YO!

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).

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

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

• Japanese restaurant chain
• Conveyor belt sushi
• Sushi delivery service
• Asian food retail
• Sushi franchise operations

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Kiosk Retail Sales: Revenue from sushi kiosk sales in Tesco and Asda supermarket locations. Franchise/wholesale arrangement generating recurring transaction revenue.
4. Gift Cards: Gift card sales through Toggle partnership. Revenue recognized upon redemption.
5. Sushi School Experiences: Paid sushi-making classes and experiences ranging from £27.95 to £99.95 per person.
6. E-commerce Sales: Online sales of sushi products and merchandise through shop.yosushi.com.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core 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

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wonderfield GroupcoreOthersParent company overseeing YO! Sushi brand and operations
• Vita MojocoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital loyalty card partner powering the YO! Rewards loyalty program with integrated digital ordering capabilities
• MOTHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCocktails partnership providing signature cocktail offerings at YO! restaurants
• Too Good To GominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood waste reduction app partnership allowing customers to purchase surplus food at discounted prices
• Oracle CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider for data storage and business applications
• Design My NightminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBooking platform partner enabling restaurant reservation capabilities
• DeliveroocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDelivery partner providing on-demand food delivery services to customers
• Just EatcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDelivery partner providing on-demand food delivery services to customers
• Uber EatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDelivery partner providing on-demand food delivery services to customers
• Marine Conservation SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainability partnership supporting marine conservation and responsible seafood sourcing
• Compassion in World FarmingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnimal welfare organization partnership supporting ethical farming practices
• Plastics PactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK Plastics Pact membership committed to eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging
• Sustainable Seafood CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry coalition membership ensuring sustainable sourcing of seafood products

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct 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

• Xx.com/yosushi
• Facebookfacebook.com/YOSushi
• Instagraminstagram.com/yosushi
• TikToktiktok.com/@yosushi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about YO!