Pudu Pudu: LA’s Pudding Dessert Experience

Note: In July 2022, Pudu Pudu permanently closed their locations in LA.

Have you ever heard of a pudding shop where you’re able to customize your toppings? Just like Pinkberry or Chipotle? Me neither! In March 2021, Pudu Pudu became the newest shop to open on Abbot Kinney Blvd. offering customizable pudding bowls.

The multinational Dr. Oetker has decided to take a different approach to their famous classic pudding desserts. For those not familiar with Dr. Oetker, it’s a popular multinational German food brand that specializes in desserts, snacks, baked products and frozen pizzas. It was founded in 1894 by Dr. Oetker, hence Pudu Pudu’s tagline “Pudding makers since 1894”. 

Although I grew up in Europe, I don’t have any nostalgic memories of eating Dr. Oetker products. I have seen their frozen pizza commercials on TV, but I’ve never eaten them. This may be because I grew up with a Dominican mom and she was always very strict with grocery shopping — she never bought processed food. I kid you not, my first experience eating frozen food was when I moved to LA and was introduced to the magnificent frozen section of Trader Joe’s. But I digress…

Pudu Pudu is managed by Northern Europeans, so you’ll know you’ll be getting a top-notch experience. Barbara, who is the marketing manager and who’s from Austria, gave me the full breakdown of Pudu Pudu and went over their history, which is also plastered on the wall through timeline illustrations. 

The puddings at Pudu Pudu are made fresh every day on the premises using superfoods, organic milk for the regular puddings and almond milk for the vegan puddings. 

Let’s talk about the beautiful decor!! High ceilings, lush foliage and pink industrial pipes permeate the store. There’s also a seating area upstairs. Overall, Pudu Pudu’s Venice location is very open and airy.

When the guy picked up the bowl to prepare my order, I was a little bit taken aback by the big size, but more on this later. The bowl was only filled halfway and was a decent amount for one person. 

My flavors of choice were Giggle in the Dark (caramel popcorn) and Butterfly in the Sky Split (bourbon vanilla). It was so cool watching the guy squeezing the piping bag and assembling my beautiful bowl. 

I had the chance to sample a few flavors before settling on those two. I have to say I wasn’t overly impressed from the get-go. However, after the guy finished preparing my bowl with the respective toppings for each flavor, it was a completely different experience. The rich, mousse-like texture of the puddings combined with the bits of chocolate and sweet popcorn elevated the flavors of the puddings. I could definitely taste the sea salt, the caramel and the fudge in Giggle In The Dark, as well as the earthy green spirulina powder in Butterfly In The Sky. The puddings and the toppings definitely go hand in hand at Pudu Pudu. It’s also important to emphasize that the puddings at Pudu Pudu are very light and you will not feel bloated afterwards.

*This was a complimentary bowl

If there’s a particular flavor you don’t like, stay away from it. Barbara asked me if I liked turmeric, and when I told her that I wasn’t particularly keen, she suggested other flavors. Another great thing about their puddings, besides the ingredients, is that they are not overly sweet. 

The newest LA dessert experience is here! In a city so overpopulated with ice cream shops, I strongly believe Pudu Pudu’s interesting concept will make waves in LA thanks to their beautiful Instagram-worthy bowls and health-conscious approach to desserts. Their eye-catching logo will for sure pique the interest of Angelenos and tourists that may happen to stumble across Pudu Pudu’s current and future locations. The good news is that Pudu Pudu plans on opening two more locations this year by the end of the summer: Silver Lake and Century City.

Don’t forget to check out their merch and coffee!

When I asked to interview the store manager for this post, they directed me to the German Vice President of Dr. Oetker in the US, Florian Schneider! 😱😱

Why did the Dr. Oetker team decide to open Pudu Pudu in LA?

We decided to start here, because LA is a melting pot when it comes to new lifestyle and food trends. Especially Venice is such a vibrant place, so we believe that it is the perfect location to launch a young, bold and unexpected concept like Pudu Pudu here.

How does Pudu Pudu differ from ice cream or frozen yogurt?

Basically pudding can be eaten warm and cold. But we chose to offer it chilled with 32 degrees, because then the fluffy texture and the flavors evolve very nicely. Pudding is made out of corn starch, sugar, flavor and milk. We use local organic milk for our puddings. And we offer a vegan pudding made with almond milk.

What makes Pudu Pudu so special? 

Pudding is a very traditional dessert and Dr. Oetker makes and sells pudding since 1894. Pudu Pudu is the contemporary further development of the dish, where we create an immersive experience that takes our customers on a flavor adventure. We offer sweet and savory flavors like vanilla and chocolate, but also new interpretations with spiced turmeric and blue spirulina. By adding superfood powders and special toppings we make pudding into edible art.

What can people expect from Pudu Pudu in the future? I read that you’re planning on opening two more locations (Century City and Silver Lake).

That is true. We signed already two more locations which are under construction right now: Our second store in Silver Lake will open in June, followed by our third store in Westfield Century City this summer.

Some people are concerned about the packaging being too big. I read that the final cups are stuck in customs due to Covid, could you please elaborate on that? When I saw the bowls, I also thought the portion was going to be way too big. Although I already know that the bowls will be filled only halfway, it will be great to clarify this so that people know what to expect when they walk in. 

Yes, it is not the final cup we are using right now. We serve between 8 and 9 oz pudding, because we want our customers to have pudding and topping on every spoon they take. The actual cup serves 24 oz and was produced last year, when we were testing different sizes and take away packaging. Luckily we still have them and can use them now, even though they are far too big.

Our genuine cups are sitting in a container at the Long Beach harbor for already two weeks. Due to COVID there is a long line of ships and containers waiting to be checked by the port authorities. We have to wait until our containers is processed. This may take up to 3 weeks. Unfortunately, we have no possibility to get the cups out in any other way than to be patient and wait.

Can you tell me more about the toppings?

We have some chocolate based toppings and fresh fruits as well, but our aim was always to use toppings, which you don’t find at frozen yogurt and ice cream stores. This is how we came across fruit powders, freeze-dried fruits, algae products and edible flowers. They are not specifically produced for us, but we invest a lot of time to look out for those “special toppings” and put them on our pudding creations.  

For those who have never tried pudding and who are not familiar with Dr. Oetker, is there a specific flavor combination you recommend?

You should try them all, because they are all very special 😊. However, I would really recommend some of the more unusual flavors, like our “Suncatcher” with spiced turmeric or the vegan “Blue Ocean Dip” with coconut, pineapple and blue spirulina. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry or popcorn-caramel are always a safe bet, but if you want to go on a flavor adventure with Pudu Pudu, you should try the bolder and unexpected flavors.

Website

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Addresses:

Venice

1432 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Westfield Century City Mall (under construction) 🚧

Silver Lake (under construction) 🚧