Baskin-Robbins

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Baskin-Robbins
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFood and Beverage Franchising Restaurants
Founded1945; 80 years ago (1945) (as Snowbird Ice Cream)
Glendale, California, U.S.
Founders
HeadquartersCanton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Number of locations
7,800+ (2024)
Key people
  • Paul J. Brown
  • Jeird Grandinetti
Products
  • Ice cream
  • Frozen beverages
  • Ice cream cakes
  • Frozen treats
ParentInspire Brands
Websitebaskinrobbins.com

Baskin-Robbins, Inc. is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake specialty shops owned by Inspire Brands. Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California.[1] Its headquarters are in Canton, Massachusetts, and shared with sibling brand Dunkin' Donuts. It is the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty stores,[2][3] with more than 7,800 locations.

The company is known for its "31 flavors" slogan, with the idea that a customer could have a different flavor every day of any month. The logo includes a stylized "31" formed from the letters "B" and "R". The slogan came from the Carson-Roberts advertising agency (which later merged into Ogilvy & Mather) in 1953. The company has introduced more than 1,400 flavors since 1945,[4][5] including the addition of vegan and non-dairy flavors in 2019.[6][7]

History

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Throughout the 1940s in Southern California, Americans Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins independently opened shops selling ice cream.[8] The pair were brothers-in-law, and both had experience working with ice cream: Robbins's father owned an ice cream shop where Robbins worked as a teenager, and Baskin had made ice cream for fellow navymen in World War II.[9] In America at the time, consumers were very attached to three ice-cream flavors: chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, despite the efforts of another businessman, Howard Johnson.[8]

Robbins opened his first store, Snowbird Ice Cream, in 1945 in Glendale, selling 21 flavors, then an unusual amount. The following year, Baskin opened his first store in Pasadena, Burton's Ice Cream Shop. The pair quickly opened new stores and as of 1948 they collectively had 6 stores. By 1949, this had increased to over 40.[8] By this point their businesses were associated, and that year, they purchased a dairy in Burbank to gain more control over production.[9]

In 1953, the approach of separate brand identities was dropped, and the entity "Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream" was created per the advice of the advertising firm Carson/Roberts.[9] The "31" referenced the amount of flavors, chosen to permit the customer a new flavor each day of the month; some of these original flavors included Chocolate Mint, Black Walnut and Coffee Candy. As they expanded, the pair began franchising their stores.[8][9] Beyond the large amount of flavors, Baskin-Robbins was unusual for their stores decorated with clowns and pink and brown polka dots, intended to reflect a value of fun. Their stores also introduced small sampling spoons, an element which has since been replicated in many ice cream stores.[8]

Original logo used from 1953 to 1980

Between 1949 and 1962, the corporate firm was known as Huntington Ice Cream Company. The name succeeded The Baskin-Robbins Partnership and was eventually changed back to Baskin-Robbins, Inc. on November 26, 1962.[citation needed] Baskin-Robbins was owned by its founders 1967, just before Baskin's death, when it was acquired by the United Fruit Company for an estimated $12 million.[8] In the 1970s, the chain expanded internationally, opening stores in Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Australia.[10]

A 1967 Baskin-Robbins store in Portland, Oregon, with the 1991–2006 logo on August 8, 2013 (closed in mid-2014), that retained its original look, a design typical of the chain's outlets in the 1960s

In 1972, the company went public when United Brands sold 17% in an initial public offering. The next year, J. Lyons and Co. purchased Baskin-Robbins and all public stock. The firm then merged with Allied Breweries, becoming Allied-Lyons in 1978. In 1994, Allied-Lyons merged with Pedro Domecq S.A, becoming Allied Domecq. For the next year they remained under the control of Allied Domecq as part of Dunkin' Brands, Inc., made up of them and Dunkin' Donuts.[11]

During the early 2000s, Baskin-Robbins struggled to retain business.[12] In 2006, Dunkin' Brands was purchased by a group of private equity firms – Bain Capital, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and The Carlyle Group.[11] That year, the company's "BR" logo was updated to highlight reference the number "31".[citation needed] In 2012, Dunkin' Brands became independent from the private equity firms.[13] New stores opened in the mid-2010s,[12] often co-branded with Dunkin Donut's.

In 2014, Baskin-Robbins began selling ice cream in supermarkets for the first time in the U.S.[14] Three years later, the brand began selling via delivery service platform DoorDash in 22 US cities.[15] In December 2020, Dunkin' Brands was purchased by Inspire Brands.[16] Baskin-Robbins debuted an updated logo, alongside the new tagline "Seize the Yay", in 2022.[17] Chris Buck and Barack Obama are two notable former employees.[18][19]

International presence

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As of 2017, Baskin-Robbins had more than 8,000 shop locations in Aruba, Australia, Bahrain, Bhutan, Canada, China, Colombia, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Egypt, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen. International locations feature flavors of ice cream popular in each country, such as Red Bean, Litchi Gold, Blackcurrant and Cantaloupe. The most popular flavors of Baskin-Robbins in Asia are Mint Chocolate Chip and Cookies & Cream.[20]

Baskin-Robbins has previously been present in other countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Malta, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Philippines,[21] Portugal, Russia, South Africa, and St. Maarten.

Cambodia does not have any locations of Baskin-Robbins but their products are officially available at an Au Bon Pain bakery franchise.[citation needed]

The standalone stores in Bangladesh were closed down, but their products are available at multiple local stores.[citation needed]

In Japan, China (including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau), Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh, Baskin-Robbins is known popularly as "31" or "31 ice cream".[22]

Australia

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Baskin-Robbins Australia is a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of Inspire Brands, the parent company of Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin'. In October 2010, Dunkin' Brands terminated its license agreement with the collapsed Allied Brands Group for Baskin-Robbins in Australia, and now supports its Australian franchisees directly.[23] The Baskin-Robbins Australia Franchise Support & Training Centre is based in Brisbane.[24]

Ireland

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Baskin Robbins opened in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2015 with a total of eight shops.[25][26]

[edit]
  •   Countries with current Baskin-Robbins locations   Countries with former Baskin-Robbins locations
      Countries with current Baskin-Robbins locations
      Countries with former Baskin-Robbins locations
  • Co-branded Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, Thomasville, Georgia
    Co-branded Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, Thomasville, Georgia
  • Baskin-Robbins in Thornhill, Ontario
    Baskin-Robbins in Thornhill, Ontario
  • Quito Ecuador in 2022 at a Baskin-Robbins ice cream
    Quito Ecuador in 2022 at a Baskin-Robbins ice cream
  • Baskin-Robbins ice cream
    Baskin-Robbins ice cream

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Our History Archived 2013-01-15 at the Wayback Machine". Baskin-Robbins' web site. Accessed 25 Feb. 2013.
  2. ^ "About Baskin-Robbins". Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  3. ^ Duncan Brands (2007). "History: Dunkin' Brands". Duncan Brands. Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "About Us | Baskin-Robbins". December 1, 2019. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  5. ^ Hopper, Jessica (July 19, 2010). "Deep Freeze: Baskin-Robbins Retires Five Flavors". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  6. ^ Pomranz, Mike (July 25, 2019). "Baskin-Robbins Adds Plant-Based, Non-Dairy Flavors". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  7. ^ Cohen, Howard (August 1, 2019). "Baskin-Robbins introduces two new flavors – and don't even think to call them ice cream". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Weiss, Laura B (2015). "Baskin-Robbins". In Goldstein, Darra (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
  9. ^ a b c d "Our History". Baskin-Robbins. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013.
  10. ^ "Baskin-Robbins Japan Celebrates the Opening of Its 1,000th Store" (Press release). Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  11. ^ a b This page, "History | Dunkin' Brands". Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013., at the Dunkin' Brands site, confirms the Baskin-Robbins founding date, the J. Lyons purchase (and date), the Allied Breweries merger (and date), and the Pedro Domecq merger (and date). Quotes: "1946: Baskin-Robbins is founded by Burt Baskins and Irv Robbins."; "1973: London-based J. Lyons & Co., Ltd., purchased Baskin-Robbins."; "1978: J. Lyons is purchased by Allied Breweries, creating Allied Lyons."; "1994: Allied Lyons partners with Pedro Domecq, the leading spirits marketer in Spain and Mexico, to form Allied Domecq."
  12. ^ a b Kate Taylor (February 24, 2014). "How Baskin-Robbins Is Trying Not to Disappear". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  13. ^ "Dunkin' Brands". Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  14. ^ "BASKIN-ROBBINS PACKAGED ICE CREAM AND ICE CREAM BARS NOW AVAILABLE IN GROCERS' FREEZERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY" (Press release). May 20, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  15. ^ Friedman, Megan (July 7, 2017). "Baskin-Robbins Will Now Deliver Ice Cream Straight To Your Door". Delish. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  16. ^ "Inspire Brands Completes Acquisition of Dunkin' Brands". www.businesswire.com. December 15, 2020. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  17. ^ "Baskin-Robbins Aims to Inspire Everyone to "Seize the Yay" Through Rebrand and New Campaign". Inspire Brands. April 11, 2022. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  18. ^ Howmann, Anders (October 10, 2014). "'Frozen' treat for 50". Orange County Register. Freedom Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  19. ^ Feloni, Richard (February 26, 2016). "Barack Obama explains what he learned from scooping ice cream as a 16-year-old". Business Insider. Insider Inc. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  20. ^ "Baskin Robbins International". Archived from the original on January 29, 2017.
  21. ^ "One last scoop: Baskin-Robbins to close down permanently in PH". November 26, 2022. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  22. ^ Unknown, Adam (August 11, 2014). "Why Nobody in Japan Knows Of Baskin Robbins Despite 1000 Stores". Japanese Level Up LLC. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  23. ^ ""GoldCoast.com.au Article from October 2010"".
  24. ^ "Contact Us". Baskin-Robbins® Australia. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  25. ^ O'Brien, Ciara (August 11, 2015). "Baskin-Robbins is back to sweeten Irish buyers". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  26. ^ Griffin, Sam (October 12, 2015). "Ice cream giant Baskin-Robbins set to open three Belfast shops". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
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