Photo from gothamist.com

I’ve been noticing the growing number of fruity ice cream/yogurt shops in the city. They’re everywhere: Pinkberry, Very Berry, Red Mango, etc. In some parts of the city (ie. East Village), they’ve become the new Starbucks with similar establishments on opposite sides of the street, both packed. I know these companies are all competitors, but I’m surprised to find there’s so much room for competition for such a narrow niche. All these places look adorable and have very similar menus. Not that I’m complaining about having ample options to satisfy my sweet tooth in a relatively healthy way, it just seems odd how popular they’ve become in such a short time…

A few days ago, I planned to meet a friend for coffee and we ended up going to Red Mango instead. Maybe ice cream/ yogurt is the new coffee?