Baskin Robbins has unveiled “Workshop by Baskin Robbins,” a pioneering store that serves as the brand’s research and development (R&D) center.
Located on the first floor of SPC2023, the headquarters of SPC BR Korea in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Workshop is the premier venue for showcasing Baskin Robbins’ in-house manufactured products and newest innovations. The store opened after more than a year of preparation, including designing the interior, developing new products, and creating limited menus and services.
BR Korea, the operator of Baskin Robbins, plans to develop the store into a space to realize new product ideas for Baskin Robbins. For instance, the store introduces 12 exclusive menus available only at this location. If the limited menu items receive positive feedback, the company plans to gradually expand their availability to franchises.
Unlike the existing Baskin Robbins ice cream menus, which are produced in factories and supplied to franchises, Workshop sells ice cream made on-site by chefs from headquarters. The 12 flavors are available exclusively in the store as single regular scoops and samplers, not for bulk purchases.
The sampler consists of sets of four or eight cups, each containing 50 grams of ice cream. The single regular scoop is priced at 2,900 won, while the four and eight cups cost 7,600 won and 14,800 won, respectively. The price for a single regular scoop is the same as that of the existing Baskin Robbins menu.
The eight-cup sampler I tried consisted of unique flavors exclusive here, such as Wasabi, Love Struck Cherry, Green Tea Cookie Monster, and Crème de Marrons. The most intriguing flavor, wasabi, was served with a saltine cracker.
The wasabi flavor did not initially feel strange upon the first taste, but as the cream was swallowed, a sharp horseradish scent lingered in the mouth. Along with thoughts that it might sharply divide opinions, much like mint chocolate chip ice cream, there were concerns about whether the flavor could be expanded to franchises. Some visitors who tasted the wasabi-flavored ice cream also looked ambiguous after taking a small bite.
BR Korea has composed four of the 12 exclusive store menus as derivatives of the popular green tea flavor, incorporating various tastes for variation, such as Earl Grey and Orange Jasmine.
In the middle of the store, gelato made by mixing and scraping ice cream ingredients on a cold metal plate is being sold, with customers watching the process. “This is the first time Baskin Robbins has attempted gelato,” said Executive Director Cho Sung-hee. “If consumer response is positive, we plan to expand it.”
BR Korea envisions growing Workshop into an independent premium brand. The R&D concept store is the third unique outlet of Baskin Robbins, following other distinctive stores such as “HIVE Hannam,” a flagship store renowned for its organic ice cream, and “100flavor,” which presents 100 different tastes.
Baskin Robbins plans to apply a system that uses ChatGPT to brainstorm new product ideas and generative artificial intelligence (AI) to illustrate product designs in the Workshop store.
