If there’s a siren call to the young right now, it would sound like an Arctic yodel: “Frohhhhh yohhhhhh!” The promise of frozen yoghurt (froyo) brings crowds of over-excited teens and young adults together as they queue for the pleasure of choosing their flavours, swirling their choices into paper cups, and adding all manner of sweet syrups, wafers, confectionery and sprinkles. Froyo burst onto the Australian scene 12 years ago, and has grown into much more than a swirly, soft-serve, yoghurt-based, icy-cold treat. The Aussie-owned Yo-Chi started in Melbourne and is expanding fast.
Its tenth Sydney store has just moved into the prized waterside site vacated by Cirrus, a two-hatted seafood restaurant in popular work-and-play precinct Barangaroo. It’s a sign of the times for an old codger like me, but for those at the other end of a lifetime of dining, it’s a great move. Why? Because frozen yoghurt is seen as a lighter, healthier choice than ice-cream.
Because the interiors are Willy Wonka-fun places in which to get together with friends, as sparkly as little kids’ unicorns. Yo-Chi is ‘not a fad’: Meet the man making frozen yoghurt cool again And because this generation loves to customise. Nobody is telling them what to order or what to eat.
Nobody’s saying they can’t pile mini mochi onto butterscotch caramel syrup onto pistachio froyo with a side swirl of acai. Getting a froyo is an incredibly rule-free, individual, self-serve process, which is probably what.