The Magic of Yo-Chi

It was a cold and rainy afternoon in Fremantle when my fellow intrepid Shipee and I visited Yo-Chi to do our ‘field research’ for this article. We feared the miserable weather would be a spanner in the works as the footpaths along the Strip were deserted, and most of the shops round about seemed to be too. However, when we approached Yo-Chi, it was the only store on the main street to have a gaggle of kids outside, despite the rain.

Yo-Chi, Cappuccino Strip, Fremantle on a sunny day

Since I have boarded the Yo-Chi train (and become a certified Yo-Chi lover), I have been curious: what does Yo-Chi really sell? And is there something about Yo-Chi that particularly appeals to Gen Z?

DIY dessert

Yo-Chi’s secret seems to be that it offers an interactive experience where you get to build your own sweet creation.

The store’s website claims, “Our yoghurt is your canvas.” Your Yo-Chi bowl is not just something yummy to eat, it is a piece of art – your masterpiece.

Upon entry to the store your first stop is the yoghurt station at the back wall. There are typically eight or nine ‘froyo’ dispensers with a different flavour to choose from in each. You take a cup (with plenty of volume to fill, don’t you worry), hold it under the dispenser of your choosing, and hold down the levers to squeeze out the yoghurts you desire.

To any Gen Zedder who spent their high school years playing Pappa’s Cupcakeria on their laptops in middle school, it will be a satisfying challenge trying to squeeze their froyo into a perfect spiral.

Once you’ve built a base of frozen yoghurt in your cup, you make your way to the toppings section. With toppings ranging from chopped fruits, granola, nuts and passionfruit curd to lollies, wafers, choc chips, cookie dough, and melted chocolate sauces, it is here that you become, quite literally, a kid in a candy store. The self-service nature of Yo-Chi’s topping section allows you to finally exercise your taste bud motivated free will.

Customers can be indulgent or conservative, meticulous or messy with their topping selection. Some people curate aesthetically beautiful Yo-Chi bowls, with balanced colours and tidy arrangements, while others create a chaotic fusion of their favourite flavours and textures.

I have been known to joke to friends that I would be able to guess a little about their personalities based on how they construct their Yo-Chi bowls! (Personally, I take the ‘try every topping that catches your eye’ approach, regardless of how the flavours complement each other!)

When asked what people normally put in their Yo-Chi bowls, a Freo Yo-Chi employee responded: “anything and everything!”. It seems like the novelty of choice is something customers don’t take for granted!

At the till, the DIY and pay by weight nature of Yo-Chi gives customers the impression that they’re in charge of how much they spend. This is true, in theory, although kids in candy stores (or rather, customers in Yo-Chi Stores), are notorious for giving in to temptation rather than buying only how much they anticipate they need!

However, the marketing is convincing: when you enter a Yo-Chi store, you have complete autonomy over what you end up paying at the checkout. Why choose from a menu with set items and costs, when at Yo-Chi you can select however much you want of whatever you want?

Froyo that hits the sweet spot

Yo-Chi’s most obvious product is its frozen yoghurt. I always waved off frozen yoghurt in days gone by as an inferior alternative to ice-cream. However, Yo-Chi’s frozen yoghurt marketing works better than you might have thought, and, as my fellow research Shipee mused, it is “smoother than the gelato of your dreams.”

Whether you’re a fan of fruity or tangy flavours, or classic sweet tooth creamy flavours, Yo-Chi offers a variety of frozen yoghurt including (but not limited to) signature tart, chocolate, mango, salted butterscotch, matcha and, what seems to be a Gen Z obsession, acai.

Not only does the frozen yoghurt come in such a variety of flavours, but it also boasts the advantage of being healthy. The Yo-Chi yoghurt is advertised as being a great source of calcium, having beneficial probiotics, and live and active cultures with most of the yoghurts 98% fat free. Yo-Chi also offers diary-free, gluten-free and vegan options, making it an inclusive food outing for almost anyone with dietary requirements.

It’s true, frozen yoghurt can be a healthier choice than ice-cream or other desserts, and even when customers can add as many indulgent toppings as they like, the marketing of frozen yoghurt doesn’t ‘make you feel too unhealthy’, as one reviewer commented. Yo-Chi makes good use of this customer mindset, as the perceived lightness of the frozen yoghurt means that it can be complimented with a high ratio of toppings.

Aesthetic branding

In response to the question: “What is ‘a Yo-Chi’, and why are there people lining up down the street for it at 8:30am?”, a reddit responder “had a one-word answer: Instagram”. And certainly, one word that could describe the appearance of a Yo-Chi store would be ‘Instagram-able’.

Recently, photo enhancing trends like sunset lamps, LED décor and minimalist colour palettes have been circulating on social media, and with soft wood and white interiors, plants, and warm glamour lighting, Yo-Chi taps into these contemporary aesthetics. Yo-Chi literally beckons young people to ‘share the Chi’ by taking photos of their Yo-Chi bowls and posting them. It’s like a sweet wrapper – the more attractive the packaging, the yummier the sweet will taste!

Yo-Chi stores also pay homage to their local area. Each Yo-Chi store has its own Yo-Chi bear mascot, which is decorated to suit the region of the store by local artists. Our Yo-Chi on the South Terrace, Fremantle Cappuccino Strip displays the Freo port cranes, the Esplanade’s ferris wheel, the Dingo Flour building logo and the shipping Containerbow backed by a Freo sunset, each amd all inviting a sense of community pride and identity within the store’s branding.

No doubt the public interest in Yo-Chi first peaked when the brand was taken over by a hospitality group fronted by celebrity chef George Calombaris, who was one of the judges on the series MasterChef Australia. There’s nothing like a reality TV connection to add credibility and hype to an upcoming business!

A meal for anyone, at any time

Yo-Chi defies designated mealtimes. Whether it’s a morning granola bowl, an after-school snack, a sweet treat after an evening out, or an impulse pop in, Yo-Chi works around what you want. You can satiate your sweet tooth, or you can choose a savoury snack of froyo, fruit, nuts, and fibre.

Yo-Chi requires less time commitment than a traditional café or restaurant annd offers a more interactive experience than buying a snack from a retail store. One reviewer observed: “The line moves fast, the atmosphere is lively and chatty, and the music is great.”

When it’s quiet, getting Yo-Chi is a casual, immediately gratifying experience, as well as an interactive hangout. But even when queues wrap around the block (like you might find on a Friday or Saturday night), the bubbly atmosphere, the crowd of (usually) young people, and the anticipation of what you might put in your bowl can make Yo-Chi a place to socialise, offering a conversation starter and something to bond over.

Accommodating the Communi-CHI

Yo-Chi’s friendly staff and excellent customer service is often brought up in reviews. When my fellow Shipee and I came into the Freo Yo-Chi to do our ‘field research’, the Yo-Chi employee we approached was very friendly and took the time to answer our questions.

They explained a bit about Yo-Chi’s customer demographics in Freo. Yo-Chi is popular with more generations than just Gen Z, we were advised: it is packed with John Curtin students after school, pubgoers come in late on Friday and Saturday nights, and on Sundays, families offen come in.

Yo-Chi is also involved with Notre Dame’s UNDA Moves rewards, where Notre Dame students can receive local vouchers for getting active by logging walking, running, swimming and cycling fitness progress.

As someone who often forgets to bring a water bottle when I’m out, Yo-Chi’s water stations are super convenient and the choice of free, cold still or sparkling water feels luxurious.

Yo-Chi is dietary requirement inclusive, stores have disability accessible toilets, as well as sustainable yoghurt cups, tapping into the progressive and inclusive values often held by Gen Zedders. Yo-Chi’s customer and community values offer a bright and welcoming experience for anyone and everyone.

The pursuit of the perfect Yo-Chi

Clearly, like yoyo’s, people bounce right back to Yo-Chi. Perhaps this is due to the novelty of choice that Yo-Chi offers. There are too many toppings to try all in one visit, so you are bound to leave a little curious about how other topping and flavour combinations would taste.

And, unfortunately for your bank account, it is difficult to get sick of Yo-Chi because no two Yo-Chi visits will be quite the same. There is always room to have another go at creating your perfect Yo-Chi.

***

Maybe Yo-Chi will end up being just a fad. Maybe young Freo haunters are merely trend-following sheep – attracted to new places just because they have queues outside. Or maybe, Yo-Chi sells more than just its tangible froyo product. While $4 per 100g might be a little pricey, there is something in the essence of the Yo-Chi brand that makes it so compelling.

Maybe the ‘Chi’ that Yo-Chi store décor promotes really does exist after all!

The author (R) with staff ant Yo-Chi Freo

* By Izzy Ercleve – Fellow Gen Zedder. Izzy Ercleve is a Shenton College graduate and is taking a gap year before making big life decisions. A writing enthusiast, she is interning at Fremantle Shipping News to learn more about the world of journalism!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ If you’d like to COMMENT on this or any of our stories, don’t hesitate to email our Editor.

~ WHILE YOU’RE HERE –