Who’s Phonier? Haagen-Dazs? Ben & Jerry’s?
March 5, 2009 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
Check out this post on Ben & Jerry’s at Franchisor Marketing. It’s pretty funny.
Seems that Ben & Jerry’s has built it’s brand, in no small part, by slamming rival Haagen-Dazs for being a phony corporate brand with a made-up pseudo-Scandinavian that means… nothing.
A current Ben & Jerry’s email campaign (subject line: A pint is still a pint!) blasts Haagen-Dazs for dropping the size of its “pint” container from 16 oz. to 14 oz.
But, really, which brand is being more devious here?
Ben & Jerry’s gives the impression that Haagen-Dazs is trying to pull a fast one. In reality, Haagen-Dazs isn’t calling the 14 oz. container a “pint.” Furthermore, they announced the change in advance via press releases and on their website.
[Pictured: Ben & Jerry's Co-founder Jerry Greenfield]
It’s ironicly humorous that Ben & Jerry’s continues to position itself as the underdog hippy David pitted against the effete corporate goliath of Haagen-Dazs. It’s been nearly a decade since Ben & Jerry’s once-hippy owners sold out to multinational corporate behemoth Unilever.
Check out: Ben & Jerry’s Busts on Haagen-Dazs. Again.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
photo credit: chris friese License: Creative Commons
Just another example of how franchisors, when competing with each other, use their license for puffery and picture painting to fool the public. Americans DO support the underdog by way of democratic tradition, etc… Isn’t this just clever marketing, Sean?
Franchising is really BIG business that allows Big Business to avoid the expense of building and operating the units of their chain empires by using the cheap labor and capital of franchisees to to grow their profits and their visibility in the marketplace, while greatly reducing the risk. If this is good for Ben and Jerry and their franchisees, why not?
It is not surprising that franchisors are attractive to even bigger fish who want the same advantages of profiting from the cheap labor and capital of those on the bottom of the pyramid. Big eats big who eats small in the scheme of the new banking and investment laws that promotes securitization of cash flows that permits those at the top to exploit those at the bottom who generate the cash flows.
http://w.w.w.unhappyfranchise.com/20009/02/carolcross/
Carol:
Did you read the post? Your comment doesn’t even remotely refer to the subject. This is about their packaged ice cream, sold through non-franchised supermarkets, and doesn’t have to do with their franchised scoop shops, their franchisees or their franchise program.
When you drop stock anti-franchise rhetoric in at random places without regard to context, you sound like a ranter, not like a credible commenter.
Also, the link won’t work if you put all those extra periods between the w’s.
http://www.unhappyfranchise.com/20009/02/carolcross/
Sorry about that! Didn’t understand that they compete with their franchisees by selling their products in the supermarkets. Also, you threw me off with your comment that “its been nearly a decade since Ben and Jerry’s once-hippy owners sold out to a multinational corporate.”
Since you deal with franchising primarily, it seems, what was the point of your post?
I bet Carol has seen her fair share of ice cream in her day while lurking in all these chat forums.
Yes! Rita! I love ice cream, almost any kind, or any flavor. I would gladly hire out as an ice cream tester.
http://www.unhappyfranchise.com/2009/02/carolcross/
Carol Cross wrote: …what was the point of your post?
Give it a read. Headlines are sometimes a giveaway ;)
Carol Cross wrote: Didn’t understand that they compete with their franchisees by selling their products in the supermarkets.
Ben & Jerry’s was and is primarily a packaged goods ice cream company. The franchised and non-profit partnership scoop shops came later. They enabled franchise owners to benefit from a powerful brand and name with a devoted and cultlike following. Contrary to Carol’s characterization of the franchisor “competing” with franchisees by having a presence in supermarkets, the packaged good line and the rulebreaking and always newsworthy parent company provided franchisees with their most powerful asset: the ability to operate as one of America’s best-known and best-loved brands.
However, the Ben & Jerry’s franchise program has had its challenges from the beginning. Franchising depends on having some structure, performance requirements and corporate-like rules, which were somewhat of a challenge for B&Js early hippy-management style to get in place. In recent years, Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops have faced the same challenges of others in the once-booming super-premium ice cream shop space, including Cold Stone Creamery, Marble Slab, Maggie Moos and others.
However, if Carol wanted to take the time to level a valid criticism against the Ben & Jerry’s franchise program, it would be that many franchise owners signed up because they had a philosophical devotion to the socially aware, outspoken and responsible company headed by commie leftist Deadheads (I’m kidding)Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Many of the franchisees felt they were sold out and betrayed when the founders sold the company to the multinational corporate giant Unilever.
For me, this is the most irreconciliably troubling aspect of buying a franchise. (To paraphrase Forrest’s ma, Franchising’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.) Because of acquisitions, many franchisees of Mail Boxes, Etc. ended up being franchisees of corporate giant UPS. Those who bought Liberty Fitness franchises from founder Liberty Harper now answer to Diversified. Franchisees who thought they answered to hippypreneurs Cohen and Greenfield now answer to Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever.
As far as ice cream consumption while blogging, it is my policy to consume the product I am blogging about throughout the entire process. There are rumors that a new Ben & Jerry’s flavor is being created in my honor: Chubby Blogger.
Thanks, Sean, for the education! So much of franchising seems to be owned by conglomerates and private equity companies who are the real powers behind the franchise image, and who make the real money?
I suppose that “securitistion” of present and future cash flows drives this investment in franchisors, but, it is just mind boggling to me that these investments and the resulting securities, etc.. are all made possible by these malicious long-term, self-serving franchise agreements that result in the capture of the cheap labor and the hard-earned capital of those on the bottom. These are the little franchisees who often are not making a dime in profits and working really cheap for the term of the contract — or actually failing and losing everything —and whose failed unit is sold in a fire sale churning process to the next franchisee. Talk about robber barron capitalism!
I know that you only push good franchisors, Sean. And, a good franchisor is a franchisor who provides profits for a great percentage of his franchisees and has a low failure rate of first owner-builders of franchise units.
Thanks for letting me post on Franchise Pick.
This is the last day of “Franchise Pick” –sadly! So many topics were covered and I learned so much. Thank you, Sean!
The other day I listened to the Ben and Jerry Bio on TV and their explanation of their take-over by a huge conglomerate as their only means of surviving. They still do their “social” engineering to the extent possible, etc…and have done lots of good work with their money.
Our local Hagen daz was the first in the country to have a drive-through window and was in partnership/co-branded? with RockyMountainChocolate, as well, available inside from either store. Unfortunately, I read this AM that they will be closing down in November. The owners are good citizens of our community who did good work in the community and supported our highschool football team and local activities. They started their businesses in a new up-scale Mall right between two up-scale sub-divisions that is slowly dying and destroying so many who had high hopes of a great future, and who signed long-term 3-net leases.
I feel their pain and will be attending their half-price sale before their closing in early November.