Pokemon Doughnuts, Exercise Classes Tap Game's Popularity

Weeks into the “Pokemon Go” craze, demand remains strong for “Poke Ball”-shaped treats made by a high-end doughnut company, one of many businesses and organizations coming up with creative ways to lure players in their search for the elusive “pocket monsters.”

Even on sweltering summer days, the popular smartphone game has gotten throngs of players out of their homes to real-world locations designated as “PokeStops” and “Gyms.” Theme parks, bars and even a county animal shelter are among those trying to capitalize on that surge in foot traffic.

In New York, Doughnut Plant created an edible version of the Poke Ball - dubbing it the Pokeseed - after a Pokemon-obsessed employee realized that all four of the company’s shops are either PokeStops or very close to one, owner Mark Isreal said. And one location is an ingame Gym, making it a gathering place to both consume and virtually burn off calories.

The team at Doughnut Plant designed the fruity treat in less than a day, using cranberry raspberry and white chocolate icings to recreate the red-and-white Poke Balls, the objects used in the game to capture monsters. The Pokeseed is stuffed with a peach-strawberry cream filling, an imagining of Pokemon’s mythical pecha berry.

Pictures went out on social media the next morning, “and before they were delivered, people were already coming to the stores,” Isreal said.

Doughnut Plant has already sold thousands of Pokeseeds, and customers frequently post pictures of them on Instagram. They’re still selling strong, so Doughnut Plant has no plan to take them off the menu any time soon.

Meanwhile, a trendy food court near New York’s Penn Station put up a sign urging passersby to catch a Pokemon instead of a train, while the city’s parks department created “PokeFit” classes for kids to play while exercising.