The Concept

Location
The Baskin Robbins has over 6,000 locations. They have 2,700 which are located in the United of States. Baskin Robbins sells their ice cream in over 30 countries. Most of the stores of the US are located near the highway.


Target group
Baskin Robbins doesn’t have one specified target group. But most of the customers are parents with their children, teenagers, couples and young adults. These are the group whom visited the store a lot.

Formula
The formula of Baskin Robbins is that they have a lot of choices of ice cream flavors. Also they offer a lot of combinations. And they have a flavor for every customer which they like. The customer can taste the ice cream if they want, they get a little pink spoon and then they can taste the ice cream.

Could it work in the Netherlands?
We think that the concept could work, because the youth like to try new things and they like international brands. Also the stores look hip and colorfully and that is what the youth likes to see. We think also that the formula can work for parents with children, because they offer not only ice creams, but cakes and ice cream to eat at home. Also they offer birthday parties and gift certificates. It can work in the Netherlands, because we think that children have the same interest and that they like to eat ice cream.

Our Impressions

We went to Baskin Robbins by bus. It takes us around 15 minutes to come there. When we arrived the first thing we noticed was the great location. There are lots of other stores around it like a supermarket, subway, pharmacy, other dinners etc. In front of this Baskin Robbins is a parking place. It’s also next to a road so everyone who’s driving by can see Baskin Robbins so the location is great.

When we came in the first thing we noticed was the staff. They immediately greeted us. There were two staff members working in the store. We asked them if it was alright if we ask them some questions for our project. They agree with it. We first introduced ourselves to them and after that we started the interview. The manager, LeAnne Walter , answered the question and told us everything we want to know. They also agree with it to interview the customers if the customers also agree with it. We noticed that LeAnne was young. She’s a young adult but we don’t know the exact age. When we finished the interview we observed the staff. They were talking to each other but still continue their work. They were interested in who we are and where we came from. Something else we noticed is that the store was very clean. The floor was clean, the dustbin wasn’t full or overflowing. Also the glasses of the showcases were clean. We didn’t found any dirt or fingerprints on glasses or things like that.

Something we noticed was that most people who came were young adults. There were only a couple customers who were older (30-50 or 50+) or younger (teenagers/ children). Another thing was that the flavor they chosen also were different but everybody chose a cup or a coop. We’ve seen nobody who has chosen for example a sundae or a shake. Another thing we noticed was that most of the customers we interviewed live in the area where the store is located.

Interview Manager

We went to Baskin Robbins at 3108 S. McClintock Drive, Southern Palms Center Ste 1
Tempe, AZ 85282. We asked the manager, LeAnne Walter, if we could interview her and she was kind enough to help us.


1 How do you differentiate yourself from the other ice parlors?
We differentiate ourselves from the competition to mix flavors and try to be hipper then the competition. When we have more choices then the competition they probably come to us because we could have flavors they like who other ice parlors don’t have. And if we are hipper then the competition, the (younger) customers probably come to us because we are attracting them more than others.

2 What is the target group of Baskin Robbins?
Actually everybody comes to Baskin Robbins. You see older people, but olso families, little children, adults, teenagers etc. Everybody visits us. But most people who are coming to Baskin Robbins are families and especially young people.

3 Why do some Baskin Robbins stores offer catering services and others do not?
There are some Baskin Robbins who have catering service. But not all of them. The reason is that some of them aren’t big enough. Only the biggest Baskin Robbins having a catering service. We don’t have one.

4 Why do you think Baskin Robbins is so popular in the USA?
Everybody knows that American people eat much and they love candy so it works here. That’s why it’s so popular. They adore food and we play with that.

5 Do you think Baskin Robbins can work in a different culture?
Yes, I’m persuaded that this would work in another culture. Also in a culture where they don’t eat that much as the Americans. There are already stores in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Middle East, America and the Caribbean. So were are already all over the world. But unfortunately not in the Netherlands. Maybe in a couple of years there will be a Baskin Robbin in the Netherlands.

6 Which flavors are favorites?
At the moment tropical ice is populair. Another populair icecream is chocolate mint chip.

7 Why do you have so many choices in flavors?
We have around 40 different flavours. We got so many because now the custumors have a lot of choises and I’m sure that there’s a favourite flavour for everbody because they are also so deverse.

8 Do you have special requirements for the people who you hire?
There are a couple of requirements. The staff have to be outgoing and friendly to the custumors. Those points are the most important ones because the custumors should enjoy there ice en service.

9 Do you offer special trainings to your employees?
Yes, a little bit. Before the staff start working at Baskinn Robbins they have to know all the flavours, sundaes, drinks, techniques etc. So also when they are beginners, they will leave a good impression to the custumors because they know what they are talking about. And of course, that’s important to give the custumors the best service they deserve.

10 What is the biggest competition for Baskin Robbins?
Our biggest competition is of course Cold Stone Creamery. Also Cold Stone is a huge company in America so they are the biggest competition. We are both populair but we try to be the best.

11 Why is Baskin Robbins the best?
We are the best because we have a huge diversity of flavours. Everybody likes a different flavour and because we have so many everybody will find there favourit flavour. We also have great staff who are very friendly. They try to help you when you can’t make a discission. They ask if you want to taste some flavours before you make your definite discission. They are very helpful. So there are lots of delicous flavours and the serice is great. That’s why Baskin Robbins is the best!

Interview Customers

We have interviewed six customers of Baskin Robbins. We asked them if we could interview them and they agreed to help us. We interviewed these people because we want to know if the formula is what the customers want. This is what came out of the interviews:

The Brand Baskin Robbins

The name Baskin Robbins is a brand, it stands for something. When you say you are going to get a Baskin Robbins, everybody in The States immediately knowes that you are going to get an icecream.
A brand is not something tangible, it only exists in the mind of the customers.
The brand Baskin Robbins stands for a treat for the entire family. The company publishes itself as ‘your neighberhood ice cream store’ They say that they sell premium ice cream and that it is delicious and delightfull for every occasion. This is how they want to be know by the public, this is the brand identity.

Baskin Robbins Promotion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy_WqicWcHg

Everybody knows that Baskin Robbins sells ice cream. But Baskin Robbins also sells a lot of other products. They made a comercial to promote this. Also in the comercial they tell the audience that they have a special contest were you can win $10.000,- when you send in a movie of you're own Ice Cream and Cake Dance. They tell the audience to go to the Baskin Robbins website and in that way they make even more publicity. Because when the people visit the website, they see what Baskin Robbins has to offer.

Baskin Robbins History

Baskin Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in 1953 in Glendale, California.
Baskin Robbins was founded by Burt and Irv. At first they had their own store. In 1945, Irv opened Snowbird Ice Cream in Glendale, California. A year later, Burt Baskin opened his shop named by Burton Ice Cream Shop in Pasadena, California. In 1948, they had six stores between them. Later they joined the stores and it became Baskin Robbins.
As the number of stores grew, Burt and Irv recognized that, to maintain the high standards they set in the beginning. In each store they would require a manager who had an ownership interest in its overall operation. Even though they didn't realize it at the time, the two founders had pioneered the concept of franchising in the ice cream industry.

In 1949, there were more than 40 stores in Southern California. Burt and Irv bought their first dairy company in Burbank. This decision allowed them, that they had the complete control over the production of their ice cream and the development of new ingredients and flavors.
Baskin Robbins History

Baskin Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in 1953 in Glendale, California.
Baskin Robbins was founded by Burt and Irv. At first they had their own store. In 1945, Irv opened Snowbird Ice Cream in Glendale, California. A year later, Burt Baskin opened his shop named by Burton Ice Cream Shop in Pasadena, California. In 1948, they had six stores between them. Later they joined the stores and it became Baskin Robbins.
As the number of stores grew, Burt and Irv recognized that, to maintain the high standards they set in the beginning. In each store they would require a manager who had an ownership interest in its overall operation. Even though they didn't realize it at the time, the two founders had pioneered the concept of franchising in the ice cream industry.

In 1949, there were more than 40 stores in Southern California. Burt and Irv bought their first dairy company in Burbank. This decision allowed them, that they had the complete control over the production of their ice cream and the development of new ingredients and flavors.

In 1953, a local advertising agency, Carson/Roberts, advised an uniform identity and image under the name Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream. Their recommendations included the ‘’31®" logo to represent a flavor for every day of the month, Cherry (pink) and Chocolate (brown) polka dots to be reminiscent of clowns, carnivals and fun. And the use of cartoons to bring their flavors alive with personality to graphically highlights the name and the delicious ingredients. Baskin-Robbins iconic pink spoons were created with the belief that people should be able to try any of their many flavors without cost.

1954 was the year that the store won their first Gold Medal and set the pattern for country and state fair participation. They put their product on the line against their competitors at the Los Angeles Country fair.

The expanding of the Baskin Robbins continued. And by the mid- 1960’s, the company had become an ice cream empire with more than 400 stores throughout the United States. In the 1970s the chain went international. Stores were opened in Japan, Saudi-Arabia, Korea and Australia.

Purpose Of The Assignment

The purpose of the assignment is that we, the students, can make a discernment of our chosen player in the leisure market. It will be formatted on a weblog in an academic way. That will be done by answering the following headlines.

*The background of Baskin Robbins
*The concept of Baskin Robbins
*The branding Customers Experience chosen by Baskin Robbins
-- Interview manager questions
-- Interview manager answers
*The branding Customers Experience preserved by customers
-- Interview customers questions
-- Interviews customers answers
-- Our observations
*The conclusion
-- Is the concept typical American
-- Would the concept be successful in the Netherlands

Why did we choose Baskin Robbins as our chosen player? Because we all loved their ice and we thought it was a good excuse to eat it. Of course we were also interested in their concept.

We hope you have a great time reading our project.

A Little Bit About Us

We are a group of four students, who study at the NHTV in Breda. We all decided to go to the NHTV summer course 2009. In this summer course we will learn about the American life and have a great time. But since NHTV is a university and we do get study points for this, we need to make an assignment. On this weblog our assignment will be posted.

We now will tell you a little something about the members of this group.

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Jeannetta, Monique, Heleen, and Shutima

Jeannetta did First Fear International Tourism/Leisure Management last year. She is 19 years old and chooses to come on this summer course because she wanted to return to the USA.

Monique will start First Fear International Tourism/Leisure after this summer. She is 17 years old and chooses to come on this summer course because want to take this change to visit and to learn about USA.

Heleen will start International Tourism Management and Consultancy second year after this summer. She is 21 years old and chooses to come on this summer course because she wants to see the differences between the Dutch and American culture.

Shutima will start FBTR after this summer. She is 18 years old and chooses to come to this summer course because she wants to see the differences between the Thai, Dutch and American culture. She would like to enjoy the vacation.