Anyways, I didn't go there. Instead, I went next door (quite literally like 4 doors down the street) to Very Berry, one of those places that people would consider a knock-off brand of Pinkberry. I went there mostly for kicks because, "hey, I work in branding!" I wanted to experience the "knock-off" brand, and see how different or the same it actually is. Turns out it's very similar. A few noted differences:
- their granola was kind of weird. more like little cubes of granola cookie...like the size of sugar cubes.
- the spoons the employees used to scoop the toppings were actually those white plastic spoons you buy.
- asian pop music videos were playing quite loudly on a flat screen tv.
- the focus and precision of which my toppings were placed (quite generously too I might add)
- oh, and i'm pretty sure the guy that made my frozen yogurt didn't know how to speak much (if any) English. My favorite part was when he bowed his head slightly when handing me my frozen yogurt with both hands. Awesome!
- and last but not least, the awesome Engrish everywhere
Sidenote: Turns out that Pinkberry might actually be a copycat of another frozen yogurt brand from Korea called Red Mango...hmmmm....the plot thickens....I think Korean companies have an interesting definition of "benchmarking," but anyways, that's not what this post is about. What it's really about is about the awesome Engrish [sic] that I found on Very Berry's window posters.
Here are a few of my favorites. I've kept them in all caps, which is how they were on all the posters. Also, it seemed they got better and better (or worse, depending on your perspective) as I moved progressively from left to right from poster to poster. I've kept them in that same order. Just so you know...all spelling, punctuation, and grammar below is not a mistake on my part. :) Enjoy:
"HEALTHY IS A BIG PRIORITY FOR YOU."
"ROASTED GRAIN MIX ARE EXCELLENT FOR WEIGHT LOSS."
"ALSO THEY CONTAIN VERY POWERFUL SUBSTANCES, SO IT NOT ONLY FIGHTS AGAINST AGING, BUT IT BLOCKS THE OCCURRENCE OF CANCER AT THE SOURCE."
"VERY BERRY'S BANANA SPRIT IS MADE WITH 3 FLAVORS FROZEN YOGURT, STRAWBERRY, FRUITY PEBBLES, PINEAPPLE, WALNUT, MOCHI."
"IN THE WORLD'S BEST COFFEE PRODUCING REGIONS, THERE REMAIN A SELECT NUMBER OF FARMERS. THAT HAVE GROWN COFFEE THE SAME WAY FOR GENERATIONS. THEY PLANT AND NURTURE EACH COFFEE. THREE USING ONLY ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TECHNIQUES. THEY HARVEST EACH CROP BY HAND. THE COFFEE FROM THESE FARMS ARE 100% ORGANIC AND THE FLAVOR IS PURE...THE WAY NATURE INTENDED IT TO BE."
