Dessert trend that ‘quietly died’ in 2010s is back and it’s taking over London

The frozen yoghurt brand dominated London’s dessert scene in the late 2000s and early 2010s, with 10 stores across the capital at its peak. 

And while the brand (and its hot pink bus) is still going today, it’s now a far cry from its heyday, as just two locations remain on Tottenham Court Road and in Soho.

The fro-yo trend quietly died off in the late 2010s, with Snog facing serious competition from brands like Pinkberry, Yog, Yoomoo, and Frae.

The market was oversaturated, prices were going up, and people had started to realise that it wasn’t always the ‘healthier’ alternative to ice cream they’d believed it to be. 

All of this led to fro-yo fatigue and Brits moved on to the next craze, which just so happened to be gourmet cupcakes and cronuts. 

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But if you’ve been missing your fro-yo fix, we’ve got good news: the dessert is currently experiencing a revival — and a big one at that.

Fro-yo shops are once again taking over London, with viral brands from America and Australia launching in the city.

In June, Los Angeles-born Go Greek set up shop in Mayfair, serving tubs of frozen yoghurt that cost as much as £12. 

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Huge queues stretched down the street on launch day, as people were desperate to try the dessert that’s loved by the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Gigi Hadid, and Kim Kardashian. 

Following this, MYKA, a Greek fro-yo brand founded in Madrid, arrived in London in mid-July. The business specialises in artisanal fro-yo made with milk and kefir. 

And hot on the heels of these, Yo-Chi, a cult Aussie favourite, announced it would be landing in Notting Hill on 20 August, opening a huge two-floor space that’ll seat 120 guests. In fact, it’s their biggest ever branch to date.

Metro got a peak inside before opening day: expect self-serve fro-yo machines with nine flavours, including matcha and salted butterscotch, plus 30 topping options. 

And if you’re not sure what combination to choose, co-founder Oliver Allis, tells us his favourites are açaí with ‘signature tart’ (the chain’s original fro-yo flavour), topped with oat and cinnamon crumble, biscoff, fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, and chocolate chunk cookie cake.

Metro‘s roving reporters, Patrycja Zara and Lola Alao, headed to three of the fro-yo joints leading the renaissance.

MYKA. The most premium offering of the three we tried, prepare to wait in line for this one.

The toppings here are what sets it apart, which are all house made by owner Natalia Morales – she trained in French pastry and it shows.

I go for the natural Greek yogurt base with MYKA’s signature baklava topping and strawberries, but in hindsight I’d recommend choosing much sweeter options.

Go Greek. There’s plenty of room to mix things up here. You can layer your base yoghurt flavours, before choosing an impressive line-up of toppings.

My standouts are the yoghurt malt balls and dates (an absolute must), which add satisfying crunch and subtle sweetness to play nicely with the yoghurt’s tartness.

It’s self-serve too… which is fun until you get to the till.

Yo-Chi. This spot uses yoghurt made from Australian cow’s milk, which makes for fro-yo that is tangy, rather than too sweet.

We didn’t hold back, trying three scoops: matcha with strawberries, chocolate soil, and pistachio kataifi spread. You can go much heavier on the toppings than we did, but you pay by weight so keep that in mind to avoid getting a shock at the till. Ours comes to £7.20

Co-owner and chief brand officer, Oliver Allis, tells us there’s Australian hospitality at the heart of Yo-Chi. ‘When you come here you’re getting genuine welcomes and staff asking ‘how are you going?

‘It’s a beautiful venue made for all ages. You can come here up until 11 or 12 o’clock at night and enjoy a Yo-Chi.’

According to Vhari Russell, founder of The Food Marketing Experts, our love of nostalgia is driving the comeback.

And, naturally, millennials will be the ones fanning the flames of the fad, as they have fond memories of eating it the first time around. 

‘There’s definitely a strong 00s/2010s throwback flavour to the fro-yo resurgence; it was everywhere a decade ago, riding the same wave as juice cleanses and “frozen yoghurt is healthier than ice cream” messaging,’ the food trends expert tells Metro.

‘Chains like Pinkberry and Yog defined a whole era of self-serve, pay-by-weight dessert bars, and for a while it felt like every UK high street had one.

‘What’s interesting is that the US and Australian brands entering the UK now aren’t just reheating that era; they’re leaning into nostalgia marketing deliberately.

‘They know their audience: consumers in their late 20s and 30s who remember that first wave fondly, and a younger cohort who are discovering it fresh through TikTok’s appetite for anything retro-but-remixed.’

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While the dessert itself hasn’t changed all that much in the last decade, Vhari notes that the tone has ‘shifted’ in marketing the product.

Brands are no longer putting a ‘health halo’ on top as the 2010s diet food positioning has largely fallen away.

Instead, it’s all about creating a food experience, so expect to see bright colours, customisable topping bars, and that dopamine-menu appeal that photographs beautifully and does brilliantly on social.

‘It’s dessert as entertainment rather than a lighter alternative to ice cream, which feels like a much more honest pitch anyway,’ Vhari adds.

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