Ohio State isn’t bananas for Yonanas

Audrey DuVall
Thu, 12 Feb 2015 03:35:44 +0000
Area, Campus, Local, Desert, dining services, food, osu, Yonanas

Yonanas machines, which debuted in several campus dining locations in August, were removed at the beginning of Spring Semester due to a lack of popularity. Credit: Courtesy of Lantern TV

Yonanas is gone for good from Ohio State’s campus.

The large machines that made the ice cream-like dessert out of frozen bananas and other fruits were noticeably missing at the start of Spring Semester, and Dave Isaacs, a spokesman for Student Life, said there are no plans for their return.

“(Yonanas) was an experiment, a test run, and it didn’t prove popular enough to keep it on the full-time menu,” he said. “We do a lot of that sort of testing of recipes and products. Limited-time offers, which are foods and products.”

Yonanas, which advertises itself on its website as a “healthy dessert maker,” did not prove to be as popular with students as other healthier options offered by OSU Dining Services.

“We found that Yonanas, which was largely served at the Union and the RPAC, served about 25 units a week, compared to salads, which sell about 1,000 a week,” Isaacs said.

Ericka Hall, an associate manager at Union Market, said there hasn’t been any negative feedback about Yonanas being gone.

“No student has asked where it has gone,” Hall said.

Yonanas made its OSU debut at Buck-i-Frenzy in August. Since then, it was offered at Juice? 2 at the RPAC, the Union Market and the Crane Cafe in Hagerty Hall, according to the Yonanas website.

Yonanas’ corporate office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

According to the Yonanas website, OSU was the first college campus to offer the product.

Yonanas machines are sold for individual home use through its website. Prices range from $50 to $130.

As of now, OSU has no plans to replace Yonanas, but Isaacs said OSU Dining Services is always on the lookout for more foods and products to test.