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Experience designers hit ice cream
Who will emerge as "the Starbucks of ice cream"? The New York Times reports on the three competitors. Apparently "the experience" is central to selling frozen butter and sugar:
From Slabs Are Joining Scoops in Ice Cream Retailing:
The companies, Marble Slab Creamery, Cold Stone Creamery and MaggieMoo's International, sell various flavors of premium ice cream, which is defined by the industry as having more than 12 percent butterfat. Moreover, they allow customers to choose from an assortment of "mix-ins" like crumbled cookies, candies, fruits and nuts. Employees then blend the ingredients into the ice cream on a cold granite or marble slab before packing it into a cup or freshly baked waffle cone. The cost escalates with the number of mix-ins and can easily top $5 for a medium serving.
..."It's entertainment," Ms. Barry said. "I myself get intrigued by what other people order," like peanut butter ice cream with bananas, marshmallows and brownie chunks.
Maybe I'm a purist, but I'm more interested in eating authentically good ice cream than listening to other customers' orders and seeing a stage show. Oh, a granite slab? I'd rather just get the ice cream scooped and handed over, thanks. Getting the real thing often costs less, too - not unlike the coffee business.
Finally, here are two places in New York City for people who actually like actual ice cream, not a marketer's "experience design" of the simulation of an ice cream shop:
