Comments
Baskin Robbins, the Rs 80-crore premium ice cream brand, is holding on to its prices in times of commodity cost inflation. Considering prices of inputs like sugar and milk have been escalating, the ice cream brand has been trying out cost saving measures such as buying huge volumes of commodities in advance.
Speaking to Business Line , Mr Ashwin Uppal, GM, Marketing, Graviss Foods, the franchisee for the ice cream brand, said, “We are re-negotiating with our suppliers and getting in more volumes for inputs like milk and sugar. There are different deals and contracts being struck with the vendors so that we do not have to increase our prices in the future.”
Premium ice cream
The 17-year-old Baskin Robbins brand with 400-odd ice cream parlours across 90-plus cities, was one of the first few premium ice creams (pegged at Rs 30 for a scoop) when it first entered the Indian market.
Today, a single scoop of the brand is pegged between Rs 50 and Rs 55 and the ice cream brand believes it has managed to shed its premium image with the entry of more premium brands in the country. “The entry of more premium brands like Haagen Dazs and Gelato has helped us in getting our price points more acceptable. We are trying to correct our price perception in the market,” says Mr Uppal.
Shortfall in sales
Meanwhile, the ice cream major fears a shortfall in sales during the forthcoming World Cup.
While it has yet to start its online operations, Baskin Robbins has decided to supply free half litre ice cream packs with every litre of ice cream order directly to consumers' homes. With the theme of ‘Cricket Fever,' it would be unleashing a campaign to highlight its latest offer. According to Mr Uppal, “During the World Cup, consumers ideally want to stay indoors to watch the day and night matches. We have decided to directly supply our ice creams to consumers through this offer which will be available at the neighbourhood Baskin Robbins parlour. However, the offer would be limited to the India-specific matches.”
Expecting at least six India-specific matches, Baskin Robbins is gearing up with its home delivery model before the World Cup matches begin on February 19. The ‘Cricket Fever' campaign is likely to get extended to the IPL matches following the World Cup.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.