Photo: Mars / Conjure
Will Mars conjure up ice cream sales with a store-hailing partnership?
Mars announced that it is partnering with Conjure, formerly known as Robomart, to deliver its popular brand ice cream products to consumers in Los Angeles this spring.
Customers will use the Conjure app to schedule on-demand deliveries in as little as two minutes. They will then pick product(s) they ordered from the frozen case when the truck arrives. Payment is made using the app when the order is placed.
Ice cream lovers will be able to purchase M&M’S Chocolate, Snickers and Twix ice cream pints when the service launches. They will also be able to order M&M’S cookie sandwiches and Snickers and Twix ice cream bars.
“Mars has been driving innovation in the ice cream category for over 35 years. Now we are proud to be the first to introduce Mars Ice Cream to the trend of ‘store-hailing’, inspiring more moments of everyday happiness through our iconic brands,” said Shaf Lalani, general manager, Mars Ice Cream, in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Conjure and its fleet of mobile ice cream retail to get consumers the Mars products they love and to further advance the unattended retail industry.”
“This partnership with Conjure helps solve the industry’s biggest issue – ice cream melting before reaching the home when purchased in-store or through other delivery methods,” said Jerome Morgen, senior global director, Mars Unattended Retail.
The partnership with Mars is not Conjure’s first foray into ice cream delivery. The company announced a similar partnership last May, partnering with Unilever to deliver its Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Good Humor, Magnum and Talenti ice cream and frozen treats to consumers in LA.
Customers used the store-hailing service’s app to order from Unilever’s virtual storefront — The Ice Cream Shop — and deliver their choices to specified locations. Conjure continues to deliver Unilever’s ice cream as part of its service.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you see opportunities for store-hailing services focused on convenience products? What are the keys to making this type of service work?
Poll
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Georganne Bender
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Cathy Hotka
Principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates
This used to be called “the ice cream truck” back in the old days. I can understand why ice cream brands would want to be part of this, but I have a hard time seeing how this will be a profitable venture. Consumer acceptance will be another barrier with so many existing places to buy these products.
The ice cream truck of our childhood was way more efficient than this. How can it scale? (I might predict success in cannabis-friendly states, though.)
Then they ought to add Cheetos into the assortment.
What VC money won’t bankroll. How on earth does this scale? Is it just a pop-up shop for “brand awareness?”
It’s hard to imagine that this makes economic sense. In fact, come to think of it, I’m not sure how the ice cream truck makes economic sense but I remain Pavlovian in my response to the music even today. I think the only way to make this model work would be to cover the trucks with stickers, equip them with external speakers and spend a lot of time circling local parks during kids’ sporting events.
The hype about store-hailing services came in hot and then disappeared. Really, what’s the big difference between hailing a truck for ice cream or calling DoorDash or Uber Eats? The promise of deliveries in as little as two minutes isn’t necessary or realistic. I feel bad for kids who will never experience the excitement of running to the ice cream truck.
I fondly remember the ice cream van (sorry for UK terminology) coming round the roads where I lived as a child — “stop me and buy one” was another name for it. This is nothing new, just a different style. However, they only operate on sunny days and in very busy locations. I really cannot see how this can operate efficiently or profitably, not to mention the impact on the environment of yet another van driving around making very small deliveries.
Sounds to me like Mars needed a press release. I just don’t see this being a major success (or major failure). But it is a nice headline.
My first impression when I read this post was to yawn. To be a success, their margins better be tall and turn will have to be outrageous.
I actually think this is quite cute, though it’s not going to drive massive sales volume. The lesson in this, to me, is more about on-demand delivery and if there’s a future there. In Scandinavia, I believe it was Ahold Delhaize shared at ShopTalk last year that they have a sustainable business model where a truck makes stops daily with on-demand convenience items that can be scheduled. They found that the convenience items they chose to carry were so often needed, and quickly, that they could make a sustainable, on-demand delivery model out of it. I think that’s where this could potentially go bigger picture — with fewer novelty items and more demand predictability.
If I looked at this idea as a Shark Tank investor my comment would be, I pass; it’s not scalable. I think all of the investors would say exactly the same thing.
I see this as more a publicity play than a sustainable business model. If the underlying rationale for the business is that ice cream products might melt before the customer gets the ice cream home that’s a pretty soft foundation for a business relationship.
Great idea. Many consumers will order once to try the service. However, repeat orders depends upon how well the service actually works and how often consumers want ice cream, and how the product selection appeals over time. Sounds like a creative idea.
“Store hailing” is something I’ve always heard about — tho not under that exact name — but never actually seen (so I must have been born either in the wrong place or the wrong time) and I could never see how it was profitable, outside of a child-rich suburb (or an Our Gang-type crowded neighborhood). Perhaps we can see a cause-and-effect here: I’m afraid the answers are “no” and “none.”