Bon Appétiters Catch Pokémon Go Fever
- by Norris Mei
Since its release, Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm. Millions are taking part in the phenomenon out of childhood nostalgia or simply interest, and Bon Appétiters across the country have joined in on the fun.
(In case you’ve been in a media-free cave, Pokémon Go is a location-based mobile game, based on the popular Pokémon franchise from the mid-1990s, that you play outdoors and indoors in the real world — catching Pokémon creatures superimposed on reality, via your phone’s camera.)
“It’s quite on trend,” remarked Marketing Director Cara Brechler after witnessing the fervor with which people have responded to the Pokémon-inspired desserts offered at Oracle’s 300 Bakery in Redwood Shores, CA. Inspired by her younger brother’s interest in Pokémon Go, as well as her coworkers’ enthusiasm for the game, Pastry Cook Bonnie Craig created Pokéball-shaped desserts — the top half is glazed strawberry mousse; the bottom half is TCHO chocolate mousse dipped in white chocolate. (See above.) On the first day of their debut, the Pokéballs sold out within 20 minutes.
Each subsequent batch of Pokémon desserts, including mango Pikachu-shaped macarons, have all flown off the shelf just as quickly. Furthermore, pictures of the treats that Cara has posted on the bakery’s Instagram page have amassed hundreds of likes, and the bakery’s number of Instagram followers has doubled during the two-week period, surpassing 1,000.
Several Bon Appétit teams at college accounts have also given the nod to Pokémon Go, incorporating screenshots and elements from the game into their social media. At Albion College in Albion, MI, Marketing Manager Shane Powers tweeted about landmarks on campus that serve as Pokéstops and Pokémon gyms — locations in the game where players can catch, train, and battle Pokémon — and used the opportunity to share some history about the buildings. Meanwhile at Emory University in Atlanta, the Bon Appétit team was pleased to discover that at least one of their cafés was a Pokéstop, so they posted pictures of Pokémon found in the café. In Colorado Springs, CO, Coffee Supervisor Tyler Dexter used the game’s camera feature to take a picture of a pidgey, a birdlike Pokémon, standing next to Pokéball cookies that the Colorado College team made.
Whether Pokémon Go fever is here to stay or not, Bon Appétiters at Oracle, Albion, Emory, and Colorado College are having a ball taking this opportunity to delight guests and Pokémon fans alike.