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Even though Ben&Jerry’s is arguably the number one consumers as possible. It’s not easy to be in the super premium
super premium ice-cream brand, it is not yet widely recog- ice-cream market, especially in Thailand where the market is
nized in Thailand because marketing has not been its main full of food and dessert trends. Instead of riding along with the
focus in Asia. With presence in 35 countries around the world, wave of trends, Ben&Jerry’s looking towards sustainable growth
Ben&Jerry’s reputation grew from USA to South America and and long term business by having excellent staff, services, and
Europe, especially in Denmark, France, and England. Thailand products. We don’t want ice-cream to be just a fashion product
is the first big step of Ben&Jerry’s in South East Asia. “Thai that comes and goes,” Ratchanee emphasized on sustainability.
consumers nowadays are starting to shift towards premium We believe Ben&Jerry’s will attract many of its fans in Thailand
products, including ice-cream products. All of Ben&Jerry’s to come enjoy their favourite ice-cream experience, and at the
ice-cream and waffle mix are imported directly from USA and same time, intrigue new customers to try quality, super premium
Europe to ensure the quality. The outlet simply makes fresh ice-cream Ben&Jerry’s has to offer!
waffle cones, opens the ice-cream container, scoops, and
serves,” Ratchanee said.
In addition to its super premium ice-cream, Ben&Jerry’s
holds dearly its 2 philosophies; 1. Use quality milk to create
delicious ice-cream with great taste and texture; 2. Ingredients
such as sugar, vanilla, cocoa, or banana must be traded fairly
and qualified as “Fair Trade” product, meaning that farmers and
producers get fair shares of the profit.
Using quality ingredients does not mean that Ben&Jerry’s
does not have a lot to offer. “Ben&Jerry’s original menus include
ice-cream, sorbet, and yoghurt menus. However, as we have only
started in Thailand, we only import Ben&Jerry’s highlighted
menus which are, of course, the ice-creams. Now there are 12
flavours to choose with more additions in the future.” Ratchanee
also emphasizes the importance of standard inspection and staff
selection. Everything has to be inspected from the parent com-
pany, including the overall shop design. All Ben&Jerry’s shop
has to give out the same vibe, but smaller detail and décor may
differ from location to location to make each location unique. As
staffs are the heart of the service, Ben&Jerry’s staffs are selected
from their passion in service and friendliness in order to be most
welcoming for the customers.
Using high quality ingredients, the super premium ice-
cream comes with a little catch – the high price. As the result,
marketing is an essential part of the business as Ben&Jerry’s does
not plan to leave anytime soon. The plan is to continuously pres-
ent the story behind the quality of the ice-cream alongside the
story and news of Ben&Jerry’s social responsibilities. Consumers
will be aware of the brand and learn how Ben&Jerry’s helping
improve the society, which they too can be a part of just by eat-
ing ice-cream. That’s the reason why customers are willing to
pay a little extra to keep the whole system sustainable.
“The feedbacks are better than we expected. Social
network is a tremendous help in raising the brand awareness,
and Ben&Jerry’s is focusing on digital media marketing because
our customers can easily catch what we are up to through social
media.” However, Ratchanee agreed that ice-cream industry is
very competitive and there are many other brands in the market.
“We’ll have to wait and see who will have a stronger customer
base. With so many brands already in the market and more new
brands joining the race, many expect the ice-cream industry to
be oversupplied, but Ben&Jerry’s believes this is the opportunity
to grow together because the presence of Ben&Jerry’s should Special Thanks
help increase the consumption. As for the near future, we will be Ratchanee Pongpeansakul : Ben&Jerry’s
pushing for a wider marketing strategy in order to reach as many
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