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Are all things Japanese still funky? Yes. So make way for yet another phenomenon (and fun business opportunity) from the land of the Rising Sun: Beard Papa’s, a cream puff chain! This March, Beard Papa’s opened on Broadway / 76th St in New York, adding to a list that already includes Japan (270 stores), and South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. (Source: Economist.) Papa’s immense popularity is based on the whipped cream and custard combination inside its cream puffs. The filling is a special vanilla-bean custard, made with beans imported from Madagascar. Other fillings include green tea, caramel, cocoa, and royal milk tea (black tea with milk flavor). The company’s logo, Beard Papa, resembles Santa Claus; this, according to a spokesperson, “because when people think of Santa Claus, it makes them happy, and so Beard Papa makes people happy.” (Source: CS.) But hey, who cares, as long as the cream puffs are sold by the millions?

Opportunities

Beard Papa is scouting for additional sites in New York and in other US cities including Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco. Like Krispy Kreme (featured earlier), Beard Papa is rapidly becoming one of those cult snack brands, based on great quality combined with unorthodox marketing. No reason why every medium to large size city on this globe couldn’t sustain a few Beard Papa outlets. Time to get on board and join the next Big Sweet Thing?