A mother and daughter duo from Penllergaer are getting ready to open Swansea's first frozen yoghurt café - and it will offer at least six flavours of the delicious dessert and more than 40 toppings. Katharine and Jess Partner first launched their business, FrozziYo, in one of the temporary retail units near Swansea Arena last year - and it's been so popular that they're now gearing up to open a permanent venue on College Street off Princess Way in the city centre.
Frozen yoghurt "tastes just like ice-cream" but uses a lot less sugar - so it's a much healthier option but just as delicious, Katharine said. Her and her daughter's eatery will have a small seating area, three double self-serve machines, and a topping station with more than 40 toppings and sauces to choose from, including fresh fruit, cookie dough bites - and even a chocolate tap, so customers can cover their froyo (frozen yoghurt) in melted chocolate if they wish.
Explaining where she got the idea for the business from, Katharine said: "It was a trip to the States years ago - they're literally on every corner there! I've always thought it was such a good concept, self-serve froyo, it's like a children's wonderland; being able to choose whatever you want rather than having to go off a menu." You can get the biggest Swansea news stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
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"We're completely independent, it's our own little venture - Swansea's our hometown so we obviously wanted to start our business off here, but we do want to expand across the UK in the future!" Katharine, 47, and Jess, 19, are no strangers to running a business as they also own and run Rock The Dragon dancewear shop in Gorseinon. The store sells dance shoes, bags, leotards, DRGN dancewear and uniform for various dance schools across the UK.
As for FrozziYo, the pair first launched the business last year. Back in February, 2022, FrozziYo was announced as one of the first three eateries set to open next to Swansea Arena in the long-awaited Copr Bay development - but unfortunately, construction work at the retail units has faced delay after delay.
The pair began running FrozziYo from a temporary cabin next to the arena and it soon became extremely popular, with many customers coming back time and time again. But after several months of waiting, the permanent retail units at Copr Bay still weren't finished.
With this in mind, Katharine recently made the difficult decision to pull-out of the Copr Bay development and chose a new location for her business, so she and Jess can open a permanent frozen yoghurt café much sooner.
"We got the keys to our new place on April 1, it's on College Street - just round from Princess Way. There's a few cafes and coffee shops around there, and we're right round the corner from the new Storyteller bar too.
"We're going to have three machines to start. They're double machines so there will be six flavours to begin with - including a lot of vegan flavours," Katharine said, with Jess quick to add that the vegan froyo "doesn't taste vegan" and is made from coconut milk.
Among the flavours on offer, there will be raspberry Dole Whip (a popular type of dairy-free frozen yoghurt that originated in the US) and pineapple Dole Whip, both of which are vegan, as well as vanilla frozen yoghurt and salted caramel frozen yoghurt. FrozziYo will also offer chocolate frozen yoghurt and cookie dough frozen yoghurt, with further flavours set to be added at a later date.
"We have four different sizes, from the baby size to extra-large, and there's 40 toppings including fresh fruit, cookie dough bites and a chocolate tap with hot chocolate sauce. We'll also be doing 'bubble waffles' and people will be able to design their own and pick their toppings, like for the frozen yoghurt," Katharine added. "There will be a small seating area and a large self-service counter, it will be a real self-serve experience and I'm hoping to add outdoor seating in the summer."
FrozziYo is set to open soon on College Street, Swansea city centre, SA1 5AF. In the meantime, you can follow the business on Facebook here for the latest updates.
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