Feel like indulging in some ice cream? You can head to the nearest Barista. The brand of Hockey Pockey ice creams owned by Drums Food International is doing a pilot at the Barista Lavazza Café in Bandra Bandstand and expects to introduce the concept across its 300 stores soon.
According to Rohan Mirchandani, Founder, Drums Food International and Owner of Hockey Pockey ice creams, “Since coffee and ice creams do not compete with each other, we expect to have coffee consumers during the day and ice cream patrons at night. The peak hours of consumption in both the categories are different. This is a model which has also been adopted by the Dunkin Donuts chain in the US where it has tied up with Baskin Robbins ice cream.”
Though Barista Lavazza would probably be the first coffee chain to accommodate an ice cream parlour, the practice is common in countries such as the US and Canada.
“We have designed the business model along the lines of what Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins have done in the US market. We believe we will be the first ice cream brand in India to associate with a coffee chain. After completing the first pilot in Mumbai we intend extending the concept to as many Barista locations as possible,” added Mirchandani.
Drums Food international, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the US-based Ross Group, has entered into a revenue sharing arrangement with Barista Lavazza and is not restricting itself to the coffee chain. “There would be more efficient use of real estate and overhead costs, but the tie-up with Barista is not an exclusive one. We would be open to associating with more coffee chains such as CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) and other retail formats as well,” he said. The Hockey Pockey counter is limited to 75 sq ft at Barista’s 600 sq ft store in Bandra.
The Hockey Pockey brand of ice cream has been present in India since 2008 with 15 outlets across formats ranging from kiosks to standalone stores. In India, the brand has been pitted in the premium segment and competes with ice cream brands such as Baskin Robbins. “Our single scoop comes at Rs 50 and the pricing is almost half of super premium brands such as Haagen-Dazs but at almost similar price points as Baskin Robbins,” added Mirchandani.
At Barista, Hockey Pockey serves flavours such as Lavazza Coffee (made from Lavazza Coffee beans), Dark Belgian Chocolate, Green Apple and Natural Mint, among others. It has also introduced mix-ins such as Ferrero Rocher, Twix, Bounty, Peanut Butter and Nutella at the Barista outlets.
purvita@thehindu.co.in