Shared a case study with few bschool students as part of their placement preparation. Have created a summary and linked it to a blogpost on http://beingdesh.com

1. The Curious Case of Carter Road
Frozen Yoghurt

2. What you can expect from this case study?
Context
• As with all case studies don’t expect a full proof solution. You can expect an approach and a few ideas
resulting from that approach.
• The case was solved with an intent of preparing the students for placements, and hence it was trying to
test their ability to structure the problem, ask the right questions, and build towards a solution.
• Also I must mention that I am not an expert in the field of desserts. Most of the case discussions
were built on my observations, which might or might not be true.
• In case you wish to discuss this more, you can drop me a line at beingdesh@gmail.com, I have a few
ideas and thoughts on this, which we can discuss over a glass of lassi  and probably a cup of frozen
yoghurt!

3. Details and expectations
Case Study
Carter road is one of the most popular hangout spots at Bandra, Mumbai. It houses some of cities top
restaurants and eateries and is frequented by a number of people in the age group of 15-30 years. Over the
past one year four new Frozen Yoghurt stores have opened up on a small stretch of the road.
You have been employed as the General Manager of soon to be opened 5th store in the same lane. As in
charge of Yoghurt Twist, you have access to a similar store space, and a similar quality product offering.
All the stores use the same vendor for machines and mixes and hence the core offering is exactly the same.
How will you go about differentiating your store from others? What will be your approach? Share a few
ideas you could implement as you build the approach.
Promenade
Carter Road
Famous Cafe
FY1 FY2 FY3 FY4 FY5
Your store location

4. Areas where one can differentiate the offering
Approach
One can go about differentiating across the following areas (not an exhaustive list):
Reach out to customers in an
impactful manner
Engage with customers and
trigger interesting interactions
Improve existing product and
introduce complimentary
products and services
Product OfferingCustomer ExperienceCommunication
1 2 3
• In-store experience
• Extended services
• Loyalty programs
• Product offering
improvements
• Product usage
• Differentiated Branding and
Imagery
• Communication channels
Note: During the discussion I kept the focus on these variables as I didn’t have enough data to have a discussion on differentiated pricing and/or
business model

5. Includes some recommended initiatives generated during brainstorming and some
ideas from my side
Proposed Initiatives
Product OfferingCustomer ExperienceCommunication
1 2 3
• Home delivery: Work out a
solution for delivering home
delivery and catering for house
parties (keeping the product
quality intact)
• Experiences beyond store:
Create a community of your
customers, engage
them, conduct events, enable
them to come up with
recipes, offer special discounts to
community members
• Disrupt the serving style:
iPads, serving grids for
toppings, DIY, all things have
been tried out. Can one start
thinking of having a standalone
vending machine with pre-mixed
toppings?
• Infuse some Indian Flavors:
Kitkats, Jujubs and Fruits are ok
but how about adding some Hot
Gulaabjamun or crunchy chikkis
over your FroYo. Might help you
expand your base beyond the
usual tween crowd!
• Increase utility: Healthier pitch
wont last long. Look for ideas to
enhance product utility. A
breakfast store with a range of
crunchy and colorful cereals to
go with frozen yoghurt? Might be
a starting point!
• Differentiated Brand Image:
Most of the imagery associated
with these stores is similar
(inspired from sources such as
Pinkberry). Break away from
those sugary looks, probably
customers will notice you more
than others!
• Activations: Social media has
been used and abused by
eateries in Mumbai. Why not take
a cycle-cart out on Carter Road
for some sampling?. Or organize
a Frozen Dahi-Handi on
Janmashtami. Might generate
some excitement!