![\"Topping](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01a0f965-339b-715e-a418-56d258974809.webp\")
Endless options at the Yomi toppings bar. (Photo: Chris Schulz)<\/p>\nFans queue for hours for pay-by-the-gram frozen yoghurt bowls that can cost $30 \u2013 or more. What’s going on?<\/p>\n
On a chilly recent Saturday in Ponsonby, jackets were on and hoods were up. Hungry punters shivered in long queues that snaked through a concrete building as a DJ blasted bangers. They inched their way forward for up to an hour and a half, passing the time by listing exotic toppings for excited social media editors clutching cameras: \u201cCookie dough \u2026 biscoff crunch \u2026 boba pearls \u2026 rainbow strips \u2026 Dubai chocolate.\u201d<\/p>\n
They did all this for the froyo. Yomi, a self-serve frozen yoghurt brand, has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity since opening its first store in Mount Maunganui in December. Now there are four outlets, including Saturday\u2019s Ponsonby opening, and more are coming. \u201cInsane,\u201d is how Michael Sparrow, who founded the company with his wife Rachel, describes it. \u201cIt\u2019s a wild ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sparrows are not alone. Demand for froyo is surging, with brands like Yora, Yogurberry and Yogo Bay taking over city centres around the country. Most are self-serve, allowing customers to squeeze their own frozen yoghurt flavours into tubs then help themselves to toppings, like chia seed puddings, cookie dough balls, viral Japanese cheesecake and warm fountains of gooey caramel and chocolate.<\/p>\n
Tubs are weighed on scales at the counter. Anyone used to paying under $10 for an ice cream may get a shock. \u201c$30 for a medium-sized bowl\u2026 actually ridiculous,\u201d declares a recent review for Yomi\u2019s Takapuna store.\u00a0Michael admits he’s sold a $38 bowl, but says that\u2019s not typical. \u201cIf you want to come in and get a few small things, it might be $6-7,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you want to pile it up, it might be $20 or $25.\u201d<\/p>\n
Endless options at the Yomi toppings bar. (Photo: Chris Schulz)<\/p>\n
Michael and Rachel started Yomi after watching Australia embracing the global froyo craze. Neither had hospitality experience: she\u2019s a former Air NZ pilot, he\u2019s an ex project manager for the Department of Conservation. \u201cOne day we were like, \u2018Shall we just do it?\u2019\u201d says Michael.\u00a0Before signing their first lease, Michael\u2019s father, a financial advisor, staged an intervention. \u201cCan you please not do this?\u201d he told them. \u201cYou\u2019re leveraging everything. It\u2019s incredibly risky.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soon, Michael\u2019s parents were working at Yomi\u2019s Mount Maunganui store. His mother was in the kitchen cutting strawberries, his father helped with maintenance. A Wellington store is opening later this month, and their expansion shows no sign of slowing. The Sparrows are doing this with a one-year-old in tow and Rachel is pregnant with their second child. \u201cWith one store I had a good work-life balance … time with the family, exercise,\u201d Michael shrugs. \u201cIt\u2019s a hell of a lot harder to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frozen yoghurt\u2019s been around before, enjoying its first wave of popularity in the 80s, before a second wave hit in the 2010s. This one\u2019s propelled by social media and teens. \u201cIt\u00a0appeals to a younger generation that likes luxury snacks and treats [and] the appeal of higher protein content,\u201d says Susan Linton, president of the\u00a0International Frozen Yoghurt Association.<\/p>\n
But history is littered with forgotten food trends, like cronuts, Prime energy drinks and MrBeast’s Feastables chocolate. We\u2019re in the middle of an economic crisis and hospitality is doing it tough, with restaurants, bars and cafes constantly closing. To quote a\u00a0disbelieving Brodie Kane<\/a>\u00a0who recently came across a froyo queue in Takapuna: \u201cA fucking frozen yoghurt shop?\u201d<\/p>\n Bodo Lang is not a froyo guy. Giapo, the long-running Auckland ice cream and gelato store which experienced viral fame with a $23\u00a0squid-shaped chocolate cone<\/a>, is where the Massey University marketing professor takes his friends. Cold treats are an easy sell, says Lang. \u201cFrozen yoghurt sounds healthy, but essentially what they\u2019re selling is sugar,\u201d he says. \u201cWe like sweet things \u2026 they\u2019re selling pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n Teens and 20-somethings looking to make their own decisions also drive this boom. \u201cThey want to be in charge of their lives, not what mum or dad puts on their plate,\u201d says Lang. \u201cThis is a place where they can enact self-determination. They get the sugar kick, the experience, the mixing, the fun in store that they have with their friends. It\u2019s a great combination.\u201d<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t explain why expensive desserts are taking off in this economy. Lang believes froyo remains an affordable treat for those with disposable income. \u201cIf you can\u2019t afford the beach house any more, or the flights to Hawai\u2018i, or the big fancy dinner out, you might say, \u2018Look, we\u2019re having dinner at home, but we\u2019re going out for dessert,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cPeople are looking for little rewards.\u201d<\/p>\n Frozen yoghurt\u2019s history points to boom and bust cycles. Kiwiyo was a frozen yoghurt empire in the early 2010s with more than 20 New Zealand stores but now has two, instead focusing on wholesaling and licensing. Yoghurt Story seemed to put a full-stop on the last craze in 2016 when it was\u00a0found guilty and fined<\/a>\u00a0for selling froyo that didn\u2019t contain any yoghurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n Michael, from Yomi, is doing everything to buck these trends. His stores open from 7am to offer healthy breakfasts, including a\u00e7ai, LSA, protein powders and fresh fruit, then stretch late into the evening for those craving desserts. To expand its age appeal, Yomi partners with gyms and offers run clubs. Toppings rotate with regional varieties. \u201cIt\u2019s constantly evolving,\u201d he says. \u201cCome\u00a0back in a year, there\u2019ll be a new selection.\u201d<\/p>\n As we spoke in his Ponsonby store, a \u201ccoming soon\u201d sign could be seen in a storefront window across Ponsonby Rd. It was for Shibbys, a Yomi competitor from Newmarket that will soon open its own branch a stone’s throw from Yomi. Shibbys didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment, but its Instagram account recently shared renovation photos.<\/p>\n Is this a sign of over-saturation? Michael believes\u00a0this frozen yoghurt boom has a long way to go before it reaches that point.\u00a0\u201cIn Melbourne\u2019s CBD, there\u2019s 30 of them,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can walk to all of them. It\u2019s crazy.\u201d (The Spinoff checked Google Maps; this appears to be accurate.)<\/p>\n Like Lang, I’m an ice cream guy, but it was time to try this froyo craze for myself. To Yomi’s soundtrack of bass-heavy house tunes,\u00a0I pulled a tub off the wall and pulled on a lever to squirt gooey purple acai into it. The toppings selection was overwhelming. I chose mango boba pearls, sliced almonds and granola crunch, trying my best to avoid the chocolate pretzels and melted chocolate and caramel fountains.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the counter, I placed my tub on the scales and held my breath. It came in at just over 200 grams \u2013 a cost of $10.35. Michael waved my wallet away and I dived in, enjoying the late afternoon treat despite the chilly temperatures outside. When I got home, my daughter, 12, instantly clocked the empty Yomi container and shot me a look of disgust. Then she asked: \u201cWhat toppings did you get?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01a0f965-f2d2-7150-8d36-abc8c0f8815e.webp\")
Acai with granola, nuts and mango boba. (Photo: Chris Schulz)<\/p>\n