“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream “

With summers on their full roll, what better way to welcome them than with some ice-cream. Now talking business, ice creams seem to have emerged as a great industry in coming years. Researchers have stated that in 2016 the ice-cream industry’s revenue was about Rs. 10570 crores & have predicted for the industry to fetch about, Rs.23950 crores by 2021. Icecream is rather the fastest growing sector under dairy or processed food industry.

Now coming to one of the major players of this market that is Baskin Robbins which is the largest international ice-cream retail chain which is 100% VEGETARIAN.

What initially started as just an ice-cream parlour, has now extended its menu into various things ranging from ice-cream (sticks, scoops & sundaes), shakes, dessert, brownie, waffle & cakes. The brand provides with various flavour & toppings based on both international & domestic taste to cater to their customers in the best of ways.

I think as you are interested in ice cream related franchises, you should also check out iFruit Franchise, before making your final decision.

History

The brand came into being in 1945 in California. It was co-founded by brother in laws named Irvine Robbinson & Burton Baskin. Over the years their brand has witnessed a great growth around the 1970s the brand began to expand internationally.

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The brand currently has about 7000 stores in 50 countries outside the US.

Baskin Robbins came to India in 1993 through a joint venture & has continued to serve Indian customers ever since, with about 725+ stores spread through 190 cities/ towns. The first manufacturing unit to be set up apart from the US was located in Pune.

The brand is known for its quality products made using premium quality ingredients & cow milk. Apart from that the work culture of the brand is one thing to admire, by being in the business for so long & being so widespread the brand excels in its knowledge about the field, its way of operations, marketing, training & product development.

Unique Selling Proposition

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For a brand to work in the long run it should be unique. Which is one factor that allows the seller to charge a higher price, than its competitors due to its unique factor such as the quality & service.

Following are some points which make the brand unique :

100% veg

Talking about the Indian market all of Baskin Robbins products are vegetarian. When we talk about the Indian market, in a vast variety of cultures the majority is vegetarian, also with the new concepts of health consciousness, a lot of people are switching to vegetarianism. Hence this way the brand caters to the needs of its diverse customers.

Their products are made of natural ingredients & cow milk. These are symbols of purity, which is one thing most customers look for in this time of artificial products.

The flavour of the month & vast choice in terms of flavour

Baskin Robbins spoils its customers with choice, not only with its variety of good but also with its variety in flavour & toppings. To add to all this the brand also understands the dynamic nature of business & hence introduces a new flavour every month, to keep the excitement up by updating their menu continuously.

Home Delivery

For a brand to be able to hold its customer base, it’s very important for it to be able to reach out to its customer base.

Hence through home delivery facility, the brand caters to the problem of customer switching. Also, this facility helps cater to the wider audience which has high paced lifestyle.

Gift Vouchers

In most cases food outlets don’t provide with gift cards & hence this offer by Baskin Robbins sets it apart. These cards range from Rs.100-500 & are hence not very on one’s pocket either.

Benefits Of Owning Baskin Robbins Franchise

Low Investments & High Returns

With Baskin Robbins being one of the largest international ice-cream retail chains in India, owning it comes with an advantage of global recognition hence affecting the returns positively.

The brand provides with flexible real estate options & hence one can choose the one wherein they can invest comfortably.

Operational Simplicity & Constant Support

The brand provides its franchise owners with a proper training program to ensure proper management of the store regarding the brand values.

The brand provides its partners with constant support from starting the franchise, choosing a location, designing of the store, IT support to its marketing & growth activities. Hence helping the owners to easily transform their money into a proper investment without the need for any specialized course or experience

Product Innovation

The brand comes with innovative ideas to expand their customer base, through innovations in their products & marketing techniques. This helps the franchise owner benefit in the long run without actually incurring any excess cost for research & development.                                             

Requirements Of Starting A Baskin Robbins Franchise In India

Area

Baskin Robbins provides with a flexible real estate system & hence offer 3 models with their minimum requirement as follow:  

KIOSK

Such a model consists of a front opened hut or cubicle, wherein minimum area dimensions are as follow: 150 square feet & 10 feet

PARLOUR

Such a model consists of the preparation area & a small seating area to serve the customers, wherein minimum area dimensions are as follow:  250 square feet & 12 feet

LOUNGE

This model is quite similar to the above-stated parlour model, but what differs it from that is- It has a relaxing area where people can hang out & larger group can be accommodated. Here the minimum area dimensions are as follow:500 square feet & 15 feet

Skills

The basic skills they look for in a franchise owner are as follow:

Enthusiasm towards the work

Baskin Robbins is a widespread retail firm & so to ensure proper growth of the brand, they look for dependable individuals.Who shall work with the same motivation as their brand does.

Financial ability & Credibility

These terms mean that if a person wishes to start a franchise, they should be able to afford the expenses (financial ability).In case they don’t have the funds, they should be able to generate it through loans (financial credibility).

Person’s vision regarding the brand in the long run

The brand aims to associate with people in the long run & looks for people who have the vision to expand their outlet & hence can contribute to the growth of the brand.

Region

The brand is expanded through   50 countries. In India, their store exists in about 140 cities/town & they aim to expand further per the business opportunities.   

Training

The brand provides with all operational process training to the franchise & the workers. Brand & product training is given from time to time by the trainees from that particular field. Also, regular audits are done & the franchise is updated about the new products & trained for the same.

Apart from training they also provide with constant support in different fields such as marketing, business development, IT & distribution.

Cost Of opening a Baskin Robbins Franchise In India

Investment

The investment options range from 11 lakhs to 18 lakhs depending upon the size. Apart from this an additional refundable security deposit of Rs. 50,000 is also required.

Terms Of Bond

When one applies to be a franchise owner, the brand gets in contact with them to carry out further formalities. As soon as one’s application is approved, they are required to sign a 5-year agreement of franchisee & after that, they are provided with all the support to set up their store.

Profitability

On average the gross margin in 50% i.e. the cost equals to half the price of the product. On average it takes about 3 -3.5 years to get all your returns if you’ve invested in a kiosk or parlour & it takes about 1-1.5 years in case of the lounge.

Rate of returns is a very important factor when one calculates the profitability. To understand profitability better, we’ll be looking upon a hypothetical situation as follow:

Let’s say Mr A decides to invest in a kiosk (150 sq. ft.) on rented land where the rent amount to Rs. 20,000, he hires a Manager & 2 crew members whose average salary amount to Rs. 30,000 & Rs. 15,000 each respectively. Further, let’s take the miscellaneous expenses as Rs. 10,000 on average.

Here let’s say the average order amount of one customer is Rs. 200.

So if a person aims to earn at least Rs. 1lakh from his outlet then they should ensure that at least 66 customers visit their outlet & initiate a transaction.

All these cost values will vary from area to area, state to state. This calculation is to give a rough idea as to how the franchise owner can analyze the situation based upon the footfall (average people visiting the outlet) & costs.

Process Of Opening A Franchise

Conclusion

To conclude our discussion, we’d like to highlight some quick facts about the brands which could be deciding factors in determining whether you should take this franchise or not.

This franchise is one of the oldest ice-cream retail stores which is so widespread internationally & hence already comes with goodwill. The brand provides with varying degree of investment offers to start one’s business.

Keeping in mind the investment, the returns are good (considering the average profit percentage). The support from the side of BR official trainer is impeccable, from the start of the process of applying to the setting up of the store & after that. The brand initiates regional &global market initiatives which help in boosting up the sales of the franchise.

The brand does cater to most of the needs of its target audience, in terms of variety in products & flavours but the brand doesn’t cater to Veganism. Which is a growing lifestyle & hence conscious choice should be made, while opting for the franchise & hence the location should be chosen keeping these factors in mind as well. Also, since it’s a premium quality brand, the location has a major role to play.

As explained in our profitability section one has to have a rough approximate about the footfall in different areas to choose the best place to run the business profitably. One also needs to keep in mind, that the majority of the products they are dealing in are seasonal i.e. their demand is seasonal. Hence one might choose a place in south wherein the climate is year-round warm so that there is constant demand.