Scooping Success: Graviss Foods CEO Mohit Khattar Reflects On 2023's Experiential Triumphs, Unveils 2024 Strategy

In an exclusive conversation with Mohit Khattar, CEO, Graviss Foods, we delve into Baskin Robbins' dynamic evolution in catering to ever-changing consumer preferences. Khattar unveils the brand's journey from its early days in India to its current prominence, highlighting the pivotal shifts in store sizes, formats, and customer engagement. Baskin Robbins, renowned for its innovative 31 flavours concept, shares insights into keeping this tradition vibrant and exciting. Khattar emphasises the integral role of experiential elements, personalised offerings, and technological integration in crafting a memorable journey for customers. As we step into the future, Khattar offers a glimpse into upcoming trends, innovations, and community-centric initiatives that will define Baskin Robbins' path in the coming year.

Excerpts:

How has the brand evolved its consumer experience over the years?

Consumer preferences were changing at a swift pace and, we understood the need to adapt and evolve alongside them. When the brand debuted in India in the early 90’s, its store experience was very different. Store sizes, store formats and customer experience have evolved over the years. From being purely transactional to understanding customers’ requirements and offering them value-added products and services is something that we have worked towards. Our store sizes have started becoming bigger. Our understanding of in-store comfort has changed too. Today the brand can be experienced not just offline, but also online. Various customer-centric elements have been added to ease and facilitate customer interaction at the store.

How does Baskin Robbins integrate experiential elements into its product offerings?

In India, when a consumer walks into an ice cream parlour today, they expect to be able to try multiple flavours before making a choice. This practice of sampling Ice creams was pretty much initiated by Baskin Robbins around 30 years ago in India. And it continues even today!

What we have understood along the way is that there is no one way to enjoy ice creams. There could be several and customers like to enjoy our ice creams in different forms and in different ways depending on the season, the occasion, the friends or company that they are with, and depending on their own mood. We have integrated this learning deeply into our products and today offer an entire assortment of Ice cream treats that can be experienced in myriad ways. There are products that customers can simply hold in one hand and enjoy like Ice cream sticks or cones and then there are those that involve both hands and multiple senses to be used- for instance, our enticing range of sundaes like the sizzling brownie sundaes or the carrot halwa sundae, the fruit cream sundae or the cheesecake sundaes, etc. There are also ice cream cakes that combine the best of both worlds – Ice cream and cake and can be enjoyed for celebrations with intimate friends or family members. Now we have also introduced bite-sized Ice cream rocks that can help consumers either wallop multiple pieces while binge-watching their favourite series or portion control if they are into it. To support the launch of this category of products we had set up kiosks at co-working spaces and even at a few concerts around the country. Similarly, we tried to create buzz by setting up larger-than-life installations in key supermarkets. The idea was to bring the product closer to customers.

Additionally, we are also very mindful of the colour, texture, flavour and inclusions in these ice creams, sundaes and cakes. Each element plays a unique role in helping consumers have an elevated taste and mouthfeel experience overall.

In the era of experiential marketing, how does Baskin Robbins create memorable moments for its customers beyond the product itself?

The product remains our core focus. Other supporting elements include infrastructure that can help consumers savour the product like freezers that keep the products in perfect condition and services that can help them enjoy the moment. Increasingly we are training front-end staff to ensure that they can put their best foot forward so that customers can enjoy their day out and their occasion, whatever it might be, with us. For instance, in several of our new stores, we have integrated a unique swing for consumers to sit back, relax and enjoy their ice cream eating experience. Elements like these are now being integrated into our store design as the initial results have been very encouraging.

The brand is recognised for its 31 flavours concept. How does Baskin Robbins keep this concept fresh and exciting for today's consumers?

The brand since its inception in the US has been known for its 31 flavours. We, at Graviss Foods in India keep the tradition alive as well. Right from integrating it into its store signages, the CPG packaging, in-store collaterals, etc. we ensure that the focus on 31 flavours is never diminished. Across all Parlours through the length and breadth of the country, 31 flavours are always available. On the 31st of every month (alternate months that is), we run a special 31per cent off like everywhere else in the world too, on our assortment across all parlours. This enables the brand to be enjoyed not just by existing consumers but also by new consumers. Additionally, there is ongoing communication on several platforms like YouTube and Instagram which highlight the legend of 31 to consumers.

Baskin Robbins often introduces limited-time flavours and collaborations. How do these initiatives contribute to the overall consumer experience?

In India, like elsewhere in the world Baskin Robbins keeps the brand persona young, cheerful and pioneering. Whether it is our unique limited edition flavours or our collaborations – this brand persona will always be at the core. Customers who experience our new flavours or our new product formats like pizzas, rocks or anything in between can be sure that they are getting not just something unique and innovative but also the very best from around the world. Initiatives in the form of new product or flavour introductions or collaborations like the one with Barbie the movie or with assorted international brands not only help broad-base the appeal of the brand to newer audiences but also convey to existing customers that the brand is alive and kicking and continuously updating itself to stay relevant and refreshed. Ultimately, It enables consumers to identify and connect better with the brand.

How does Baskin Robbins cater to individual preferences and create a personalised experience for customers?

Right from our flavour portfolio, we see that different consumer segments are provided for. To give you a peek, our flavours such as Splish Splash, Jello Mello, Shooting Star, Fruit Ninja or our mermaid and unicorn sundaes cater especially to small kids. Flavours and products that are designed for young teens and tweens - include associations with Snickers and Hershey’s as well as several other products like cotton candy and chocolate-based products like Mississippi mud or Bavarian chocolate etc. There are flavours and sundaes for young adults like Blueberry ’n White Chocolate, Lotus Biscoff, Cookies 'n Cream, etc. For those who may wish to enjoy products from the comfort of their homes, there are online platforms that consumers can order from. For those who wish to enjoy with their friends – we offer a whole host of mouth-watering sundaes with toppings, sauces and accompaniments that many of our consumers prefer.

And if a consumer is still wishing for something special, he or she has the option to completely personalise what they wish to have. They can choose from our extensive portfolio of flavours, and decide whether they wish to consume it as an ice cream as a beverage or as a sundae. And then add toppings to it that fulfil their heart's desires.

With the rise of digital experiences, how has the brand incorporated technology to enhance the overall customer journey?

To begin with, our parlour menu is nearly replicated entirely online as well on aggregator platforms. The journey has been created to ensure seamless navigation and minimal attrition. The idea is to mirror the experience a customer might have in the offline space.

Our communication creates awareness and desire and once customers land on our pages, the wide range of products and sometimes promotions that are run help convert.

Another example I would like to share is regarding enabling digital invoices through SMS to customers. These digital invoices not only provide relevant transactional information to customers but also help them convey their feedback on the transaction. This becomes specifically useful if the consumer experience has been poor. Our teams then take corrective action. A more recent example has been creating a digital training APP for our front-end employees. Training modules are uploaded on this. The APP enables us to gauge not just the number of employees that may have gone through a specific module but also interpret their understanding of the same through simple tests. So as an organisation as we move forward, the idea is to keep adopting what we feel will add value to our operations and the quality of customer interactions in general.

What highlights can Baskin Robbins share regarding consumer trends and preferences observed in 2023?

New Trends keep the brand active. We have seen digital channels post strong growth in 2023 while offline wasn’t too far behind either. In general, it does seem that the tribe of convenience-seeking customers would continue to grow as would the proportion of those who are seeking out novelty and newer experiences. For us, these have been the top 2 trends from 2023 and we expect these to strengthen going forward.

As we step into the new year, what plans and innovations can customers anticipate from Baskin Robbins in terms of product offerings and experiential marketing?

While it may be too early to reveal what new products we intend to bring in for Baskin Robbins India in the impending summer season, customers can be sure that they will get to experience new flavours that they have not seen or tasted before. They can count on us to bring them the very latest innovations from around the world.

Reflecting on the past year, how has Baskin Robbins fostered a sense of community and connection among its customers, and what initiatives are planned to continue this in the coming year?

We often engage in various community-building activities such as local events, promotions, and social media campaigns to foster a sense of connection among customers. Be it Durga Puja in Bengal or Onam in Kerala, our teams work to bring out the best through collaborations with local organisations. We also operate active social media campaigns and contests that encourage customer engagement around topical events. Also, more recently we have started to engage with local influencers in key markets. Most such initiatives will continue in the coming year as well.