Chara Greek Frozen Yogurt

Chara was born in 2024 in my college apartment, surrounded by seven roommates who all had one thing in common: a serious obsession with Greek yogurt. Every night, our kitchen looked like a DIY yogurt bar—bowls piled with berries, honey, granola, and chocolate. It hit me: Greek yogurt had a cult following, but there was nothing in the dessert aisle that reflected it. No product made it fun, craveable, and functional—let alone something you'd actually look forward to eating. That's when I remembered my local market while studying abroad in Rome. It sold Greek frozen yogurt in pints—tangy, clean, and perfectly packaged to bring home and enjoy. It was everything I wanted in a dessert: simple, real, and delicious. I couldn't stop thinking about why something like that didn't exist back home. Meanwhile, frozen yogurt in the U.S. had quietly disappeared. The shops we grew up going to had shut down. The category was fading—and in hindsight, it kind of made sense. The froyo we knew was packed with sugar, artificial ingredients, and didn't live up to its "healthy treat" image. I realized there was a massive opportunity to bring it back—but do it right this time. So I started experimenting in my tiny college kitchen. I made a version that was high in protein, rich in probiotics, naturally sweetened, and made with real Greek yogurt. It was tangy, creamy, and better than anything in stores. After graduating from USC, I launched Chara—named after the Greek word for "joy"—and started selling it in local markets and pop ups across LA out of a VW bus I renovated myself. Today, Chara is reimagining indulgence. We're reviving froyo with a clean, fun twist—and bringing joy back to the freezer aisle, one pint at a time.