Campus Candy: fighting back against frozen yogurt monotony

It seems as if ever since my senior year in high school frozen yogurt shops have been popping up left and right. There's Red Mango, Orange Cup, Juicy Tart, The Yogurt Shop, Swirl, Tart, Berry Austin, Sweet Berry, berry this and berry that. It seems like the list could go on forever.

Yes, frozen yogurt is good; yes, America has seemingly gone crazy over this frozen yogurt fad; but no, there really isn't a difference between one store to the next no matter how catchy and cliche the store name.

Until now...

Much to Swirl's dismay, Campus Candy and Yogurt Bar has finally seemed break the monotonous streak of generic yogurt chains. I went there last night for the first time and while the yogurt really was the same as any other place, the topping selection in itself outdid the competition. The fruit was surprisingly fresh and there was a large variety of not-so-healthy toppings to up your calorie intake as well.

It also obviously sets itself apart from other Yogurt shops by offering a wide array of bulk candy to purchase by the ounce to appease my always active sweet tooth.

A cleverly centralized check-out counter located in the middle of assorted products.
(Photo courtesy of Yelp.com)

A maybe not-so-obvious characteristic of Campus Candy is the way they use technology and social media. In addition to their unique product assortments, they have several flat screens on the wall for consumers to enjoy while eating and mulling over candy purchases. A smart move to keep customers in the store just a little bit longer, allowing extra time for them to make impulse buys.

Currently, this new business does not have an 'official' website and only relies on its excellent storefront location, Facebook page and word-of-mouth for its advertising and promotional efforts. But from what I've seen and heard on campus, almost everyone knows its presence.

Will it survive the ocean of yogurt shops? My bet is most likely. Or at least until the next entrepreneur revamps this business plan and opens up the next 'big thing'.