Vincent M. Mallozzi, Mr. Softee Sets Sights on China and Beyond; New York
Staple Gains a Foothold in China. New York Times, Apr. 15, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/nyregion/15softee.html?scp=1&sq=mr%20softee&st=cse
Quote:
"company officials [from Mr. Softee] met repeatedly with Suzhou’s traffic
police to explain a concept they had little knowledge of: selling products
out of a truck. Mr. Soft Heart trucks were assigned specific routes and
parking spots, with no deviating allowed
"Most of the products are bought or made in China — the cones, the ice
cream mix, the trucks — except for one key ingredient: the milk, which is
imported from the United States.
My comment:
(a) The second quotation implies to customers in China no milk comes from
China, which has been in disrepute.
(b) Rather than "Mr. Softee" in the NYT report, the official title of the
company--and brand--is
Mister Softee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Softee
(founded in 1956 in Philadelphia; current headquarters at Runnemede, New
Jersey--somewhat close to Philadelphia)
Take a glance at one picture showing the bluish truck. (I have not seen one
in Boston, however.)
(c) Taicang 太仓市 (江苏省蘇州市内一个县级市)
(d) float (n): "a drink consisting of ice cream suspended in a liquid 9as
root beer)" Webster (3rd ed, 1961)
(e) The "rice cake" probably means 年糕.
(f) Spring Lake, New Jersey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Lake,_New_Jersey
(g) In this report, Mister Softee does not talk about expansion into Taiwan.
With good reason: Taiwan was chock-full of soft serves , sold from stores
not trucks, when I was there around 1980.