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Frae is a new organic frozen yogurt business that recently popped up in London with an inviting shop in Angel. Frae offers up fresh fruit and tangy frozen yogurt combinations at reasonable prices which are good for you too!

Londonerseye.com recently caught up with one of the owners Donald to chat about the Frae business and the place for healthy food products in the capital:

How did the Frae shop come about then?

Donald: Well myself and Martyn were working as corporate lawyers for around four years and we decided to take the plunge and start up our own business. We did a lot research around one and a half years worth while both having full-time jobs. We wanted to be really make sure that this was the right idea to follow. Also this is our first business so we wanted to make sure we were doing everything right rather than jumping in at the deep end.

We opened the shop here in Angel on June 6th (2009) and have been steadily building a customer base since then really, we are taking baby steps at the moment but everything seems to be coming together nicely.

Why did you choose frozen yogurt?

Donald: We choose frozen yogurt mainly because of its success in America and New York when you go to the states you see loads of frozen yogurt shops everywhere and we figured it could work really well in London.

It’s not really been my lifetime dream to open a frozen yogurt shop but after lots of research and product testing we believe we have something good and that the health benefits will help us out. People are becoming a lot more health conscious and to have a product which is 100% fat free which helps your fruit intake is really helping us to win customers.

How did you choose your location?

Donald: We choose Angel because it is a really vibrant location and the shop setting is really nice also we get a lot of passing business from people shopping and the various bars along the way. There are a lot of trendy haunts nearby and as we are open late we get a lot of people coming in after visiting bars and pubs nearby.

Do you worry about the product not fairing so well in Winter?

Donald: Not at all, obviously frozen yogurt is more of a Summer thing but we have plenty of ideas and plans for our Winter menu including coffee which is some of the best quality around and various hot toppings.

Also we are looking forward to how the shop vibe will change in the Winter months and will become much more of a closed door coffee shop environment with people hopefully taking some respite from the cold.

Do you worry about competitors?

Donald: Not at all if anything I’m glad they are around. Essentially I don’t worry about those guys because I know our product is the best. I’m confident of that because we have done so much testing and research, also we have a lot of ideas for the future that aren’t out there yet….

Have you had a good reception so far?

Donald: Yeah, great we have had a lot of press coverage and celebs dropping in, we have also become mates with the FrostFrench girls from down the road which always helps. We have been in the London Paper a couple of times and the likes of Pixie Geldof, Kiera Knightly and Reggie Yates from Radio 1 have dropped in for some frozen yogurt. Everyone has been really friendly and we have been surprised by the amount of people dropping in through word of mouth.

Why do you think frozen yogurt is a good product?

Donald: Frozen yogurt has a lot of benefits when compared to other indulgences and the current economic climate has meant people are being a little tighter with their purse strings at the moment.

Basically frozen yogurt is a double win because it tastes good and it’s healthy for you so you don’t get the guilt associated with binging out on ice cream and you don’t have to go down the gym for a week to shift the extra calories. All of ingredients are as fresh as they can be and produced on a local organic farm frozen then brought here.

We have spent a year making our yogurt the best it can be so we are happy to be here and think what we are selling speaks for itself it makes sense to pick up healthy snacks which are guilt free!

The Frae shop can be found on 27 Camden Passage, Islington, Angel, N1.