Cae study : Dunkin’ Brands—Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins: Making Local Global

1. CASE ANALYSIS ON
Dunkin’ Brands—Dunkin’ Donuts
and Baskin-Robbins: Making Local
Global
DONE BY,
UTHARA CHANDRAN
TVE16MBA101
CET SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT,
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, TRIVANDRUM

2. SUMMARY
Dunkin brands: Establishing brand longevity through
local customization
• Owned today by a consortium of private equity firms known as the
Dunkin’ Brands, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins have been sold
globally for more than thirty-five years. Today, the firm has more than
14,800 points of distribution in forty-four countries with $6.9 billion in
global sales. Each culture has different engrained habits, particularly in
the choices of food and what foods are appropriate for what meals. Key
challenge of companies operating globally is the ability to control local
operations. The company was initially unprepared for wide range of local
cultural preferences and habits that would actually impact its business.
Entry in countries like Russia, Japan, China and most of Asia were
complicated.
• Local cultures had impact on flavors and preferences. The flavor library
of BR is controlled in the United States, but local operators in each
country became the source of new flavor suggestions. Market analysis
was conducted by management to determine if global market for a
flavor is large enough to justify investment in R&D and eventual
production. A challenging balance for Dunkin’s brands is to enable local
operators to customize flavors without diminishing overall brand value

3. SOLO TAXONOMY
• PRE STUCTURAL LEVEL
—Sugar and sweets are a key part of food focus in
all cultures
—The twin brands of Dunkin Donuts and Baskin
Robbins have been sold globally for more than 35
years
• UNISTRUCTURAL LEVEL
—Each culture has different engrained habits in
choice of food
—Key challenge of companies operating globally is
the ability to control local operations

4. • MULTI STRUCTURAL LEVEL
— The company was initially unprepared for wide range of
local cultural preferences and habits that would actually
impact its business
— Entry in countries like Russia, Japan, China and most of Asia
were complicated
• RELATIONAL LEVEL
— Local cultures had impact on flavors and preferences
— The flavor library of BR is controlled in the United States,
but local operators in each country became the source of
new flavor suggestions.
— Market analysis was conducted by management to
determine if global market for a flavor is large enough to
justify investment in R&D and eventual production

5. • CRITICAL LEVEL
―Dunkin’ Brands has learned to effectively
incorporate, interpret, and integrate local
customs and habits, the key components of
culture, into its products and marketing
strategy.
―A challenging balance for Dunkin’s brands is to
enable local operators to customize flavors
without diminishing overall brand value

6. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
1)If you were a manager for Baskin-Robbins, how
would you evaluate a request from a local partner
in India to add a sugar-cane-flavored ice cream to
its menu? What cultural factors would you look at?

7. STEPS FOR EVALUATION
• Analyze the availability and quality of resources of sugar-
cane, and see whether there is enough to make the flavor or
there is a need for importing
• Flavor is most important factor for ice cream therefore taste
and preference of customers towards the flavor is analyzed
to determine if the market for the flavor is large enough to
justify the investment in research and development and
eventual production.
• Make the flavor and run tests to see if it is popular enough to
be added in the menu
• This may be done in a selected region of a country where
there is a profile of users that is a representative of the
country as a whole
• Using test marketing gives a relatively accurate feedback and
is also much cheaper than a national launch, which might not
see the product doing as well as anticipated

8. CULTURAL FACTORS CONSIDERED
• It is important to recognize, respect and work within
major components of culture while introducing new
ideas and implementing new interventions
• The cultural factors that I would consider would be
the item being used and its popularity, whether it is
consumed a lot or only a little, because making an
unpopular product would result in loss.

9. 2)Do you think Dunkin’ Brands should let local
operators make their own decisions regarding
flavors for ice creams, donuts, and other items
to be sold in-country? How would you
recommend that the company’s global
management assess the cultural differences in
each market? Should there be one global policy?

10. • Local operators know the regions best therefore can make best
decisions regarding flavors for ice creams, donuts, and other
items to be sold in country.
• There are greater chances of acceptability of flavors suggested
by the local operators as they are more likely to know about the
taste and preferences of people in their area.
• Each culture has different engrained habits, particularly in the
choices of food and what foods are appropriate for what meals.
Example:
― In Indonesia in the 1990s, the company was surprised to find
that local operators were sprinkling a mild, white cheese on a
custard-filled donut. The company eventually approved the local
customization since it was a huge success.
― Mango and green tea were early custom ice cream flavors in the
1990s for the Asian market.
― Another example would be the Japanese version of McDonalds
which sells rice as a substitute for French fries or Indian version
that sells more chicken than beef for religious reasons

11. • Different regions have different perceptions
on flavors
• Local customization will help in meeting
customer's needs more closely and keeping
the business up to date than having one global
policy

12. THANK YOU!!
THANK YOU..!!