Is Beard Papa's the New Pinkberry?

On the surface, Pinkberry and Beard Papa's are completely different---frozen yogurt substance is nothing like cream filled choux pastry. But side by side, the two companies share a lot of similarities, most notably how they're both multiplying across the land. Is this a good thing or bad? Let's take a look at the numbers:

1) Origins: The first Beard Papa opened in Osaka, Japan. Pinkberry opened its first store in Los Angeles, insists that the concept was inspired by a trip to Italy, but it closely resembles frozen yogurt shops found all over Korea.

2) Ingredients: Both Beard Papa and Pinkberry claim to be "all-natural," but the vanilla cream puff has only 14 ingredients, all real, no perservatives. Pinkberry, as we now know, has 23, most of which are perservatives, additives and fillers.

3) Nutrition: A Beard Papa cream puff has a whopping 13 grams of fat. Pinkberry is non-fat, until you throw on the Cap'n Crunch, chocolate chips and granola. Then you've got yourself a fat bomb.

4) Taste: Freshly made cream puffs are delicious. Pinkberry is not.

5) The Onslaught: Pinkberry opens its 50th store this weekend in Newport Beach, but we suspect there are many locations planned in LA and around the country. They tend to keep this information under wraps. According to its website, Beard Papa's has 41 locations (33 currently open, 8 planned) in the U.S. and Canada. Above is a photo for one coming to Lake Avenue near Macy's in Pasadena, which isn't listed on the site, so who really knows how many they have planned. It's almost a neck-and-neck race.
· "All-Natural" Pinkberry Explained [~ELA~]
· Red Mango vs. Pinkberry: A Study in Pictures [~ELA~]