A Red Mango fro-yo store recently opened up across the street from its J-pop-bedecked rival Pinkberry, on Bleecker and Macdougal in the Village. This shot of Pinkberry is through the front door of its envious rival.

Both the original and green tea flavors are more sour than their equivalents at Pinkberry. Showoffs.

The Red Mango décor skews older and more American. It’s standard upscale café décor with browns, reds and stainless steel. The counter opens up into a space with less personality than the seating area. The big red mango on the ceiling is hilarious — it’s an irregular shape and must cost a fortune. The wobbly form is not particularly pretty, but it’s part of the chain’s logo. What’s wrong with the swell of a perfectly good Alphonso?

Pinkberry swathes itself in Asian toys, like Kidrobot. The chain is aspirational and self-consciously hip, with ruffled lamps and lounge music sometimes on in the background. The chairs are translucent plastic in candy colors, like Bondi blue. The floor is paved with small pebbles like a patio and sealed with something that shines.

Red Mango is a Brooklynite with kids, while Pinkberry is an Akihabara teenybopper. These competitors are two of the purest expressions of branding over product differentiation. Their yogurts cost and taste more or less the same, though I liked Pinkberry’s subtler sour a little bit better. But the one lesson I’ve learned is that naming these chains is a Madlibs. Can’t wait for Orange Durian or Blue Lemon.

Previously: The Kati Sutra