Froyo with a ’tini twist: Entrepreneur collaboration serves alcoholic frozen yogurt in KC

August 23, 2023  |  Cienna Romines

Isaac Collins, Yogurtini, and James Thomas, Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri, at Yogurtini's Overland Park store; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu

Kansas City is excited by the new flavor combinations popping up as two entrepreneurs give customers a taste of collaboration, said Isaac Collins, teasing a line of alcoholic frozen yogurt that’s already hitting cups in the metro.

James Thomas, Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri, and Isaac Collins, Yogurtini

Through a partnership with KC-based Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri, Collins’ Yogurtini locations have begun a series of happy hour events to showcase the new offering — allowing people throughout the metro an opportunity to sample, whether they’re in the Northland, Plaza area or South Johnson County.

“Each time we’ve done this, I’ve had a lot of people text me saying ‘I’m rooting you guys on,’” said Collins, the owner of multiple Yogurtini stores across the city. “Every time we post something on Instagram, I get a ton of messages like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want this!’ There’s a lot of excitement and curiosity.”

“They’re curious because it’s like ice cream, it’s like a daiquiri, it’s alcoholic,” added James Thomas, owner of Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri. “With an interesting concept like this, everyone wants to try it out — to see what it really tastes like.”

Collins is a veteran entrepreneur who has owned eight businesses in the past 11 years. In addition to Yogurtini, he currently operates a business coaching venture and a yoga business.

From the archives: Don’t let ‘buy local’ be a fad; we’re investing it all in our businesses, says serial entrepreneur

Recently, he’d been wanting to expand his Yogurtini business by incorporating alcohol, he said. 

“One thing that was very obvious by our name ‘Yogurtini’ is people think the ‘tini’ part is mixed with some sort of alcohol, like a martini or something like that,” Collins explained. “Unfortunately we had to say no. ” 

Until now. 

“Obviously our brand is largely for kids,” Collins continued, “but what if we could give adults their favorite flavor with that alcohol component as well?”

That’s where fellow entrepreneur Thomas came in.

Collins and Thomas met at an event earlier this year, and discovered a shared passion to create the perfect combination of alcohol and froyo. 

James Thomas, Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri; photo by Cienna Romines

Thomas has owned Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri for just over a year, and also was looking to expand his business.

RELATED: Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri among PHKC prize winners; It’s amazing when someone understands your vision, founder says 

“First we had to test to see how much of my product and his product could go together to create that perfect combination,” Thomas said in mid-August.

Their solution: just the right amount of Brain Freeze daiquiri — available in two flavors — atop a cup of Yogurtini frozen yogurt; allowing the brand to preserve options for children and adults alike.

Thomas and Collins plan to co-partner on pop-up events and other vendor opportunities this summer and fall. Customers can get their favorite frozen yogurtini, a daiquiri, or a mixture of the two, the duo said.

Startland News reporter Nikki Overfelt Chifalu contributed to this report.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

Tagged , , ,
Featured Business
    Featured Founder

      2023 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        Photo courtesy of Dimensional Innovations, LEGOLAND, Ferrari

        This KC-designed LEGOLAND attraction puts young builders in the driver’s seat of their own Ferrari

        By Tommy Felts | April 15, 2022

        Racers, start your (virtual) engines.  Dimensional Innovations has partnered with Merlin Entertainments and Ferrari to bring a one-of-a-kind experience to LEGOLAND California Resort in Carlsbad, California, shared Spencer Farley. “We continue to liberate the world from mediocre experiences,” said Farley, an account director for Entertainment and Retail at the Overland Park-based design firm, Dimensional Innovations. …

        Sean McIntosh, Foothold Labs

        His portable lab can detect COVID in saliva within minutes; how this former Navy SEAL’s startup is expanding its target

        By Tommy Felts | April 13, 2022

        Foothold Labs is on a mission to develop a next-generation, portable diagnostics system that can not only rapidly detect infectious diseases in saliva within five-to-eight minutes, but also indicate deadly contaminants in other common substances, shared Sean McIntosh. “To get equivalent results to our technology, someone would need to submit a sample to a professional…

        Digital Sandbox Q1 2022 awardees: Dan Schwarzlander and Nick Bennet, VaccineAssist; Sean McIntosh and Sarah Steeby, Foothold Labs; Roger Ngo and Tam Tran, DataAppraisal; Lisa Cooper, Workplace Healing; Tyler Bolz and Will Strout, DataSource

        Meet 5 new Digital Sandbox-funded startups poised as the next wave of KC innovation

        By Tommy Felts | April 13, 2022

        A just-announced first-quarter cohort of startups are set to receive more than just $20,000 each in project funding from Digital Sandbox KC, said Jill Meyer, emphasizing the holistic support headed toward selected founders. “Early-stage funding is just one piece of the puzzle that helps our founders succeed and our startups accelerate toward commercialization and follow-on…

        Troost mural by JT Daniels

        Calling citizen scientists: KC Digital Drive asking residents along Troost to help measure air pollution

        By Tommy Felts | April 12, 2022

        Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a non-profit online news outlet focused on in-depth journalism in the public interest, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the twice-weekly Kansas City Beacon email newsletter. To learn about Kansas City air…