Interview with James Ong from Frolick

James Ong (pictured with food blogger Charlene and Grace)

One of four founders of Frolick

http://www.facebook.com/www.frolick.com.sg 15,689 Likes and counting!

1) Frolick has 4 founders so whose idea was Frolick? How many names did you guys come up with before settling on this one?

I would have to credit Ken for coming up with the idea after coming back from California.  We came up with names like ‘Afroyo’ and ‘Nanabanana’. 😀 Our design house, Asylum, helped encapsulate the characters of the 4 founders – fun, loud individuals who liked partying more than studying then. We wanted something bright and youthful.

2) Frolick has many cheeky slogans in the store as well as on your website. Who came up with those?

Again, I’d have to credit Asylum for that. We were Chinese High boys and not very creative. But we wanted a dessert brand which would be bigger than itself. Our target audience are those aged between 15 and 24. Our yoghurt also has a stronger taste.

[So how did you guys learn to make frozen yoghurt? And when did you know you’re ready to start a business?]

Google was a good teacher! 😀 We had 8 months of R&D with our friends being the guinea pigs. When they were one day so busy eating rather than commenting, we knew we were ready!

3) Frolick is now in Myanmar. Why Myanmar?

In Myanmar, the culture for eating dessert isn’t strong. The most premium dessert is Walls ice cream. Hence, we easily serve the best dessert.

Our partner in Myanmar is a young chap of 26. He has passion and youthfulness. He also came to us prepared and with a location in mind. Myanmar is attractive as it is an unexplored market.

Take Taiwan for example. The street eats are so competitive. Rent is also not cheap. Myanmar therefore has more potential. There is no fight.

4) Why do you think Frolick has been so successful in spite of the stiff competition?

The nature of the product – the sphere of sales catchment area is small. We can have 10 different yoghurt brands in Orchard, for example. We did pretty well being noisy, attracted some attention with our branding and we also gave out free yoghurt. 🙂

5) What exciting new developments can fans of Frolick expect from the brand?

We’ll have a new dessert concept come the 4th quarter. We envision it’ll be more than frozen yoghurt and we are prepared to take on a bigger challenge. It will not be too conventional. 😉

What did Charlene have to say about the yoghurt we ate?

Charlene: “The texture of Frolick’s yogurt is light, smooth and tastes very refreshing . The green apple flavoured yoghurt is minimally sourer and would taste even better with a nice sweet topping!”

Grace says: You can tell from the picture that my Frolick cup was empty when I took the photo. 😀 That tells you how much I loved the yoghurt. *Yumz* By the way, this is no advertisement. I had a Frolick loyalty card way before I interviewed James. 🙂

*Frolick Voucher GIVEAWAY!*

James was so kind as to offer me and Charlene 10 Frolick vouchers EACH to give away to our readers. How cool is that?!

On my side, I’m pleased to say that all vouchers have either been given out or ‘chope-d’ in true Singaporean fashion. You have to be on my blog subscription list (submit your email address in the box on your right) to get the latest updates!

The lucky people who got free Frolick yoghurt: Luan Eng, Clarence, Angela, Chris, Lorraine, David, Samy & students. *YAY*

Here’s Clarence with the original flavoured Yoghurt & strawberries:

And here’s mine: Orig with Lychee *Double Yumz*

Come back soon for the next exciting interview!

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