Shop Talk

Starbucks: So long, Sorbetto

(Updated with Starbucks comment)

Starbucks is saying so long to Sorbetto, its “Pinkberry-inspired” icy summer beverage.

The coffee chain made a splash when it debuted the tart and fruity product in around 300 Southern California stores last summer.

But it failed to wow consumers and cleaning the machine that dispensed Sorbetto was a bane to baristas, who complained that it added about 45 minutes to closing duties.

Sorbetto wasn’t available in stores this summer and Starbucks has started removing the big Sorbetto machines – which sat idle for months – from store counters.

Fro-yo seller sees red

Red Mango, one of the new generation of hip frozen yogurt chains cropping up on the U.S. coasts, is seeing red and offering a new pomegranate flavor from POM, the juice maker, starting today and available for a limited time of currently unknown duration.

While many knock-off frozen yogurt joints have multiple flavors, Red Mango and rival Pinkberry are keeping it simple with just three. Both companies offer plain and green tea flavors. The third flavor choice at Pinkberry is coffee.

Pinkberry through a straw

Pinkberry, the trendy fro-yo chain growing rapidly in California and New York, is making its tart yogurt drinkable, calling it Granita and selling it starting on Friday at a handful of Southern California stores.

“Our customers want Pinkberry at different times of the day,” Pinkberry Chief Executive Ron Graves told Reuters. “This is obviously much more portable, whether you’re in your car or walking down the street.”

Fro-yo leaders break from the pack

Frozen yogurt is hot — again.

Pinkberry and Red Mango revived the segment and are breaking away from the pack with help from venture capital funding.

While the last generation of frozen yogurt sellers offered ice cream-flavored swirls, next-gen “fro-yo” shops peddle a tart and tangy product that tastes closer to unadulterated yogurt — boosting its appeal as a healthy snack.