Would YOU queue three hours for £15 frozen yogurt? Hundreds from across the UK line the streets of Notting Hill for new Instagrammable Australian dessert shop

An Australian frozen yogurt shop has been branded a 'rip-off' after TikTok videos showed hundreds of Londoners queuing for 'three hours' outside Yo-Chi's first UK outlet. The 'cult' chain was founded in 2012 by Australian billionaire Manny Stul and opened its doors in Notting Hill last week after the brand was inundated with 'thousands of comments, messages and videos from Brits' who had tried the frozen yogurt on holiday or seen it online. According to local publication Broadsheet, fro-yo enthusiasts from across the UK - including Birmingham, Coventry and Essex - descended on the posh west London neighbourhood on opening day and queues started forming as early as 6.30am. Clips filmed outside Yo-Chi's Notting Hill outpost revealed 'insane' mile-long lines that stretched 'all the way to High Street Kensington' and the queues showed no signs of shortening nearly a week after the launch. Some TikTok users dubbed themselves 'queue correspondent' and started providing live updates on how slowly the line outside Yo-Chi was moving, while Aussies were left gobsmacked by the crowds for what they reiterated was 'just fro-yo'.Reacting to the 'fro-yo frenzy', one person felt it was 'crazy' to wait over an hour while another said: 'I don't care what's opening, I would NOT be in a line that long for anything!''As an Aussie, this is insane to me. If you want to make money in the UK, open a Yo-Chi?' TikTok creator @adrian_and_haydon expressed his disbelief, as a single portion of the sweet treat can cost anywhere between £10 and £15.50. Since Yo-Chi is a self-serve store, customers can unintentionally end up paying exorbitant prices for the sweet treat, with one person calling it an 'absolute rip-off'. Hundreds of people have made a beeline for Yo-Chi after the Australian dessert shop opening in Notting Hill last week Clips filmed outside Yo-Chi's Notting Hill outpost revealed 'insane' mile-long lines that stretched 'all the way to High Street Kensington' and the queues showed no signs of shortening nearly a week after the launchPrices start at £2.70 for 100g; customers first choose their base flavour before topping it with things like dried fruit, nuts, spreads, cakes and brownies, bits of cookie, fruit 'pearls', berry compotes and mochi. 'It's not that great, overpriced frozen yogurt with overpriced toppings,' one Instagram user wrote. 'Costs around $11-$17 in Australia.' 'It's so expensive! How are people affording this with a cost of living crisis?' another queried. Defending Yo-Chi while justifying the craze, TikToker Lucy Sedgwick said: 'People that have never lived or been to Australia probably do not understand the magnitude of Yo-Chi opening in this country. 'Yo-Chi is the single greatest export of that nation. People will say to you, “it’s just frozen yogurt, how good can it be?”, and you should not listen to these people.’ She suggested that Yo-Chi tastes so good that 'you actually do not care how much this beauty costs', but other social media users maintained they struggled to see the 'allure' considering 'fro-yo' is not a new concept. 'I actually really want to understand because this is an anthropological question for me now: what is the allure?' one comment read. 'Because obviously it’s not 1993, so this is not a new thing. Why is this froyo special? Surely it cannot just be for content, but I can’t understand how it’s special.'Another person wrote: 'As someone living in Australia, five minutes from a Yo-Chi, I promise you, it's literally just fro-yo. Genuinely nothing you can't get elsewhere.' Some felt that the 'fear of missing out' was behind people's decision to queue for Yo-Chi, as well as things like Labubus and Stanley Cups, with one person equating it to social currency. The 'cult' chain was founded in 2012 by Australian billionaire Manny Stul and opened its doors in Notting Hill last week after the brand was inundated with 'thousands of comments, messages and videos from Brits' who had tried the frozen yogurt on holiday or seen it online. One TikTok user suggested queuing for 'fro-yo' was the 'lamest' thing as the launch divided social media A clip showed customers excitedly forming a line late in the evening Some felt that the 'fear of missing out' was behind people's decision to queue for Yo-Chi, as well as things like Labubus and Stanley Cups, with one person equating it to social currency'If there was a rule that you couldn’t post your yogurt on social media, or take photos. I’m convinced half these people would not be queuing,' one comment read. Another added: 'I lived in Australia for years and yo-chi is overrated af �� it’s just a regular fro-yo place where you choose the toppings.' A third said: 'It genuinely makes me never wanna go lol'. One person branded the hype for Yo-Chi as being the result of 'sheep mentality' while others suggested the whole thing is a 'non-issue'. 'There are worse things people could be doing with their time,' a comment read. Yo-Chi was founded in 2012 by billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Moose Toys Manny Stul and his stepson, Paul Solomon. It was acquired by celebrity chef and former MasterChef Australia George Calombaris's MAdE Establishment Group in 2018. When the company was placed under voluntary administration in 2020, Yo-Chi was sold to Oliver & Riley Allis, the sons of Boost Juice founder Janine Allis.