Baskin-Robbins gave Juliet a tough assignment designed to find out which of the 1,000 flavours in the Baskin-Robbins ice cream database are most likely to induce happiness. Juliet concluded that chocolate, jamoca coffee, very berry strawberry, rocky road and vanilla were the flavours most likely to uplift someone who’s feeling low and moody. A resounding 72 per cent of the people asked during the study said that ice cream puts them in a happy mood.

“It’s surprising to most people when they learn that specific ice cream flavours can increase one’s happiness more than others. For example, the ice cream flavours enjoyed as a child can actually trigger happy memories, release tension, and remove distractions in the moment. Ice cream lovers can also consume a dose of happy by choosing a flavour with mood enhancing ingredients like chocolate, coffee, almonds or mint,” explained Juliet.

In the ice cream market, product innovation is particularly crucial as today’s consumers expect ice cream to have more varied and exotic flavours than just chocolate and vanilla. The market is expected to experience a 12.4 per cent increase in value sales to £1.2 billion by 2017. Yet, competition, especially in the premium ice cream market, is strong adding to the need for effective product innovation.

Product innovation within the Baskin-Robbins franchise model gives franchisees the opportunity to carry out their own product innovation based on grassroots data. Franchisees have wide knowledge about the flavours that are popular in their regions and can effectively evaluate which flavours and products work well in their territory. Baskin-Robbins make effective us of this by asking franchisees to feedback on popular flavours and which they think should be removed from the menu. These methods have allowed Baskin-Robbins to create a wealth of flavours and have allowed them to continuously expand their market position since 1945.

Published: 30 July 2014

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