Yo-Chi perfects recipe for success with loyal young fans skipping a pub booze-up for a quieter night out

You could be forgiven for thinking the queue of people through suburban business fronts at 9pm on Friday is for a hot new bar.

It has the same hallmarks — music thumping and it’s high-energy.

But the queue is for cult favourite yoghurt chain Yo-Chi and those lining up — mostly generation Z and gen alpha — will tell you it’s worth the wait.

It’s a scene that regularly plays out across Yo-Chi’s 80 stores in Australia and more recently, at its newest locations in Dallas and London.

Outside Yo-Chi Karrinyup in Perth’s north, friends Sophia Cosentino, Jade Craske and Madison Hunt, all 21, tell The Nightly they have “definitely waited in some long lines” — about 30 minutes — for the frozen dessert.

For the trio, Yo-Chi has become their go-to hangout spot.

“And there’s so many locations around now so it’s really good,” Ms Cosentino, who on average pays between $11 and $13 for one serving, said.

Yo-Chi has enjoyed a meteoric rise since Boost Juice founder Janine Allis’ sons, Oliver and Riley, took over in 2020 from celebrity chef George Calombaris’ restaurant empire Made Entertainment.

It has grown from just four stores in Melbourne to 80 nationally, opening 20 new locations over the past 12 months. In Perth, it has 13 stores.

Yo-Chi also has three stores in Singapore and will launch in Bangkok this month.

Yo-Chi’s popularity has even spread as far as Ireland, with visitors to Australia becoming fans and spreading the word about the fro-yo chain back home.

First-timer Sarah McHugh said the hype lived up to her expectations. “All of my friends, as soon as I said that I was coming to Perth, they were like, ‘You need to try (Yo-Chi), it’s unbelievable’ and it did not disappoint,” the 24-year-old from Ireland, said.

Oliver, pictured above, can’t quite pin down one reason for the hype.

“This question (on why young consumers are flocking to Yo-Chi) is so hard to answer because it’s a mix of so many things,” he told The Nightly.

He pointed to factors like the generational trend of wellness, a craving for more human connection and the cost-of-living crisis, saying “when times are tough it’s more common for people to get their emotional lifts from sweet treats rather than more expensive purchases”.

“We’ve always designed our venues to be social spaces, not just somewhere to grab dessert,” Oliver said.

“Adults have got run clubs, co-working spaces and wellness studios. There’s never really been an equivalent for younger people, and we think our venues can be that.”

Yo-Chi has doubled down on attracting the younger demographic by rolling out a pop-up called Fun House, featuring their own version of beer pong (Chi-Pong) and karaoke (Karao-Chi), which will run in every venue in Australia until Sunday.

“We want to be famous for offering an experience at Yo-Chi, and not just selling a product,” Oliver said.

“It’s Yo-Chi doing what we do best: giving people a reason to show up together, whether that’s a nine-year-old with a chatterbox or a twenty-something looking for something better than another night out.”

Yo-Chi works on a self-serve model where people grab their own cup, select a yoghurt flavour (there are six “OGs” and five seasonal ones) and load up on toppings, like fruit, biscuits, nuts and a cult-favourite pourable pistachio spread called Pistachio Papi.

Yo-Chi charges $4.20 per 100g. Its frozen yoghurt is also sold in Coles.

Australia has seen frozen yoghurt chains come and go, many of which flickered brightly before fading away.

And while there is a growing list of other frozen yoghurt chains and independent players, Yo-Chi commands a league of its own.

“I think what Yo-Chi does really well is selling the place, not just the product,” consumer expert Trent Rigby said when asked what made Yo-Chi different.

“Yo-Chi (stores) are big, bright and loud, and they trade late into the night.”

Most of Yo-Chi venues close as late as 11pm.

The queue also acts as a marketing tool, Mr Rigby said.

“A line out the door is social proof, and for this demographic, fear of missing out is a very powerful thing,” he said

“If you walk past an empty shop and a packed one selling a similar product, most people will join the line. It’s self-reinforcing.”

Macquarie University marketing professor Jana Bowden said young consumers were rewriting the rules in the food and beverage industry and what it meant to grab a snack.

“Yo-Chi delivers on both fronts, it’s an affordable health-oriented treat, whilst also giving them the chance to socialise. It’s a win-win formula,” she said.

For Ms McHugh’s friend Katie Nee, 28, visiting Yo-Chi is a regular occurrence.

“We’re in Yo-Chi quite a lot. It’s kind of become a meeting place, the girls and I will often just get a Yo-Chi and catch up,” she said.

Ms Nee spends no more than $15 on a Yo-Chi and says it’s a lot cheaper than buying several rounds of drinks at the pub.

Similarly, a Saturday night out for Kellie Deegan, 24, and Jordan Wetton, 26, is a trip to Yo-Chi.

“We’re not big drinkers,” Ms Deegan said.

Professor Bowden said younger consumers were prioritising sober socialising due to a mix of focus on leading a healthy lifestyle, as well as higher cost-of-living pressures.

“In a world where every dollar counts, expensive alcoholic drinks are getting the flick,” she said.

“They probably look at older generations like millennials and generation Xers and nights spent bar and club hopping, drinking and dancing and just cringe.”

Oliver believed Yo-Chi was benefiting from people drinking less and looking for ways to connect that didn’t involve the pub.

Yo-Chi wasn’t always this successful, according to Mr Rigby who said people didn’t realise the chain was a “distressed asset not that long ago”.

“You can see the Boost playbook all over Yo-Chi — a product that feels healthier, a youth-led brand, great locations and a fast rollout nationally,” he said, adding the brand’s economics were also attractive.

“It’s self-serve so customers do most of the labour and it’s priced by weight. People come in-store for the experience, so very little margin leaks out through delivery apps like other quick-service restaurants.”

Mr Rigby reckons there are still sceptics about Yo-Chi but says some concerns are fair, including the US expansion.

“Fro-yo is essentially a US category and the premium end is already crowded in the US. In Australia, Yo-Chi reinvented a tired category,” he said.

“We’ve seen with Guzman Y Gomez how hard the US is for Australian food brands entering already crowded markets.”

But Mr Rigby said the sceptics have been wrong so far.

“Going from four stores to around 75 in six years is remarkable. I think the real test for me though is the next couple of years overseas,” he said.

Yo-Chi opened the Dallas store earlier this month, with videos on social media showing queues wrapping around the block. There were similar scenes at Yo-Chi’s London outlet in Notting Hill, which drew massive two-hour queues when it first opened in August.