How Yo’s Froyo Bites overcame adversity and renovated a ghost kitchen with sanitary drainage to bring an innovative and healthy freeze dried yogurt snack to market.
Trouble in the East
In 2022 Haskell Noah’s dream of producing a low cal, bite sized, freeze dried yogurt snack was on the rocks. In the space of a couple months he was asked to vacate his refrigerated production space and then his freeze drying partner burnt down. In the face of such adversity many people may have quit. But Noah had worked too hard to give up.
For the past decade with the support of his wife and children he had been running a one man research operation out of his home in Queens to commercialize his creation: Crunchy, freeze dried yogurt snacks that satisfy the snacking urge while being made from whole ingredients and providing a low calorie profile.
Noah had also run his own marketing campaign building up an audience of over 10,000 followers on social media. He did this by documenting his entrepreneurial journey and offering samples through private promotions available only to his followers. This created anticipation and demand for Yo’s Froyo Bites well ahead of their commercial release.
The Move Out West
Noah’s social media is not only a documentation of his experiments with yogurt snack production or the entrepreneurial experience. While it is full of technical details like mold filling and freeze drying experiments it also features his own brand of hope, faith and passion for life.
Instead of seeing the shuttering of his manufacturing facilities as an end he saw it as a beginning. With his family he decided to make the move to California where he could start fresh while living in the heart of the West Coast’s dairyland. To keep his manufacturing practices lean and keep creative and operational control over his product, Noah decided that his best route to manufacturing was to lease space in what is commonly called a ghost kitchen.
Leasing a Ghost Kitchen
Ghost Kitchens like the one inhabited by Yo’s Froyo Bites are kitchen spaces that sprang up to take advantage of the proliferation of food delivery apps like Uber Eats, Doordash and Skip the Dishes. They allow entrepreneurs to start a restaurant (or manufacturing facility) with no store front that provides food exclusively through delivery. This reduces overhead costs and allows entrepreneurs to focus on product and branding. To produce Yo’s Froyo Bites, Noah leased two rooms in a purpose built space called Mission Kitchen in Los Angeles. His lease deal allowed him to modify the kitchens to suit his needs installing the needed drains, ventilation and electrical.
Meeting Sanitary Drainage Requirements.
The ability to modify the kitchen space to meet sanitary requirements is especially pertinent for Yo’s Froyo Bites. The company has to face more regulatory hurdles than many of the businesses operating out of the same building. As a food manufacturer exporting across the USA (rather than a local restaurant) Yo’s Froyo Bites has to pass federal regulations set by the FDA. On top of that, as a dairy manufacturer in California they must pass inspection by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch.
Noah knew that he couldn’t take any chances and had to build from the ground up for safety and sanitation. A huge proponent of tradeshows for finding manufacturers of specialized products Noah flew to the Food Processing Expo in Sacramento to visit with representatives from FoodSafe Drains. Noah knows that proper sanitation starts with proper drainage and trusts FoodSafe Drains to supply hygienic drainage.
Drains as Equipment
At Slot Drain Systems we believe that drains are equipment. While every other piece of food processing equipment like mold fillers, conveyors and freeze dryers are required to meet hygienic design requirements, drains are often overlooked. This can lead to disastrous consequences especially in lean and tight manufacturing spaces. Many of the positive bacterial screens found in food manufacturing facilities come from the drains. This can easily spread through contact with workers onto the production line.
Noah’s choice of the 6000 Series Slot Drain System ensures he can easily and quickly clean his entire facility including the drains. Ensuring every Froyo Bite comes from a facility that exceeds mandated hygienic standards. The 6000 Series is a presloped, stainless steel, low profile Slot Drain System purpose built for food and beverage applications. This Slot Drain System allows for full washdown of Yo’s Froyo production area. While at the same time its linear design and catch basin with integrated strainer basket allow staff access to the drain body and cleanout for easy maintenance and sanitation.
A foundation built on good drainage like that offered by FoodSafe Drains 6000 Series Slot Drain is key to the healthy and hygienic manufacturing space envisioned by Noah when he created Yo’s Froyo Bites.
Follow on Instagram to learn more.
There is of course so much more to Noah’s journey and that of Yo’s Froyo Bites than we can list here. His early struggles with molds and freeze drying. His triumphs of producing new and unique flavors, his journey to create a custom production line and lessons learned in choosing the proper packaging —metalized on both sides to keep the product crunchy and fresh. We encourage everyone to head over to Instagram and give @yosfroyobites a follow to keep up to experience this journey firsthand.
All of us at Slot Drain Systems wish Noah the best on this journey. We can’t wait to try Yo’s Froyo Bites at their commercial launch and we anticipate selling Yo’s many more drains as the entire country discovers this new and delicious snack and sales soar.
To learn more about Yo’s Froyo Bites contact Haskell Noah by DM @yosfroyobites on Facebook or Instagram.
