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
During the 1940s in Southern California, American brothers-in-law Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins each opened a series of ice cream shops.[8] The pair previously had experience working with ice cream: Robbins's father owned an ice cream shop which Robbins worked in as a teenager, and Baskin had produced ice cream for fellow troops while in the Navy during World War II.[9] American consumers at the time were very attached to the three basic ice-cream flavors of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. This remained the case, despite the efforts of ice cream seller Howard Johnson.[8]
Robbins opened his first store, Snowbird Ice Cream, in 1945 in Glendale, selling 21 flavors, a novel 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] That year, they purchased a dairy in Burbank to attain greater control over production.[9]
In 1953, the approach of separate brand identities was dropped, and the entity "Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream" was created under the advice of the advertising firm Carson/Roberts.[9] The "31" referred to the amount of flavors, an amount chosen to signify the customer could have a new flavor every day of the month. Some of these original flavors included Chocolate Mint, Black Walnut and Coffee Candy. During expansion, the pair began franchised their stores.[8][9] Beyond the large amount of flavors, Baskin-Robbins was unusual for a décor intended to reflect a value of fun, containing pink and brown polka dots and clowns, and small sampling spoons they introduced which has been replicated by many ice cream stores since.[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 until it was acquired in 1967 (just before Burt Baskin's death) by the United Fruit Company, what was is estimated to be $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 IPO. A year later, the British food company J. Lyons and Co. purchased Baskin-Robbins from United Brands and all public stock. J. Lyons then merged with Allied Breweries, becoming Allied-Lyons in 1978. Allied-Lyons then merged with Pedro Domecq S.A. in 1994, becoming Allied Domecq. Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin' Donuts comprise Dunkin' Brands, Inc. Dunkin' Brands was part of Allied Domecq until its purchase in 2006 by a group of private equity firms–Bain Capital, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and The Carlyle Group.[11]
Third Baskin-Robbins logo used in the U.S. from February 2006 to December 15, 2020, still in use internationally
In 2006, the company's "BR" logo was updated such that it doubles as the number "31" to represent the 31 flavors, with the "31" formed by the parts of the letters "BR" which are rendered in pink, in contrast to the rest of the logo which is rendered in blue.
In August 2012, Dunkin' Brands became completely independent of the private equity firms.[12]
Co-branded Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, Thomasville, Georgia
Baskin-Robbins struggled in the early years of the 2000s to retain business, but opened 36 new shops between 2013 and 2015.[13][14] Many new Baskin-Robbins shops are co-branded with Dunkin' Donuts, including California's first co-branded location of the two in San Diego, which opened in March 2014.
In 2014, Baskin-Robbins also began selling its ice cream for the first time in supermarkets across the U.S.[15] In July 2017, Baskin-Robbins started adding their locations to delivery service platform DoorDash to deliver ice cream in 22 cities across the United States.[16]
Map of countries that either have or used to have Baskin-Robbins outletsBaskin-Robbins in Thornhill, OntarioBaskin-Robbins ice creamQuitoEcuador in 2022 at a Baskin-Robbins ice cream
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, Kazakhstan, 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.[21]
Baskin-Robbins has previously been present in other countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Malta, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Philippines,[22] 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, Taiwan, China, and the Philippines, Baskin-Robbins is known popularly as "31" or "31 ice cream".[23]
Australia
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.[24] The Baskin-Robbins Australia Franchise Support & Training Centre is based in Brisbane.[25]
↑ 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."
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