The 77-year-old ice cream parlor tweaks its logo, staff uniforms and packaging to update the brand. According to the company, it’s the first major update for Baskin-Robbins since 2006. It will also be selling merchandise, including bikes and bucket hats, through its own online store for the first time. And Baskin-Robbins will unveil new flavors as part of the refresh.
The Baskin-Robbins logo has been pink and blue for years. “BR” and the words “Baskin Robbins” were printed in a blocky, childish font.
In the new logo, that playful font has gone and been replaced with a sharper version. The new branding is available in brown and pink, brown and blue, and pink and white.
In other words, the new Baskin-Robbins has grown up. The renovation has been a long time coming.
“If we really think about the journey … it started four years ago,” said Baskin-Robbins President Jason Maceda. This includes “really listening to our guests”.
Baskin-Robbins’ executive team heard that some customers felt very connected to the brand, which they linked to childhood trips with parents or grandparents. But they also heard that there are “some ways to be more relevant,” Maceda said.
It’s important for brands like Baskin-Robbins to gain a foothold with younger consumers — not just people who remember it from their youth — so they can attract new customers.
Management has addressed the feedback in a number of ways. For example, in late 2018, Baskin-Robbins introduced a new layout and design for some stores. These so-called “Moments” stores are characterized by a more modern design, digital menu boards, more ice cream cases and more toppings and offers.
So far there are about 70 of these stores in total, Maceda said. That’s still just a small fraction of the more than 7,700 Baskin Robbins stores that have opened around the world.
The launch of Moments stores has slowed during the pandemic, Maceda noted, adding he’s “excited to get this up and running again.”
Still, the pandemic has been good for ice cream sales. Baskin-Robbins was privatized in 2020 and does not publicly disclose sales figures. But Maceda said sales were up 3.5% in 2020 and 10.9% last year. Overall, ice cream sales at U.S. Scoop stores grew 4.4% from 2019 to 2021, according to Euromonitor International.
To keep that momentum going, Baskin-Robbins hopes to make a splash with its new look, flavors and merchandise.
Bikes, bucket hats and Ube ice cream
The new branding draws on the company’s history, noted Jerid Grandinetti, vice president of marketing and culinary at Baskin-Robbins.
Brothers-in-law Irvine “Irv” Robbins and Burton “Burt” Baskin founded the ice cream company in 1945, but didn’t name it “Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream” until 1953.
“The original 1953 ad campaign was built around circus iconography,” Grandinetti said. This campaign used the pink and brown that Baskin-Robbins is reviving today.
That was also the year Baskin-Robbins introduced the idea of 31 flavors, one for each day of the month. Both the new and old logos have the “31” hidden between the B and R when the letters are placed together.
Today, Baskin-Robbins has hundreds of flavors in its portfolio. But there is still room for more.
Part of the refresh includes three new limited-time flavors: one is Non-Dairy Mint Chocochunk, another is Totally Unwrapped, made with peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, caramel swirls, fudge-covered pretzels, and fudge and caramel-covered peanuts. Grandinetti calls this a “deconstructed candy bar.”
The third flavor, Ube Coconut Swirl, is made with coconut and ube ice cream (a purple yam commonly used in Filipino desserts) with ube-flavored swirls.
Totally Unwrapped is the April flavor of the month, while the other two will be available through Spring and may stay longer depending on customer reaction.
In addition to the new flavors and new look, the company is launching some swags, including branded hair ties, sweatshirts, bucket hats, and even bicycles.
Bikes might seem like an odd choice for an ice cream shop. But the brand’s new slogan, “Seize the Yay,” is all about celebrating small, joyful moments. And nothing says “whoop” quite like a ride on an ice cream-themed bike.
“We want to make sure we celebrate with our guests,” said Grandinetti. “What better way to do that than to provide some fun items like a bike, as well as clothing that can be ‘part of their everyday lifestyle’.