Museum of Ice Cream
The Museum of Ice Cream is a company that develops and operates interactive retail experiences in major American cities. These "exhibits," typically hosted in storefronts, are ice-cream and candy-themed, with bright colors. The exhibits serve as backdrops for selfies, and the posts made by visitors to Instagram and other social media sites have served to promote the company's offerings. Employees offer visitors tastings throughout. Tickets must be purchased in advance for specific time slots online only.
Origins and history
Maryellis Bunn and Manish Vora founded the company. Its first location, a pop-up, opened in the Meatpacking District in 2016. Bunn and Vora initially self-funded the company. Bunn drew inspiration for the company from her perspective on American retail and traditional museums, which she has respectively referred to as a "dead industry" and "archaic". Despite positioning themselves as an alternative to more traditional institutions, the company does not produce "museums" as such; writers have described the locations as "... with no age " and as an "interactive multi-sensory exhibit". Bunn has stated she regrets using the term "museum" and now prefers the portmanteau "experiums" to describe the company's offerings.The success of the first pop-up and subsequent locations inspired the establishment of other experience-focused companies, such as the Museum of Pizza, Cado, and Rosé Mansion. Target began selling pints of Museum of Ice Cream ice cream in 2018. Flavors included "Piñata" and "Sprinkle Pool". As of 2020, Target no longer sells Museum of Ice Cream products. The Museum of Ice Cream also produced a makeup line for Sephora.
The organization received criticism due to its "tone deaf" efforts to express solidarity with protestors after the killing of George Floyd. A sign featuring the names of victims of police brutality, including Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice was placed outside the company's SoHo location in bright pink. Their names were preceded with the words "I scream for..." implicitly comparing the deceased to ice cream. Additionally, Ahmaud Arbery's name was misspelled "Ahmed Aubrey". In the same Forbes article that reported on the "tone deaf" moves, founders Maryellis Bunn and Manish Vora received criticism for abuse directed at employees and difficult conditions and restrictions placed upon retail employees.
Locations
| City | Dates | Location |
| Meatpacking District, Manhattan | July 2016 – September 2016 | 100 Gansevoort Street |
| Los Angeles | April 2017 – December 2017 | 2018 E. 7TH Pl. |
| San Francisco | September 2017 – present | 1 Grant Ave. |
| Miami | December 2017 – May 2018 | 3400 Collins Ave. |
| SoHo, Manhattan | December 2019 – | 558 Broadway |