IGLOO ICECREAM: A modern rebranding proposal

Introduction:
Why do people eat ice-cream? To make ordinary moments special. It is a representation of joy
and celebration, especially in Pakistan where it is shared as a token of love and appreciation.
Considering this the consumption of ice-cream in our country is quite high. This reports focuses
on its current market position, strategies, distribution, marketing mix and proposing rebranding
ideas so that Igloo can regain its lost image.
Igloo was founded by Mr. Khalil Ur Rahman in Bangladesh,in 1964 but was brought to Pakistan
and here is functional since 1974. Its headquarters is located and operates in Karachi and
distribution is extensively in Baluchistan and Sindh. Igloo ice-cream focuses “To provide quality
ice-cream full of nutrition, fun and best quality backed by a large variety.” And it visions “From
the biggest city to the smallest most remote village you will find our ice-cream that have made
successful. Look in any household you will find our ice-cream being enjoyed.”
Igloo was one of the very first ice-cream companies to have quite a big market share and for
many it had been the first preference. However, as the years progressed Igloo has lost its market
position thus somehow making itself obscure. Whereas, its competitors such as Walls and Omore
have subsequently worked towards bettering their products in accordance with time.
S.W.O.T Analysis:
Strengths:
The brand has created a brand image and recognition in Pakistan over the years. The
name igloo still circulates because it is attached to older generation’s memories. Every
person born till 2000’s has heard about igloo ice-cream from their Parents. Due to this
very reason Igloo’s brand recall is still very high, also it is very focused on the concept of
Nuclear families as seen in their recent advertisement.
Weaknesses:
Through research it is found that the brand also has low brand equity due to lack of
proper marketing over the years. The problem not only occurs with the marketing
strategy but also with the unattractive packaging. The color scheme, logo is very
unattractive towards the consumer eyes.
Due to brands like Walls entering the market, Igloo has lost their distributive channels
and now has weak distributive channels all over Pakistan as compared to its direct
competitors.
 Opportunities:
Since the brand still has a high recall therefore it can still bounce back and enter the
market once again. It was once popular back in the days and Igloo can use it to their
advantage by re launching the brand using proper and effective marketing strategies.
Igloo ice cream was the first ones to introduce the flavors like cookies and cream and
strawberry cheesecake but due to poor marketing it did not get much recognition. Instead,
walls ice cream introduced their version of those flavors getting far better appreciation
from the consumers.
Threats:
Igloo is in a direct competition with walls and Omore. These brands have a high
distributive channel, High marketing strategy and are constantly introducing new flavors
in the market. Igloo also receives a threat from their indirect competitors that are Gelato
Affairs, Move n pick etc.
Market Segmentation:
Demographic segments are considered to be their primary focus. Igloo is considered to be
consumer oriented company because their operation is revolved around domestic markets of
Pakistan. Igloo provides their service only in Baluchistan and Sindh.
Competition:
Igloo faces oligopoly competition. Walls, Omore, Hico are major competitors of igloo.
Competition can be one of the reasons why their image declined but also lack of innovation and
being outdated played a major role in their decline as well. Walls and Omore introduced better
quality taste in the market with proper advertising and marketing strategy. Market share declined
specifically in Lahore due to Omore expanding rapidly. All of the reasons above created a gap
between Igloo's consumers and their brand promotion.
Market segmentation and target market
Marketing Growth Strategies
The three-products/market growth strategies as followed by Igloo are:
Market Penetration:
Igloo tries to sell more of its present products to its present markets by the help of
supporting tactics, which might include spending on price, promotion and packaging.
Market Development:
Igloo tries to maintain its market position, but it lacks the expansion of market
development.
Product Development:
 Igloo has development many new unique products that were new for the target market.
They introduced kulfi, and cookies and cream, jet spots.it is evident that one of prime
reasons for success has been due to constant introduction of new products. The very
recently introduced Kulfi has once again placed Igloo to as being a people’s brand
providing a world of great taste.

Target Marketing
Igloo has divided its target market into three groups: kids, teenagers, and adults.
Age:
Igloo has divided its markets in segments according to different age groups such as kids,
teenagers, and the family range. Different ages of people are influenced by different flavors of
ice cream, different presentations of packaging and different product attributes. Kids incline
more towards ice creams, which contains animated and colorful packaging, taste of sweet
strawberry, fresh mango, pure vanilla, ripples, hazel nut coating and crispy flakes. Teenagers
prefer low calorie ice cream, more daring and wider range of tastes.
Income
Igloo has divided the market into three income groups – low-income group, mid-income group
and high-income groups.
Market Positioning
Igloo has focused maintaining its position in market by developing new products and improving
the quality and taste.
Unique Selling point:
Suppliers:
Suppliers of Igloo provides for items ranging simple nuts coatings, and other basic raw
materials to high tech ice cream processing machines. Almost all ingredients are supplied
by foreign suppliers. The main ingredients such as milk powder, nuts, chocolates, sticks,
tetra packs, various essences and flavors are imported from Australia, New Zealand,
UAE and Dubai, Machines are imported from Denmark, Italy and Switzerland.
Affordable Price:
Igloo in setting its price considers the kind of competition in the target market as well as
the cost of the whole marketing mix. It has developed a wide range of prices for its
various segments which are affordable to the local consumer.
Product Range:
 Igloo has a large range of scrumptious Ice cream. In the past the brand has introduced
numerous new products which had become highly popular among all age groups. The
Supreme Ice Cream range was a market winner with its exceptional and unmatched
flavors.
Quality:
As mentioned above about its imported products, igloo was known for its distinctive
flavors which are why it got the recognition it initially had.

Consumer Behavior:
In the case of Igloo Ice cream we don’t see much advertisement. Nowadays, there are so many
means to advertise your product that is socially or on TV. But we don’t see much advertisement
of Igloo ice cream. Igloo once faced serious backlash on making an advertisement which was
considered inappropriate for Pakistani society.Either they are making an advertisement which is
not appropriate or there is none to attract the new consumers. Talking about word of mouth,
people buy stuff which is recommended by someone who has good reviews about it but we don’t
get to hear anything positive about igloo ice cream. If we talk about competitor brands there is
always an opinion or recommendation of their product but there is less or no word of mouth of
igloo ice cream. Availability is also the major issue here. Igloo ice creams are not available
easily like other competitor brands. Cliché flavors are mostly sold. Impulse products are not high
in demand. Their packaging does not leave a long term impact on consumer. It does not attract
their main target, children. Research showed us that consumers perceive Igloo as a low quality
brand due to its non-promoting activities as well as cheap packaging. Most of the consumers can
only associate Igloo with their childhood as they had it last during their childhood days. Igloo
provides good quality but due to earlier mentioned reasons it lacks its performance and fails to
meet the expectations.
Consumer Purchase Decision:
Consumer prefer products that are new in market and attract . With offering a sum total of fifty
items, including normal to premium and novelty cup stick to family pack items. The consumers
that are attached to this brand tend to continue buying from them have a strong purchase
decision. But Igloo ice cream lacks many places due to which to which the consumer end up
making a purchase decision towards the competitor brand.
Marketing Mix:
Now, finally coming towards the marketing mix of Igloo ice-cream, which is basically why the
company suffered in the long run; the four P’s I-e Product, price, place and promotion. For a
very long time Igloo creatively mixed together the best products for its target market.
Product:
 The right product for the right market, this was Igloo’s main concern. They brought
together experts from around the world from Pakistan, India, Denmark and Holland to
analyze new products based on price, flavors and essences to be used and analyzing other
markets and then finally recalculating the situation based on the consumers’ feedback.
Their biggest plus point was the vast variety of distinctive flavors (as discussed above in
the “Product Range” section below Unique Selling Point) which quickly grabs the
consumers attention creating a very powerful company image.
Price:
Igloo being one of the oldest ones in the market basically set the price range for the
industry. The final price is not only determined by the cost of production but also
includes a considerable comparison from competition in the target market as well as a
percentage of profit. Having quite a vast segmentation of their target market, Igloo has
developed a wide range of prices affordable for each on an almost daily basis. In
addition, for their upper income consumers, Igloo parlors serves a slightly higher price
range and better first hand service.
Igloo takes alot of various economic factors into consideration like preferably the rates of
inflation, the exchange rate and level of income. . The prime reason for such is to have a control
over its allocated budget for domestic and imported raw materials, but most importantly alertness
of economic variables are necessary to determine Igloo’s pricing strategy so that all segments of
the population can afford to buy their products.

Place:
For Igloo, place has always been very specific. That is, after launching in Pakistan.
Before here, they were initially in Bangladesh and relocated in times of a civil war. Being
quite area specific, Igloo offers its products in Sindh and Baluchistan only. It is however
key to note that the products are available not only in well-developed cities but also in
small suburbs and villages. This is made possible by warehouses and a long chain of
refrigerated vans, as well as trolleys to reach schools, streets and parks and freezers at
malls.
Considering recent times, all these distributive variables aren’t seen enough as the
company faces its slow decline over the years.
Promotion:
Promotion includes personal selling, advertising, sales promotion and public relations.
Igloo follows three different promotional activities. Trade partners and retailers; who buy
in bulk for discounts. Consumers; for example scratch codes to win different items or a
free ice-cream. And occasion based promotion; new advertisements and packaging and
discounts on social celebrations like Eid.
 Important note to consider:
With walls as a solid competitor in the market, and also the change in the type of
promotion from TV ads to social media advertisements and social influencers, Igloo
stands way behind even with constant reattempts. It is lacking far behind in promotion
from its old style logo to its tasteless packaging. People live for aesthetic and that’s what
it fails to offer.
Comparative Analysis: IGLOO vs WALLS/ OMORE
o Igloo had highest brand loyalty and sales since 1974.
o Introduction of new brands such as Walls, Omore and Hico, and indirect brand
competition such as Move n Pick, Baskin Robbins and Gelato affairs resulting in reduced
brand image and loyalty.
o Better quality taste and brand expansion of walls reducing Igloo’s market share.
o Specific decline in market share in Lahore due to Omore’s expansion.
o Communication gap between consumer and brand promotion.
o Lesser product innovations as compared to competitor brands like Walls.

Here are some of the proposed strategies that can improve the marketing strategy of igloo ice-cream
Social media is the most powerful platform of promoting business; igloo can expand its position in the
market, by being continuously active by sharing posts and informing consumers and keeping them
updated about new launched products. Igloo can create ice cream parlors in Lahore, Islamabad and
handout samples in different malls to develop an interest in customers mind, many customers may want to
buy in large quantity after trying the samples. And everyone loves to try free samples of everything. They
can also improve the exterior of the shop by making an interesting display. A mascot can stand outside
the shop that will attract customers. Decorating the interior of shop can draw people to visit and buy so.
When people share their pictures online, their friends will ask them about the location. More people will
know about igloo ice cream. It’s a clever marketing strategy designed to increase foot traffic. When
people know about your parlors, they are more likely to think of it when the ice cream craving hits. Igloo
can also improve their packaging by adding fresh looking colours and interesting cartoons, different color
schemes for different age group with variety of brilliant flavors in different quantities. They can also use
reusable or eco-friendly containers. They can design a packaging; a reusable double walled steel ice
cream container. This design can ensure that when ice cream is opened, the ice cream melts more quickly
at the top than at the bottom of the container and once empty, the container can be reused. Igloo can send
out promotions via SMS to inform customers about new products or discounts. Igloo should also plan an
event when launching a new product and invite all famous influencers and bloggers for promotion and
giveaway PR packages which is a very common way used for promotion. Creating a likable website
which can show all the menus include unique holiday flavors such as for Halloween, Independence Day,
and Mother’s Day. New flavors should be launched by the brand according to the ongoing
events/holidays. Another important aspect to make the marketing strategy better is by adding
more options to the menu. By introducing different desserts other than ice cream people will
have much variety of options to choose from... Grocery stores are the main target to make people
more aware about the product so there should be free taste sampling available at every grocery
store across town apart from this some broachers should be distributed to the consumers which
has all the information about all the ice cream flavors in it. A large group of friends or family
would love to have an ice cream together so there should be a whole bucket of ice cream that
they can share. Igloo can introduce separate premium flavors and better quality of ice cream for
this. By taking an advantage of ongoing cricket matches these days, they can design their
packaging of the bucket in a way that consumer gets intrigued to purchase their ice cream and
have it while they watch the match. A consumer should be provided with an appealing menu that
has all the listed products with the price mentioned. The menu should be available at every place
where the ice cream is being sold. Also, some posters should be designed according to a specific
theme that is shared on their website, on social media and in a printed form that can be
distributed to the people across town. The posters may have a theme keeping in mind the
ongoing events. Creating an app can also help customers to order online and get home delivery,
special discounts and offers can also be available on using the app for order. Igloo can come up
with creative ice cream challenge; nothing encourages engagement more than competitions.
Partnering up with a local restaurant to create an ice cream eating challenge, where the customer
must eat a giant serving in an allotted time. If they successfully complete the challenge, give
them a reward. By giving away hats, tee-shirts, Cash prize as the winning prize can help promote
and help increase sales. This fun and exciting challenge can be promoted on social media,
allowing customers to share their attempt at the challenge.

Here are some of the logo designs: