Company Profile

Häagen-Dazs is an American Ice cream company owned by

General Mills, one of the largest food companies in the
world. The name of “Häagen Dazs” first came from a
Polish American man name Reuben Mattus in 1961, who
had a particular vision for creating the finest ice cream.
Häagen-Dazs now is one of the most prestigious brands
marketed in the U.S and in the world. The ice cream is
available in more than 80 countries. Its operation includes
direct selling through a worldwide system of franchise
coffee shops and also through high premium restaurants
and hyper channel and retailing.

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Company History

The idea of Häagen-Dazs Ice cream dated back to the

1920s, when Reuben Mattus, a young man with a passion
and vision for luxurious ice cream quality by using only the
finest and purest ingredients, worked in his family’s ice
cream business in Bronx, New York. In the 50’s, he
discovered a production method in Scandinavia, which
allowed him to produce ice cream with the quality he ever
desired.

By 1960, Mattus and his wife Rose decided to open a new

company dedicated to his ice cream passion and vision,
named Häagen-Dazs. Surprisingly enough, the brand,
which has the ‘ä’ letter represented the Scandinavian
language, is not 100% European. It is simply two
meaningless words combined to look European. This action
is not purely accidental, because it created a brand image
illusion to consumers to perceive Häagen-Dazs products as
premium, luxurious, and sensational, known in the
marketing as “Foreign Branding Strategy”. At first,
Häagen-Dazs Ice cream started out with only three basic

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flavors: vanilla, chocolate and coffee. Mattus’s unique ice
cream recipes included finest dark chocolate from Belgium
and handpicked vanilla beans from Madagascar, creating
distinctive and indulgent tastes that no one at that period
had ever experienced.

The Häagen Dazs brand, therefore, very well took off and
quickly developed a loyal following crowd. At the
beginning, it was only available through limited number of
gourmet shops in New York City, but soon distribution
expanded throughout the east coast of the U.S., and by
1973 Häagen-Dazs Ice cream products were enjoyed by
discerning customers from all over the U.S. In 1976,
Mattus' daughter Doris decided to open the first Häagen-
Dazs Ice Cream shop in the U.S., which offered frozen
desserts such as ice creams, sundaes, and cones. It hit
immediate success, and its popularity resulted in a rapid
expansion of Häagen-Dazs franchising system of shops
across the country. In 1983, Mattus sold Häagen-Dazs to
The Pillsbury Company, with the agreement to remain
committed to the tradition of superior quality and

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innovation on which Häagen-Dazs was first founded. When
Pillsbury Company was acquired by General Mills in 2001,
Häagen-Dazs brand consequently belongs to General Mills.
Also in 2001, Nestlé obtained the rights to sell Häagen-
Dazs in the U.S. and Canada from General Mills who owns
the brand and sells it in the rest of the world. Since then,
the Häagen-Dazs Ice cream phenomenon has swept through
every corner of the world. Till this very day, it remains
very committed to developing exceptional super premium
frozen dessert experiences, while releasing new flavors
every year. Ice Cream lovers the world over now recognize
the unique Häagen-Dazs logo as synonymous with the
ultimate super-premium ice cream.

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The Häagen-Dazs Shop franchise system

Häagen-Dazs Ice cream shop is a retail ice cream store

operated as part of the system, either directly by Shoppe
Company, or under a written franchise agreement granted
by Shoppe Company. The Häagen-Dazs Shoppe Company
Inc. is a private company categorized under Franchising. It
is the franchisor of Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream shops all over
the world. The Häagen-Dazs Shoppe Company was
founded in 1961, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It has
locations in the United States, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the
Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom,
and Venezuela.

The Shoppe Company has developed a unique and

distinctive system of high quality ice cream shops operated
to feature the sale of Häagen-Dazs products and menu
items prepared with Häagen-Dazs products. The system
includes proprietary and distinctive products, product
specifications, ingredients, menu items, recipes, techniques,
training methods, production methods, operating methods,

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designs and decor, uniform apparel, color schemes,
furnishings, marketing materials, promotional strategies,
and customer service requirements. Now the Shoppe
system owns or directs more than 900 Häagen Dazs shops
in 50 countries all over the world.

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CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHIC

The Malaysian culture is based on four fundamental

principles or values: allegiance to the family, development
of a “good” name, love of learning, and respect for other
people. Allegiance to the family is seen as the most
important factor. The family is the basic unit and the center
of the individuals’ existence and the foundation of
Malaysian society. One of the basic premises that exist
within the family structure is the idea of collective identity.
The individual’s interests and destiny was rarely put higher
than the considerations of the family in the past.

Today, in the storm of globalization together with increased

living standard, individualism is being introduced to
Malaysia, especially to those with knowledge of English
and technological advantages. Finally, a “me, mine,
myself” attitude is becoming popular. The Malaysian
consumers reach the stage of “Brand as a Personality”
mentality, in which buying a product is not only to satisfy
needs but also to express self. The need of being different
and better from other or belonging to a group of distinguish

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individuals is increasing among consumers. This trend is
especially true among abundant-resourced consumers. This
factor leads the researcher to the next point in the
Malaysian recent change in consumer attitudes and
behaviors toward luxury.

Consumers are increasingly aware of the quality, hygiene

and safety issues surrounding what they eat or drink. While
the knowledge of food risks is increasing, people are also
becoming more aware of the relationship between foods
and good being. Self-gratification, nutritional value and
safety are all labels of quality that consumers focus on.

Together with the globalization waves, the “green” lifestyle

is also imported to Malaysia, especially among the youth.
However, common consumers will not currently accept
significant price differences for sustainable products, only
those with abundant resources can afford to live off totally
on highly sustainable product. In general Malaysian
consumers’ biggest weakness is that they are quite
submissive and do not realize their legal rights. Usually
when consumers receive low quality, fake or insufficient

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products, they do not want any hassle and satisfy already
with company’s acknowledgement, apology, negotiation
and conciliation.

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MARKETING COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

At the moment, marketing channels of Häagen-Dazs are

very limited. Therefore, except for indoor
poster/TV/decoration and newspaper advertisement, they
should consider three more means suggested as below:

Online marketing – To increase the brand awareness in

the younger generation, Häagen-Dazs should focus some of
their marketing to the “new media” that those youth are
using such mobile marketing, social networks and the like.
An official forum, or fan page on Facebook would serve
well as a place for discussing, feedback, and promoting
upcoming events.

Webpage – Häagen-Dazs currently holds an international

webpage but not a local one. The researcher suggests that
Häagen-Dazs should create a web page for Malaysian
market to inform the Internet users about its existence,
upcoming events, new promoting programs and product
launches, etc. Also included in this webpage is the online
ordering/delivery service. Internet users are allowed to

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view, gather the needed information on the different
products available at Häagen-Dazs and order through the
web page. This channel will draw consumers’ usage, as it is
convenient and is evidence that Häagen-Dazs keeps up with
the technological advancements. When designing this web
page, Häagen Dazs should also build a good information
center that allows a 2-way feedback between Häagen-Dazs
and its potential and current consumers. The website also
gives customers information of company highlights which
gives a better understanding of the brand early beginnings
and many other details, ultimately growing a relationship
between it and customers.

Public posters – since Häagen-Dazs has always kept a low

profile on advertising and does not want to develop
expensive and loud advertising campaigns, the researcher
suggests that they will have the poster-like advertisement
displayed at public areas such as bus stops, and cafeterias,
etc. to draw attention of the daily commuters at these areas.
This will help to increase people’s awareness about
Häagen-Dazs, its products, programs and events. This is

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also a cost saving means because Malaysia has low printing
cost, plus these posters will be viewed by thousands every
day.

Brand local ambassador/celebrity endorsement – After 1

year of operation, Häagen-Dazs can collaborate with
Malaysian young fashion icons, athletes, singers, or actors
for print advertisement, to be the brand ambassador in
Malaysia, inviting them to shop opening, product launches,
or ask for permission to capture their Häagen-Dazs
“moments” and pin the photos onto a billboard, etc. This
strategy will particularly successful in Malaysia. Malaysian
culture, is still mainly based on collectivism that pressure
people to blend in rather than stand out, together with the
fact that Malaysian product and service quality are not
reliable; consequently, producing a natural tendency to
follow groups, individuals, idols or role models to avoid
risk. Therefore, if celebrities/their role models "risk" their
reputation to associate a particular brand, it acts as a
reassurance for the crowd to support of the brand.
Furthermore, purchasing a celebrity-endorsed product is

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also considered a status symbol for the image that
customers want to see themselves in.

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Häagen-Dazs – A healthier choice

In order to be appealing to the health seeker segments and

adding more value to the overall brand image, Häagen-
Dazs should also link its position with healthy lifestyle.
However, ice cream, as a sweet, high sugar and fat
contained dessert, cannot be easily perceived as “healthy”
to customers in the common thinking. Instead, Häagen-
Dazs should focus on these three aspects of “healthy”
definition.

The first aspect of “healthy” definition that brand should

focus on is the “all-natural”, selective, premium-quality
characteristics of Häagen-Dazs ice cream products. They
should carve in customers’ minds that Häagen Dazs
products are made from only the finest, non-artificial
ingredients with no additives and colorings, which is way
better for their health than other brands’ products that using
lower quality ingredients or adding additives to gain more
profit and harming their good being. In Malaysia at the
moment, domestic dairy products are of low quality;
customers find it hard to trust their local quality standards.

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For that reason, they usually prefer foreign brands that
produced in foreign countries, especially Western
developed countries like France, America, New Zealand,
Germany, etc. but not from China or other Asian countries
except Japan and Korea. Therefore, the second aspect of
“healthy” definition that Häagen-Dazs can take advantages
of is the “high quality” image, perceived by Malaysian
customers through “Imported” and “Made in France”
products. Having such visible proof can improve Häagen-
Dazs’ “better for your health” image in customers’
perception. It will also justify the high pricing strategy and
make customer more at ease when choosing Häagen-Dazs
products.

The last aspect in “healthy” definition that Häagen-Dazs

can promote as its brand image is calorie display and the
product line of low-fat ice cream and sorbet. The act of
showing and explaining the actual number of calories in
each scoop and pin of ice cream in each product is how
HäagenDazs can show its deep concern and appreciation on
customer’s activeness toward better fitness and good being.

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The product lines of bar ice cream, frozen yogurt and fruit
sorbet in Häagen-Dazs product portfolio are the real
“healthy” side of ice cream. By introducing these lines to
customers, Häagen-Dazs directly attack the health seekers
who are highly concerned about their health, but still want
to enjoy rich, sweet treats. Häagen-Dazs can communicate
this image with customers by first visible prints and
marketing campaigns on serving pins, posters, or
advertisement on television or screen, and in-store
decorations. They can also directly influence customers by
assigning staff to promote this “healthy” aspect when
helping customers choosing dishes. By combining the four
factors of an affordable luxury, an adult subtle intimacy, a
unique indulgence, and a healthier choice, the researcher
has established the ultimate “ultra-premium ice cream
brands” that is suitable for Häagen-Dazs in Malaysian
market. In the next part of the thesis, the researcher will
build a marketing mix that can convey these values of
Häagen-Dazs to its targeted segments.

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PRODUCT EXAMPLE

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CONCLUSION

By paying attention to the big picture as well as the

smallest details in the soft opening operation, the researcher
herself think that this thesis has fulfilling its ultimate
objective of providing useful and realistic recommendation
to perfect Häagen-Dazs’s marketing strategy on identifying
potential customers, building the brand image, attracting its
niches in order to ultimately success financially in
Malaysian market.

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