Ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s has announced plans to develop a franchise network throughout Australia. The American retailer will open its first Australian store at Manly in Sydney in September and expand to Melbourne before opening up franchising opportunities.
Caroline Simpson, brand manager, told Franchising, We’re focusing on our flaship store opening in Sydney at Manly, we’re very excited about the location. This model works but we haven’t been to Australia before so there may be nuances to it. Once we have a robust model we’ll roll it out with support.
Simpson expects the expansion into franchising to take place at the latter end of 2010. In the meantime some product distribution will go to selected outlets around Melbourne.
One in three Australians have already heard of Ben & Jerry’s, and the company will market its brand through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, the ideal route for its predominantly 18 to 34 target market, Simpson said.
Our targets spend time online, so hopefully the fun of the brand will come through on the website, she added. A flavour-naming competition is one tool being used online to build brand awareness.
We use top quality ingredients. There is lots of competition but what sets us apart is that we incorporate huge chunks and swirls into ice cream and the improbable names make the brand fun and quirky.
Ben & Jerry’s is also known for its strong social mission. Simpson said It’s integral. We make sure we give back. On a local level we’ll be working with Mission Australia to offer jobs.
The plan for the ice cream chain, owned by Unilever, is to spread across Australia, and then look at the New Zealand market.
Simpson said the locations need high footfall and outlets will not be on every street corner so the brand will remain a premium.
We won’t be handing the keys to just anyone. We want people to share our passion for ice cream and to understand the mission. We want the best fit for the brand and for the franchisees’ investment.
The iconic ice cream brand began in 1978 in the US; it now has about 450 US franchises and has expanded across countries such as China, the UK, Hong Kong and India with 700 outlets worldwide.