Auckland’s frozen yoghurt revival is gathering pace. Just weeks after opening its first city outpost on Hurstmere Road in Takapuna, Mount Maunganui favourite Yomi is expanding again, with a second Auckland location opening in Ponsonby Central on Saturday, 26th September.
You could say frozen yoghurt operates in crazes, not phases. After dominating the mid-2000s with global phenomena like Pinkberry, then disappearing almost completely, and later re-emerging courtesy of Gen Z, TikTok, and a collective weakness for nostalgia dressed up as wellness, fro-yo is once again enjoying a very public moment.
Now Auckland has joined the revival. Mount Maunganui favourite Yomi opened its first city outpost on Hurstmere Road in Takapuna, and is now opening its second Auckland location in Ponsonby Central.
Choose your yoghurt or açaí base, then proceed with as much restraint or, more likely, lack of, that your cravings allow, by adding fresh fruit, numerous crunchy and saucy toppings, including a Whittaker’s chocolate fountain that undermines any attempt to describe the whole exercise as virtuous. There’s no limit to your desire for an abundance of wildly incompatible toppings, the only thing restricting you is the size of your bowl. The emphasis here is to go hard and large on the creativity.
The appeal of fro-yo lies in the fact that it occupies a contencious dietary space when you’re craving a sweet sugary dessert. Fro-yo is vaguely wellness-adjacent, allowing us to convince ourselves that it is a far healthier, yoghurt is afterall, full of probiotics that are great for our gut health. It’s also customisable and looks great on TikTok, which no doubt explains why a generation raised on social media has recognised its photogenic qualities and given the rousing return it deserves.
Takapuna marked Yomi’s first move into Auckland earlier this month, and the arrival in Ponsonby Central brings the brand closer to the inner city just in time for spring. For anyone yet to join the fro-yo resurgence, Saturday presents a very good excuse.
Ponsonby address: 146 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby Central
Takapuna address: 51 Hurstmere Road, Takapuna
