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Monday, March 21, 2011

Want Some Ice Cream - DQ or DU?

A break from discussing China's Great Firewall for something lighter, or maybe creamier is the better word.  In a newer mall in Guiyang, China I saw this:

Dairy Queen store in Guiyang, China

I've seen numerous Dairy Queen outlets across China.  Although there are some apparent modifications for the Chinese market, they offer much that can be found at Dairy Queens in the US.

However, very close to the Dairy Queen was something I don't think you'll see in the US:

DU store in Guiyang, China

Not a DQ, but a DU ice cream store.  Seeing the DU store in such a relatively high end mall and so close to its, um, inspiration was particularly striking.  One Chinese lady I spoke to said she believed DU to be "a copycat store" but also pointed out that she believed DU was first to open in Guiyang.  While there may be reasonable grounds for a trademark dispute, unlike some KFC copycat restaurants at least DU wasn't exactly copying DQ's offerings.  For example, DU seemed to focus on hard ice cream.

So, the big question -- Did I go for DQ or DU?

Well, I decided to find the middle ground.  In this case it was a store in between DQ and DU where I got this:

Happy Lemon Peppermint Lemonade Drink

A peppermint lemonade drink from the Hong Kong based Happy Lemon chain.  It didn't turn out to be my thing -- I prefer Happy Lemon's milk tea or regular lemonade.  Happy Lemon actually has its own imitators.  However, at least none were within eyesight.

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