Association's criteria for live and active culture yogurt.
Red Mango yogurt also has less sugar than many other frozen yogurt desserts. A half-cup serving of Red Mango contains 90 calories, about 18% fewer than a similar serving of TCBY's yogurt.
The next thing that sets Red Mango apart is the setting of the stores. Red Mango stores are designed to encourage lingering and feature comfortable stuffed chairs and hip music, much like a Starbucks.

SOURCE

Labels: Fro-yo, innovative, Pinkberry, Probiotics, Red Mango, yogurt

If you haven’t yet heard of Red Mango, you will soon. Red Mango is the original Pinkberry. Red Mango has over 140 locations in Korea and has been operating since 2002. Ten Red Mango locations will be opening in 2007 with the first in Westwood, CA by the end of June. Although many people in the states will think Pinkberry was the first of its kind, rest assured that Red Mango is in fact the one that started it all. You can now prove your friends wrong when they try to convince you its the other way around.
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The nutritional expert was also on hand working out the nutritional facts of the yogurt and enlightened me to the fact that Red Mango is not only healthier than Pinkberry due to the yogurt elements but also less in calories (about 20 calories in 1 ounce, compared to Pinkberry with 25 calories.)

Labels: Fro-yo, Pinkberry, Red Mango