Ben and Jerry's Sampling Stations

Background

With more than 600 retail locations in 34 countries, Ben and Jerry's should need no introductions as one of the foremost ice-cream companies in the world. It rode the baby boomer trend in the late 80s, serving innovative ice cream flavours to middle aged professionals.

Amazingly the brand is only a recent arrival here on our shores, no longer an independent brand but part of the Unilever family.

The Challenge

Create a number of portable ice-cream sampling stations that could be used to sample Ben and Jerry's in both outdoor and in-store locations. The solution needed to be easily manoeuvred and lightweight, allowing for a broad usage range. The stations would be managed by contractors with little experience so it was vital that the stations were easy to set up, robust and strong. It was important that each station could be easily and cost effectively rebranded with new promotions and flavours, to ensure a good return on their investment over the long term.

Perhaps the hardest part was ensuring that the final solution conveyed Ben and Jerry's unique image and well represented such an iconic brand.

The Solution

Our solution was a methodical one and typical of the way we like to work. We started by designing and producing a single prototype which was then trialled by the brand team over a 6 month period. Using all the feedback we received, we then modified the design and even included a chiller to ensure the ice cream was sampled in tip top condition regardless of the weather. 

Of course, we couldn't find a chiller that was suitable (nothing's ever easy is it!) and so we designed and manufactured a custom chiller bin that doubled up as a transport box too, saving considerably on logistics - out of the box thinking, in a box!

The final sampling stations have been a HUGE success. So much so that we have received additional orders for units to be shipped to Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

 

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