“Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation.”

The old proverb states that there is nothing new under the sun, so I am never surprised when old ideas are recycled and presented as the fresh new thing. This time, frozen yogurt is back.  Twenty years ago, frozen yogurt was the rage, and in our own retail stores we used to sell a lot of it. And as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared, leaving a few companies such as TCBY to sell the idea and the product to a skeptical public. It has seemed a lonely struggle. Now, though, frozen yogurt has returned with a vengeance. Red Mango, Pinkberry, Yogurtland and Yogilicious are among the companies trying to make fro-yo, as it is called, popular. Each has a different claim, from tart flavors to active cultures to self-serve stores and kiosks. Fresh fruit toppings cover the yogurt, exotic flavors are offered, and in the self-serve sites one simply pays by the ounce. I enjoy frozen yogurt and hope that this time is different for the segment and category that needs to reinvent itself. And this time might be different. After all, the last time people said something was a fad, a small coffee company named Starbucks had only a few stores in Seattle…

“Art begins in imitation and ends in innovation.”

“Any good music must be an innovation.”

At Humphrey Slocombe ice cream, it is all about interesting flavors and unusual combinations.  Tucked in a corner of the Mission, they make all of their ice cream in the small store. In the dipping cabinet were tubs with such pairings as Bourbon and Cornflakes, Guinness and Gingerbread, Chocolate and Ancho Chile, and Vietnamese Coffee, using coffee from Blue Bottle, a local coffee roaster. After I had walked around the city all morning and consumed four cups of coffee at different cafés, a dish of their ice cream was the perfect way to relax.

Smooth and creamy, the flavors worked well. Spicy chocolate can be overpowering if too much chile is added, but this one had enough flavor to give added zip to the chocolate but not so much heat as to overwhelm the taste buds. The Vietnamese Coffee was creamy and mild, making me think about iced Vietnamese coffee I had tried in Ho Chi Minh City.

The store is small, with about a half dozen stools at a counter in the window. When I walked in, I was the only customer. While I was seated at the counter, finishing my cup, the store became suddenly packed, with a line extending out the door onto the sidewalk, like all of the other places I visited this morning. I wanted to try the Limoncello sorbet to cleanse my palate before I left, but I didn’t want to stand in line again. But now I have an excuse to return and try some more interesting combinations.