Goodbye Wakaberry – Popular South African ‘Froyo’ Chain Is No More.
Once-popular frozen yoghurt chain Wakaberry has closed its last remaining store in South Africa, owner Famous Brands has confirmed.
In the early 2010s, few brands in the country generated as much excitement and hype among consumers as Wakaberry.
The first-to-market self-serve frozen yoghurt bar offered a wide variety of flavours and toppings, encouraging customers to create their own colourful ‘froyo’ creations.
The brand focused on high-quality, healthier frozen yoghurt options, such as low-fat and probiotic yoghurt, and stores popped up around the country—designed with a modern, vibrant aesthetic to create a fun and inviting atmosphere.
However, just as quickly as the company appeared across the country, it melted away, with Famous Brands confirming to BusinessTech that “there are no Wakaberry outlets trading,” anymore.
Wakaberry was founded in 2011 by Ken and Michele Fourie and their business partner, David Clark.
Michele Fourie, a former primary school teacher, and her husband Ken, a former professional rugby player, moved from South Africa to the United Kingdom and then to the United States in 2005.
In Wilmington, North Carolina, they bought and ran a restaurant named Ken’s Bagels before opening their own restaurant, Café Brava, which featured South African products.
Despite initial success, the 2008 recession challenged their business, but it provided valuable lessons.
The Fouries returned from the United States with the idea of opening a self-service frozen yogurt store in their hometown of Durban.
“While living overseas, we often treated our children to ‘froyo’ – the concept is very popular there – and we thought it might take off in South Africa,” the Fouries recalled in an interview with Franchise Brands.
“We saw that there was a gap in the market with limited existing competition,” they added.
After extensive market research, the Fouries and Clark opened their first frozen yoghurt bar in an old bank building on Florida Road in Durban in May of that year.
Wakaberry self-serve machines.
Wakaberry’s name has an unlikely origin. Ken and Michele’s girls, aged two and five at the time, could not stop singing Shakira’s Waka Waka—the theme song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa—and the catchy name was born.
It was initially a ‘mom-and-pop’ type of operation – a small business owned and managed by family members.
“We held our breath while customers slowly started trickling in, until three months later when we barely had enough seating in our store,” said the business partners.
However, popular demand saw them rethink the model when holiday makers visited their store in Durban and urged them to open more stores in their home cities.
They started receiving requests from people wanting to buy into the business, which led them to the decision of franchising Wakaberry.
The first franchised store was then opened in Lonehill, Johannesburg in 2012.
By early 2014, Wakaberry was seen as brand leader in the frozen yoghurt category in South Africa, boasting 33 franchised stores extending across eight provinces and 175,000 Facebook followers.
That year, the International Frozen Yogurt Association awarded them ‘Three Swirls of Honour’ in recognition of their excellence. This was the first time a yoghurt bar outside of the United States was recognised by the Association.
This caught the attention of Famous Brands, a leading South African company specialising in franchising, manufacturing, and retailing food and beverages. The company boasts well-known brands such as Steers, Wimpy, Debonairs, Fishaways, Mugg & Bean, and more.
Wakaberry founders Ken and Michele Fourie and David Clark. Image: Famous Brands
In March 2014, Famous Brands announced the acquisition of a 70% stake in Wakaberry for R48 million, effective from April.
Following the acquisition, Famous Brands said it bought Wakaberry because it was a brand that fitted its growth strategy, was attractive to landlords, and had low setup and running costs, making it appealing to franchisees.
Wakaberry co-founder, Michele Fourie, said that they had received numerous offers from prospective buyers but preferred Famous Brands as an investor because they thought that the big firm would add value to their company.
“Our strategic intent is to unlock the massive potential of Wakaberry, bringing our ‘bowls of happiness’ to all corners of South Africa,” said Fourie.
Famous Brands intended to grow the 33 stores it acquired to at least 40 stores within a few months.
However, the company’s goals were not really fulfilled.
In 2015, the group noted that the rapid growth experienced during the category’s start-up phase had noticeably slowed down, and the store network had grown to 37.
They mentioned intensive re-engineering of the brand and incurred a net capital expenditure of R96 million on the acquisition of Wakaberry, supply chain expansion, fleet upgrade, and enhancement of IT systems.
That year, they opened the first Wakaberry store outside of South Africa, in Windhoek, Namibia.
By 2016, Famous Brands recognised an impairment of R12 million against the Wakaberry business due to contracted growth in the frozen yoghurt category, and the store count decreased to 35.
In 2017, Famous Brands stated that despite retaining its market leadership position in the frozen yogurt category in South Africa, Wakaberry continued to be negatively affected by the overall contraction of the category locally.
It closed 10 Wakaberry stores during the year, bringing the count to 25.
Noticing this decline, Wakaberry began being phased out as an entity by Famous Brands.
Famous Brands CEO Darren Hele told Business Day that in line with global trends, the frozen yoghurt category matured rapidly, and the explosion of activity in its start-up phase subsided noticeably, leading to a challenging trading environment and the exit of numerous industry participants.
The implication was that the segment had just been a fad, and the purchase had not panned out as expected.
The company never reported on the Wakaberry store count between 2018 and 2019, but this is when the company saw quite a decline.
By 2020, only six stores were left trading, which decreased to three in 2021, two in 2022, and one at the end of the 2024 financial year (ending 29 February 2024).
In response to questions posed by BusinessTech, Famous Brands confirmed that there are currently “no Wakaberry outlets trading” anymore, with the last standing outlet in Sandton recently shutting its doors.
While most closed, other Wakaberry outlets morphed into Milky Lane (also owned by Famous Brands) in Gauteng and other parts.
Wakaberry, known for its high-quality, customisable frozen yoghurt, once thrived with a vibrant store design and rapid growth.
However, despite early success and a notable acquisition by Famous Brands in 2014, the brand struggled with a contracting market and slow expansion – which all boiled down to, as analysts describe, “hype dying down”.
By September 2024, all Wakaberry outlets have now closed, marking the end of a once-promising and thriving frozen yogurt venture in South Africa.
