Yo-Chi Is Coming to London: What Is the Australian Frozen Yoghurt Brand Everyone Is Talking About?
If you've spent any time on Australian food or lifestyle content, there's a good chance you've come across Yo-Chi.
It looks like a frozen yoghurt shop. It serves frozen yoghurt. You choose your toppings. You pay for your bowl.
Simple enough.
Except Yo-Chi has turned that relatively ordinary dessert concept into something much bigger in Australia. Its stores have become places where people meet friends, go on dates, hang out after work and, increasingly, treat the frozen yoghurt shop almost like a social venue rather than somewhere you simply stop for dessert.
Now, after years of UK fans asking for it to make the journey across the world, Yo-Chi is finally coming to London.
The brand is making its European debut in Notting Hill this summer, with further London locations planned, including Clapham and Islington. The first confirmed London venue is a large two-storey space at 81–85 Notting Hill Gate, spanning more than 2,000 square feet and designed to accommodate more than 120 people.
But before we get too excited about another new dessert shop opening in London, it is worth understanding what makes Yo-Chi different.
Because if you've never been to one in Australia, you might not quite understand the hype.
So, what actually is Yo-Chi?
At its heart, Yo-Chi is a self-serve frozen yoghurt and açaí concept.
You walk in, pick up a bowl and make your own dessert.
Instead of choosing one fixed flavour and one or two toppings from a menu, you get to build the whole thing yourself. You can combine different frozen yoghurt flavours, add as much or as little topping as you want, finish it with sauces and then take your creation to the till.
The London launch is expected to offer nine frozen yoghurt flavours and more than 30 toppings, giving customers plenty of room to create their own combinations. The bowl is then priced by weight, rather than having a fixed price for every combination.
That is probably the most important thing to understand about Yo-Chi.
It isn't really:
“Choose a frozen yoghurt.”
It's:
“Build your own dessert.”
And that's what has made the concept so popular.
What flavours will Yo-Chi have?
The exact UK menu can evolve after launch, but Yo-Chi's current range includes several of the flavours that have become staples of the Australian brand.
These include:
Classic Vanilla
Signature Tart
Salted Butterscotch
Chocolate
Cookies & Cream
Coconut
Mango
Strawberry Cream
Acai
The current UK website lists these flavours, including vegan chocolate and coconut options.
The Signature Tart is arguably one of the flavours most associated with Yo-Chi. It has the natural tanginess you would expect from frozen yoghurt, which makes it particularly useful when you're loading your bowl with sweet toppings.
Then you have the more indulgent options such as Salted Butterscotch, Chocolate and Cookies & Cream.
And if you want something fruitier, there are flavours such as Mango and Strawberry Cream.
The range also changes seasonally in Australia, so the London menu may eventually develop its own rotation as the brand gets established here.
And then comes the fun part: the toppings
This is where Yo-Chi really separates itself from a standard frozen yoghurt shop.
The topping bar is enormous.
The current Australian range includes everything from fresh fruit and compotes to chocolate, biscuits, mochi, cookie dough and sauces.
Depending on what's available, you could build something relatively fresh with:
strawberries, kiwi, watermelon, mango and fruit pearls
or go completely in the other direction with:
Biscoff, Oreos, cookie dough, brownie, chocolate sauce and Maltesers.
There are also toppings such as mango and strawberry mochi, halva, crumble, dark chocolate pretzels and chocolate cookie cake.
And that's where the self-serve format becomes dangerous in the best possible way.
You walk in thinking:
“I'll just have a small frozen yoghurt.”
Five minutes later, your bowl contains six toppings, three sauces and enough chocolate to qualify as a separate dessert.
You can make it healthy-ish or completely ridiculous
One of the reasons the concept appeals to such a wide audience is that you decide what goes into your bowl.
Yo-Chi says the majority of its Australian frozen yoghurt flavours are 98% fat-free, while the range also includes dairy-free and vegan options. Its vegan range is made using coconut milk.
The brand also says its yoghurt contains live and active cultures, and its yoghurt is made using real Australian milk rather than powdered mixes.
But obviously, there's a catch.
If you put six chocolate toppings, cookie dough, sauces and brownie pieces on top, the fact that the yoghurt itself is lower in fat doesn't magically turn the entire bowl into a health food.
And that's part of the fun.
You can keep it relatively simple with fruit and yoghurt, or you can turn it into a full dessert.
It's your bowl.
What about people who don't eat dairy?
Yo-Chi has options for that too.
The brand's current information says it offers dairy-free and vegan-friendly choices, while most of its yoghurt flavours are naturally gluten-free. The Australian range also includes a coconut-based vegan option.
That doesn't mean every topping is suitable for every dietary requirement, though.
The toppings can contain things such as nuts, dairy, gluten, eggs and other allergens, so anyone with a serious allergy should check the current allergen information before ordering rather than assuming a particular combination is safe.
But Yo-Chi isn't really just about frozen yoghurt
This is probably the most interesting part of the brand.
In Australia, Yo-Chi has evolved into something closer to a social hangout.
The company itself talks about creating spaces where people can spend time together, and recent coverage of its expansion describes its venues as an alcohol-free alternative to traditional pubs and bars for socialising.
That might sound slightly strange at first.
A frozen yoghurt shop as an alternative to a pub?
But think about the way London has changed.
People meet for coffee.
They meet for bubble tea.
They meet for dessert.
They go to cafés to work.
They go to ice-cream shops late at night.
Yo-Chi is essentially taking that same social behaviour and building an entire brand around frozen yoghurt.
Why has Yo-Chi become so popular in Australia?
Yo-Chi was founded in Melbourne in 2012 and has grown dramatically since then.
According to current reporting, the brand expanded from four venues in 2020 to more than 75 locations across Australia, before beginning its international expansion. Its first international venue opened in Singapore in 2025, making London its first European market.
That is a pretty significant expansion for a frozen yoghurt company.
And there is a reason people keep coming back.
The experience is deliberately social.
You don't just order something and leave.
You build it yourself, compare your friend's bowl with yours, try different combinations and spend time in the venue.
Some Australian locations have even become particularly lively at night, with coverage describing queues and a strong younger customer base.
So when people call Yo-Chi a “cult” frozen yoghurt brand, the cult following isn't simply because Australians love yoghurt.
It's because Yo-Chi has turned the dessert into an experience.
Why is Yo-Chi coming to London?
The short answer is:
Londoners kept asking for it.
Yo-Chi's co-owner and chief brand officer Oliver Allis has said the company had been seeing thousands of comments, messages and videos from British people who had discovered the brand in Australia or encountered it online and wanted it to open in the UK.
That demand eventually became difficult to ignore.
The company chose London as its first European destination after expanding internationally into Singapore, describing the UK as a market where it had already seen growing awareness and demand.
And Notting Hill was chosen deliberately.
According to Allis, the brand wanted somewhere with a strong community feel rather than simply another high-street shop where people would buy something and leave.
That makes sense for a brand whose identity is increasingly about hanging out, not just eating frozen yoghurt.
The first London Yo-Chi is in Notting Hill
The first confirmed UK location is:
81–85 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JS
It will occupy around 2,000 square feet across two floors and accommodate more than 120 guests.
And the space isn't being designed like a basic takeaway dessert shop.
The London venue will feature double-height ceilings, warm lighting, natural materials, mural artwork, a DJ booth and Yo-Chi's distinctive strawberry-shaped disco ball.
In other words, they're clearly expecting people to stay for a while.
Clapham is also getting a Yo-Chi
And this is where things become particularly interesting for South London.
The Clapham location is expected at:
40–48 Bromell's Road, Clapham
The site has previously been associated with plans for a restaurant, and the location is now set to become one of Yo-Chi's London venues.
The exact Clapham site has been reported locally, and the original location announcement identifies 40–48 Bromell's Road as the address.
That puts Yo-Chi right into the Clapham scene, where the brand's social, dessert-led format feels like a natural fit.
And if you've spent time around Clapham, you can probably understand why.
There is already a strong café, brunch and socialising culture around the area, particularly around Clapham Common, Venn Street and the surrounding neighbourhood.
Yo-Chi isn't exactly entering an area where people don't like going out for food.
Islington is also planned
Clapham and Notting Hill aren't the only London neighbourhoods in the plans.
Islington is also expected to get a Yo-Chi location as the brand expands its London presence.
The company has described the Notting Hill opening as the first step in its UK growth plans, with further expansion expected.
For now, however, Notting Hill is the first confirmed London venue publicly announced by the brand, so I would treat Clapham and Islington as upcoming locations rather than suggesting that all three are opening simultaneously.
What should you actually try?
If you're completely new to Yo-Chi, I'd start simple.
For your first bowl:
Try Signature Tart as the base.
Add:
fresh strawberries
mango
one crunchy topping
and perhaps a little passionfruit or chocolate sauce.
That gives you a good idea of what the frozen yoghurt actually tastes like before you bury it under half the topping bar.
If you're more interested in dessert than yoghurt, go the other way.
Try:
Salted Butterscotch
with
Biscoff
cookie dough
brownie
and
chocolate sauce.
There's really no wrong answer.
That's the entire point.
Yo-Chi's biggest appeal might be that everyone gets something different
Imagine going with four friends.
One person wants fruit.
Another wants chocolate.
Someone else wants a vegan option.
Someone wants every topping available.
At a normal dessert shop, everyone might end up compromising.
At Yo-Chi, you don't have to.
Everyone creates their own bowl.
That's probably why the brand's slogan, “Create what makes you happy,” fits so well. The current UK site puts that idea right at the centre of the brand.
And there is something quite clever about that.
The product is simple.
The choice is what makes the experience interesting.
Is it actually frozen yoghurt or just ice cream with a different name?
It is genuinely frozen yoghurt.
Yo-Chi's current product information says its yoghurt is made using real Australian milk, rather than powdered mixes, and contains live and active cultures.
The taste is also different from traditional ice cream.
The Signature Tart, for example, has the tangy flavour associated with yoghurt, while flavours such as vanilla and salted butterscotch are sweeter and more dessert-like.
Then you have açaí as another option, with Yo-Chi describing its açaí berries as organic and sustainably sourced.
So if you've only ever had ice cream, the experience is slightly different.
And if you've had frozen yoghurt before, the self-serve format is what really changes things.
The London opening could be bigger than just another dessert launch
London gets new food brands all the time.
Some arrive, create a queue for three weeks and disappear from everyone's attention a few months later.
Yo-Chi has a better chance of sticking around because the concept isn't entirely dependent on novelty.
It has already built a sizeable customer base across Australia, has more than 75 locations there, has expanded internationally into Singapore and now has a UK company structure in place.
More importantly, it isn't selling just one product.
It's selling an experience that encourages repeat visits.
You might go for dessert after dinner.
You might meet a friend there.
You might go on a date.
You might take the kids.
You might stop by after shopping.
Or you might simply decide that a bowl of frozen yoghurt covered in chocolate and cookie dough sounds like a good idea.
That's a much broader proposition than a conventional dessert shop.
So, should Londoners be excited?
If you like frozen yoghurt, açaí, dessert and places where you can customise exactly what you're eating, probably yes.
But even if you've never heard of Yo-Chi before, the London launch is interesting because it brings a very Australian food-and-social concept into a city that already loves its dessert cafés and casual hangouts.
The first stop is Notting Hill, with Clapham and Islington also in the pipeline.
And the most interesting thing isn't really that London is getting another place to buy frozen yoghurt.
It's that we're getting a brand that has spent more than a decade turning “choose some yoghurt and toppings” into a whole social experience.
You walk in.
Pick your flavour.
Swirl your bowl.
Add fruit.
Add chocolate.
Add something ridiculous.
Pay by weight.
Then sit down and enjoy it.
That's Yo-Chi.
And if the reaction from Australians and the demand from UK fans are anything to go by, London might be about to catch the Yo-Chi.
Final verdict for London
Yo-Chi isn't coming to London simply to sell Australians' favourite frozen yoghurt.
It's bringing a self-serve dessert culture that sits somewhere between a frozen yoghurt shop, an açaí bar and a social hangout.
And that's probably why this launch is worth watching.
Because once the first Londoners start building bowls with mango, mochi, Biscoff, cookie dough, fresh berries and probably far too much chocolate sauce, we may find out whether London's dessert scene is ready to Share the Chi.
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