Berrylicious: Eat your heart out kulfi, frozen yoghurt has hit the town

Young entrepreneurs introduce Californian calorie-buster.

KARACHI: Karachi’s sweet tooth can now be served by a guilt-free dose of frozen yoghurt.

The opening of Berrylicious at Park Towers sparked a sense of curiosity among shoppers at the mall, who were tempted to try the brand’s frozen yoghurt thanks to the free samples being handed out for the launch on Thursday.

“This is going to be the new hangout spot for us weight-conscious girls!” remarked one customer. Her friend, A’ Level student Laleh Zaidi, spoke to The Express Tribune while ordering a second serving. “I can finally give in to my sweet tooth without feeling guilty, this tastes the same as ice cream and is actually healthy for you, which is surprising.”

Dure Sameen Akhund, who started off the ‘Californian frozen yoghurt’ venture, attempted to balance flavour and healthy eating habits with Berrylicious, advertised as being “99% fat free and absolutely zero cholesterol”. According to Akhund, even though frozen yoghurt may taste like ice cream, the brand claims that it isn’t going to make your waistline expand. “Endless hours of hard work and research have gone into this project and the outcome is that the frozen yogurt we are selling is as healthy as it is heavenly.”

According to experts, however, frozen yoghurt does have calories, which can be as low as 74 per serving depending on the brand.

An elderly couple stumbled across the stall. Usman Sher, who tried one of the samples of blueberry-flavoured yoghurt, said, “Although it has been over 40 years since I was a child, eating such things takes me back to the very day I could remember my first ice cream. Even at my age, I can eat this frozen yogurt as it does not negatively affect my health.”

Akhund believes that Pakistan’s yoghurt consumption habits make it a good market for frozen yoghurt. “Although it is surprising that such a business has not previously been initiated, we are confident that its potential in Pakistan is infinite.” She claimed that she was the first to bring the idea to Karachi, and, perhaps to Pakistan. “I can confidently say that we have introduced this product to the market for the very first time in Karachi, I have heard rumours that something similar has already been established in Lahore but it is not for sure.”

The ‘California’ label comes because all the ingredients, except for the seasonal fruit toppings, are imported from the US state. Akhund herself ate chocolate-flavoured frozen yogurt topped with shredded Oreo biscuits and chocolate chips, but her personal favourite is green apple.

Berrylicious aims to keep the products ‘affordable’. Large and medium cups cost Rs240 and Rs110, respectively and toppings such as fresh fruit, chocolate chips and syrup, are priced between Rs15 and Rs25.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th,  2011.