YO!
YO! (founded 1997) operates UK sushi restaurants with iconic conveyor-belt dining, 370+ supermarket kiosks in Tesco and Asda, takeaway/delivery, retail grocery products, B2B foodservice, and international franchise operations across ~10 countries under Wonderfield Group.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What YO! does
YO! (legal entity YO! Sushi UK Ltd, registered 02994470) is a UK-headquartered Japanese-inspired food and beverage company founded in 1997 in London's Soho, operating a multi-channel sushi and Japanese street-food business across restaurants, supermarket kiosks, takeaway/delivery, retail grocery products, B2B foodservice, franchise, and experiential. Its flagship format is the kaiten conveyor belt — fresh sushi and Japanese dishes delivered directly to diners at the table — combined with self-service ordering kiosks, a YO! to Go takeaway and delivery service via Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, and a digital loyalty programme (YO! Rewards) powered by Vita Mojo. The technology stack includes Oracle Cloud as core infrastructure, with Google Analytics, HotJar, and Azure Application Insights deployed for web analytics, UX monitoring, and performance telemetry.
The company operates 50+ company-owned restaurants and 370+ self-service kiosks primarily inside Tesco and Asda supermarkets in the UK, plus ~23 franchise-operated locations across approximately ten countries (France, Norway, Spain, Netherlands, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia, and Turkey). Revenue is generated primarily through transactional food and beverage sales (dine-in at £7.95 entry-level meal deals, bottomless belt at £29.95 adults / £15.95 children, and kids' menu at £7.50), kiosk grab-and-go sales, delivery commissions, gift cards (sold from £5 via Toggle), B2B foodservice/wholesale, 'YO! at Home' retail products across five major UK supermarket chains, and paid sushi-making experiences at the YO! Sushi School (£27.95–£99.95).
YO! is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wonderfield Group, described as one of the largest global sushi producers, and retains sub-brands Panku Street Food (post-2017 Bento Sushi acquisition) and Mai Taiko. Customer segments are largely horizontal — individual consumers, families, students (UNiDAYS/Student Beans), key workers (Blue Light Card/Defence Discount Service), and corporate/wholesale clients — and the company maintains sustainability commitments through the Sustainable Seafood Coalition, European Chicken Commitment, Marine Conservation Society, Compassion in World Farming, and the UK Plastics Pact. The most recent disclosed leadership is Will Human as European Chief Executive Officer (2025 Gender Pay Gap report signatory).
YO! firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- YO!
- Legal name
- YO! Sushi UK Ltd
- Website
- https://yosushi.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- YO! (founded 1997) operates UK sushi restaurants with iconic conveyor-belt dining, 370+ supermarket kiosks in Tesco and Asda, takeaway/delivery, retail grocery products, B2B foodservice, and international franchise operations across ~10 countries under Wonderfield Group.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
YO! industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Japanese Restaurant Chain
- NAICS
- Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Convenience Retailers (445131)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- In-Store Sushi & Asian Prepared Foods (CRAHAKAD)
Keywords
Where YO! is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
YO! business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Restaurant Food & Beverage Sales: Core revenue from dine-in customers at owned and franchise restaurants. Customers order via conveyor belt, kiosks, or table service. Revenue is transaction-based, one-time per visit.
- Delivery & Third-Party Aggregation: Revenue from delivery orders through Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats platforms. Commission-based model with third-party aggregators taking a share.
- Kiosk Retail Sales: Revenue from sushi kiosk sales in Tesco and Asda supermarket locations. Franchise/wholesale arrangement generating recurring transaction revenue.
- Gift Cards: Gift card sales through Toggle partnership. Revenue recognized upon redemption.
- Sushi School Experiences: Paid sushi-making classes and experiences ranging from £27.95 to £99.95 per person.
- E-commerce Sales: Online sales of sushi products and merchandise through shop.yosushi.com.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Meal deals from £7.95 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Bottomless Belt - £29.95 adults, £15.95 kids |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Kids Menu - £7.50 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Cards from £5 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Sushi School Experiences - £27.95 to £99.95 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Selfridges Taster Menu - £39.95 |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels11 records
YO! product offering
Product offeringCore offering
YO! Sushi operates a chain of Japanese-inspired restaurants featuring the iconic kaiten conveyor belt dining experience, alongside 370+ self-service sushi kiosks in UK supermarkets (Tesco and Asda), takeaway and delivery via major aggregators, an at-home retail grocery product line, B2B foodservice solutions, a sushi-making class business (YO! Sushi School), gift cards, and a digital loyalty programme (YO! Rewards). The company sells freshly prepared sushi, hot Japanese street food, salads, and snacks to consumers across dine-in, retail, and delivery channels.
Product overview
YO! is a Japanese-inspired food business operating across multiple channels: full-service dine-in restaurants featuring the iconic kaiten conveyor belt, supermarket kiosks in Tesco and other retail locations, takeaway and delivery services, a retail 'at home' product line available in major UK supermarkets, B2B foodservice solutions, and a franchise programme. The company also offers gift cards, a digital loyalty programme (YO! Rewards), and experiential sushi-making classes through YO! Sushi School. The portfolio spans from immediate consumption (restaurants, kiosks, delivery) to retail grocery products and B2B partnerships.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Panku Street Food: Brand operating in Tesco and Asda supermarkets alongside YO! kiosks
- Mai Taiko
Products and services
- YO! Restaurants
- YO! Kiosks
- YO! to Go (Takeaway & Delivery)
- YO! Gift Card
- YO! Sushi School
- YO! at Home
- YO! Foodservices
- YO! Franchise
- Selfridges Taster Menu
Quantifiable outcome
- 50+ UK restaurants with presence across France, Norway, Spain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Turkey
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use YO!
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
YO! technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature3 records
YO! partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Wonderfield GroupcoreParent company overseeing YO! Sushi brand and operations
- Vita MojocoreDigital loyalty card partner powering the YO! Rewards loyalty program with integrated digital ordering capabilities
- MOTHminorCocktails partnership providing signature cocktail offerings at YO! restaurants
- Too Good To GominorFood waste reduction app partnership allowing customers to purchase surplus food at discounted prices
- Oracle CloudcoreCloud infrastructure provider for data storage and business applications
- Design My NightminorBooking platform partner enabling restaurant reservation capabilities
- DeliveroocoreDelivery partner providing on-demand food delivery services to customers
- Just EatcoreDelivery partner providing on-demand food delivery services to customers
- Uber EatscoreDelivery partner providing on-demand food delivery services to customers
- Marine Conservation SocietycoreSustainability partnership supporting marine conservation and responsible seafood sourcing
- Compassion in World FarmingcoreAnimal welfare organization partnership supporting ethical farming practices
- Plastics PactcoreUK Plastics Pact membership committed to eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging
- Sustainable Seafood CoalitioncoreIndustry coalition membership ensuring sustainable sourcing of seafood products
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
YO! competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Itsu: UK-based sushi and Asian-inspired food chain operating dine-in restaurants, grocery retail products, and on-the-go stores. Itsu is YO!'s closest direct competitor in the UK sushi restaurant category, competing for the same consumer occasion with overlapping menu and price points.
- Wasabi: UK sushi and hot Asian food grab-and-go chain with hundreds of locations across London and other UK cities. Wasabi directly competes with YO! for sushi takeaway, meal-deal, and food-court occasions at comparable price points.
- Sushi Daily: Operates sushi kiosks and counters inside European supermarkets and travel retail. Sushi Daily directly competes with YO!'s 370+ in-supermarket kiosk model for the same in-store grab-and-go sushi occasion.
- Crussh: UK health-focused food-to-go chain offering soups, salads, sushi, and hot pots across London and the South East. Crussh directly competes with YO! on the sushi and food-to-go occasion, with overlap in healthy-eating customer segments.
Broad incumbents
- Pret a Manger: UK-founded food-to-go chain serving sandwiches, salads, bowls, and hot food across hundreds of urban and retail locations. Pret competes with YO! for the broader lunchtime and food-to-go occasion with a wider menu and stronger brand scale.
- Kura Sushi: Japan-headquartered kaiten conveyor belt sushi chain with hundreds of locations across Japan and a growing US footprint. Kura is a global category incumbent using the same conveyor belt format as YO!, providing concept-level comparability and a benchmark for international scalability.
- Coco Ichibanya: Japan-headquartered Japanese curry restaurant chain with global franchise presence. While not a sushi competitor, Coco Ichibanya is a comparable Japanese casual-dining franchise model that demonstrates the international expansion playbook relevant to YO!'s own franchise strategy.
- Leon Restaurants: UK-based natural fast-food chain serving bowls, wraps, and Asian-inspired dishes at dine-in, retail, and foodservice channels. Leon is a comparable UK casual food brand with similar multi-channel reach and mid-market positioning to YO!.
Regional players
- Genki Sushi: Asia-based kaiten conveyor belt sushi operator with locations in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other Asian markets. Genki is the original kaiten format pioneer and a comparable concept operator, though primarily in Asia rather than directly in YO!'s UK and European markets.
- Sushi Express: Singapore-headquartered kaiten conveyor belt sushi chain operating across Southeast Asia. Comparable to YO! on the kaiten format and Asian casual-dining positioning, though concentrated in Asia-Pacific rather than UK/Europe.
Market position
Strengths2 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
YO! social profiles
Digital presenceYO! financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
YO! leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
YO! subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
YO! funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
YO! M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about YO!
What does YO! do?
YO! Sushi operates a chain of Japanese-inspired restaurants featuring the iconic kaiten conveyor belt dining experience, alongside 370+ self-service sushi kiosks in UK supermarkets (Tesco and Asda), takeaway and delivery via major aggregators, an at-home retail grocery product line, B2B foodservice solutions, a sushi-making class business (YO! Sushi School), gift cards, and a digital loyalty programme (YO! Rewards). The company sells freshly prepared sushi, hot Japanese street food, salads, and snacks to consumers across dine-in, retail, and delivery channels.
Is YO! a public or private company?
YO! is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was YO! founded?
YO! was founded in 1997. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is YO! based?
YO! is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does YO! make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Food & Beverage Sales are the primary driver. The others are delivery & Third-Party Aggregation, kiosk Retail Sales, gift Cards, sushi School Experiences and E-commerce Sales.
Who are YO!'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Itsu, Wasabi, Sushi Daily and Crussh. Broad incumbents are Pret a Manger, Kura Sushi, Coco Ichibanya and Leon Restaurants. Regional players are Genki Sushi and Sushi Express.
Does YO! have an API?
No public API is recorded for YO!.
What industry is YO! in?
YO!'s product category is Japanese Restaurant Chain. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAHAKAD, In-Store Sushi & Asian Prepared Foods. Its NAICS code is 72251 and its SIC code is 5812.