Golden goodness

THE yogurt craze that hit the metropolis a couple of years back was met with much fervor from Cebuanos. A chilled, tasty—and not to mention, healthy snack—yogurt has become one of the go-to treats when craving for a refreshing break under this tropical heat.

It is a treat that has nestled sweetly in the hearts of many; this is quite apparent in the fact that nearly all major local establishments are already housing a yogurt shop or two. Each of which is serving its own blend of flavors, as well as a selection of toppings and syrups to mix them with.

But before concluding that the city is all set, yogurt-wise, a new name has recently entered the scene, giving Cebuanos more options to choose from and a very good reason to be excited. A new wave of yogurt craze is here.

Say hello to Golden Spoon, one of the world’s pioneers in the flavored, frozen yogurt phenomenon. It was founded in 1981 by Jeff Barnes, originally as an offshoot product of his health shop, Yogurt and Things, in California, USA. Seeing that people enjoyed the taste of his yogurt, Jeff eventually decided to focus more on making it and then formally launched the Golden Spoon brand in 1983.

Golden Spoon reached the Philippines in 2009 when Rica Lopez-de Jesus franchised it.

It now has over 13 branches in the country, with the newest one and the first outside of Metro Manila, located at the ground floor of SM City Cebu Northwing Atrium.

According to Rica, the Cebu branch is also the first in Philippines to reflect the newest look of the brand. It is an image that banks on the “modern California beach cottage” motif, with artsy photos of surfboards and beach lovers placed on the walls, giving the place an overall laidback appeal.

What’s particularly enjoyable at Golden Spoon is that diners can have the chance to prepare their own cups—from filling it with the flavors they like, to swirling on the syrup, then to topping it with fruit slices and confectionary bits.

One can go all out in this sweet, fun activity as Golden Spoon has what they call the weightless pricing concept, which basically means it’s fill-all-you-can.

“If you can pile it in, it’s yours at no additional cost no matter the weight,” said Rica. Yogurt fans, take note!

Diners simply have to pick the size of the cup they want to get and it’s theirs to fill to their heart’s content. The sizes have amusing names, too. There’s Spoonful (one-half cup), Cupful (one cup) and Wonderful (one and one- half cups).

Nearly 30 years ago, Golden Spoon started out by offering only a handful of flavors such as Old-Fashioned Vanilla, Just Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Fresh Strawberry.

Today, one can still grab any of these old-time favorites, along with 46 other quirky flavors that Jeff has created over the years. By quirky, we are talking here about flavors like Black Cherry, Eggnog, Red Velvet, NY Cheesecake, Peppermint and many more.

Having a spoonful of yogurt has certainly become more fun with Golden Spoon in the scene. New flavors, more toppings, the fun experience of putting it all together (using, by the way, a golden-colored spoon)—these are all new reasons to head there, craze or no craze.