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Coolbrands: Maarten & Anouk in discussion with Bastian Lamers and Paul Leinders
Hold the ice cream and chuck us a chocolate Bruce.
It’s freezing out there!
Serving the senses all seasons. Hot or cold, sir?
Mention the word Australia, and what springs to mind? Kanga-
roos and koalas? Sydney opera house? Or perhaps great beaches
with cold beer, white sand and a brace of dancing girls? (Ed. - just
me perhaps). Whatever the case, the word alone seems to have a
unique value and elicits almost exclusively positive connotations.
Certainly a good foundation for a brand. A less obvious link is the
one to high quality foodstuffs. Nevertheless, Australian Homemade
is one of the strongest growing retailers of top quality ice cream,
and has grafted its market position by combining superb ingre­
dients and craftsmanship, the ethnic and the contemporary and
prime point-of-sale positioning.
Old and new. Tradition and innovation. The highest quality. They
clearly don’t like to leave things to chance at Australian Homemade
and cover all the bases. Yet there’s one thing they cannot control
– the weather. Starting with ice cream sales only, the company soon
realised that in Europe the surf’s not always up. So, what do you do
when even three-year-old kids can’t quite get an ice cream down
them because of the cold? Right. Branch out. Sell something to
warm the cockles on a frosty morning and the soul on a winter’s
night in front of the fire. But just how do you do that – make sure
you maintain your hard-earned brand value and don’t fall into the
over-exploited coffee corner trap?
Creating a new formula
Ice cream is all very well, certainly, if you produce a quality product
– ask the Italians. Yet, what if you have decided to set up shop in
prime, A1 locations, and you only sell ice cream. You have to be
viable all year round. The obvious answer is to sell coffee. Yet in
a market as saturated as that of coffee houses, where they seem
to spring up like weeds, you cannot afford to become one of the
masses if you have high overheads.
Australian Homemade went looking for complementary products,
that maintain the company product values of robust-in-shape, en-
joyment, Australian, nature, pure and fresh. And of course, with the
best natural ingredients they can get their hands on.
The result? In 1996, the company introduced chocolate in the
Nether­lands, followed by coffee (it works alongside the other
unique products), and waffles were introduced two years ago.
The decision to introduce chocolate is representative of how the
company works in general. Without the huge resources of the
giant chocolate manufacturers (they may get there yet), Australian
Homemade operates on instinct and a deep-seated natural know­
ledge of their markets. Add a slight gimmick – they embellish their
chocolates with an aboriginal symbol – and the results speak for
themselves. Gutsy stuff.
Another way the company outpaces the competition is to ensure that all its products
have a special feel about them. Its ice cream is made in two places, one in Europe and
the other in the US, and of course uses an Australian recipe. The so-called premix is deep-
frozen and supplied to the shops until needed, when it is defrosted and prepared daily
before the customers’ eyes in both summer and winter. This ensures product bonding and
a level of quality that is the same around the world.
A distinctive solution
Like many of its competitors, Australian Homemade is a franchise, using master fran-
chisers for the countries and franchise takers for the individual shops. Nevertheless, the
company is aware that local adaptations have to be accepted. All local marketing wishes
are applied for by the country managers, and decision-making takes place as to what and
how things proceed. Control remains central however, and changes must pass the brand
yardstick so that they in no way conflict with the overall brand values.
There are a number of things that simply cannot change. Australian Homemade is down-
to-earth. Mango is mango and strawberry is strawberry. It wishes to appeal to a broad
public, and to offer what people pay for – everyone must be able to afford their products.
The majority of the branding occurs in the shops as they are offering an impulse product.
Outside of shops, the pre-packed ice cream is recognisable, and in the past campaigns
have been aimed at the brand image of beautiful people. Yet recently, to underpin their
distinction further, they have started to communicate more about their essential values,
their products, underlining natural, pure and fresh.
Job done?
Matters seem to be progressing as planned. With its current presence in 10 countries,
including the US, the UK, Australia, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Antigua, Spain, the Nether-
lands, Belgium and Germany. The objective is to have at least 300 shops worldwide by
the end of 2010.
But how has turnover changed since the product range was expanded, and how has their
brand image fared? Bastian Lamers, Marketing Manager: “We’re delighted to have the
first shops that sell 50% ice cream and 50% other products. We’ve clearly made the right
choices and are less dependent on the seasons and have secured year-round income.”
Job done so far. Well played Bruce.
and company clothing
17
years), chocolate (20-55 years) | Primary adver­
‘Absolutely pure!’ | Target group ice cream (12-45
tising media in-store communications, packaging
Brand values 100% natural, pure, fresh, en-
at head office, 40 at company-owned stores |
CEO Paul Leinders | Number of employees 15
joyment, cheeky and gutsy! | Brand promise