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**If you know a "Smart Woman" or if you think you have an interesting Smart Woman topic, you can contact Candice at cmadsen@ksl.com.**Candice Madsen reporting
Red Mango frozen yogurt is beginning to tempt a lot of tongues in the Beehive State. It's less sweet and healthier than what you are probably used to.
Red Mango frozen yogurt is huge in South Korea. It made its U.S. debut in California over the summer, but sisters Lauren Rudd and Pam Esmey bought into the franchise even before it hit the states because they were confident people would line up in droves for "real" frozen yogurt. And so far, they're right.
Amy Jensen says, "The taste is like nothing you've had before." It'll put a sour taste in your mouth, but that's why customers say they love Red Mango frozen yogurt. "My husband and I got hooked on it, and we brought the kids, and everybody loves it," Jensen said.
It seems a lot of people are getting hooked on this tart treat. Stop by the store in Fort Union at night and you may see a line out the door.
Esmey tells us, "We had the busiest opening in Red Mango history.
Rudd added, "Across the nation, our opening was the biggest and the best."
Rudd and Esmey are responsible for bringing Red Mango to Utah. What sets this frozen yogurt apart is its natural ingredients and live and active cultures, which means there's no powder mixture. This stuff is actually fermented and then shipped to stores, frozen.
"We are very particular about how we do this because if we don't thaw it properly, the live and active cultures can be destroyed, they die," Rudd said.
Rudd first got introduced to the healthy frozen yogurt craze while visiting her sons in California. And when a divorce put her back in the workforce, she decided to give running a franchise a shot. "I was a mother and ended up getting divorced and needed to get out and work."
She teamed up with her sister, who had experience in the restaurant industry, and they've been going non-stop since their first store opened. "It's great. There's a basic trust between Pam and I," Rudd said.
Red Mango is now the fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country, and Pam and Lauren are glad they jumped on the bandwagon early. They say once people try it, they'll just keep coming back for more.
Red Mango will soon open in Orem, and stores are planned for Layton and American Fork. Lauren, Pam and their partners also have the franchise rights for six other western states as well as Brazil.
The Fort Union store is located at 6950 South Park Center Drive.
