melrose avenue in los angeles california type wholly owned subsidiary industry food and beverage founded 1945 ; 71 years ago 1945 glendale california u.s. founder burt baskin irv robbins headquarters 130 royall street canton massachusetts united states area served worldwide key people nigel travis chairman and ceo dunkin brands 1 products ice cream frozen beverages ice cream cakes frozen treats parent dunkin brands website baskinrobbins.com baskin robbins is the world s largest chain of ice cream specialty shops and is based in canton massachusetts . 2 it was founded in 1945 by burt baskin and irv robbins in glendale california . the company is known for its 31 flavors slogan with the idea that a customer could have a different flavor every day of any month . the slogan came from the carson roberts advertising agency which later merged into ogilvy & mather in 1953 . baskin and robbins believed that people should be able to sample flavors until they found one they wanted to buy hence their famous small pink spoons . the company has introduced more than 1 000 flavors since 1945 . 2 contents 1 history 2 international 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit baskin robbins was founded in 1945 by brothers in law burt baskin and irv robbins from the merging of their respective ice cream parlors in glendale california . it claims to be the world s largest chain of ice cream specialty stores 3 with 7 300 locations including nearly 2 500 shops in the united states and over 4 800 located internationally as of december 28 2013 . 4 baskin robbins sells ice cream in nearly 50 countries . the company has been headquartered in canton massachusetts since 2004 after moving from randolph massachusetts . 5 the baskin robbins ice cream parlors started as separate ventures of burt baskin and irv robbins who owned burton s ice cream shop opened in 1945 and snowbird ice cream opened in 1946 respectively . 2 snowbird ice cream offered 21 flavors a novel concept at that time . when the separate companies merged in 1953 the number of flavors was expanded to 31 flavors . 2 6 by 1948 burt and irv had opened six stores . the first franchise covering the sale of ice cream was executed may 20 1948 for the store at 1130 south adams in glendale store 1 . in 1949 the company s production facility opened in burbank . burt and irv made the decision to sell the stores to the managers . in 1953 baskin robbins hired carson roberts advertising who recommended adoption of the number 31 as well as the pink cherry and brown chocolate polka dots and typeface that were reminiscent of the circus . the first store that adopted the new 31 look was 804 north glendale ave. in glendale california in march 1953 . between 1949 and 1962 the corporate firm was huntington ice cream company . the name succeeded the baskin robbins partnership and was eventually changed back to baskin robbins inc. on november 26 1962 . in the 1970s the chain went international opening stores in japan saudi arabia south korea and australia . 7 baskin robbins also was the first to introduce ice cream cakes to the public . 6 baskin robbins often still incorporates 31 in its promotions despite offering more flavors . for example in malaysia this includes giving 31 % off their hand packed ice cream on the 31st of a month which invariably causes queues at their outlets . a 1967 baskin robbins store in portland oregon that retains its original look a design typical of the chain s outlets in the 1960s baskin robbins was owned by its founders until it was acquired in 1967 just prior to burt baskin s death by the united brands company united fruit . in 1972 the company went public for the first time in its history when united brands sold 17 % in an ipo . a year later british food company j. lyons and co. purchased baskin robbins from united brands and all public stock . j. lyons then merged with allied breweries becoming allied lyons in 1978 . allied lyons then merged with pedro domecq s.a. in 1994 becoming allied domecq . baskin robbins and dunkin donuts comprise dunkin brands inc. dunkin brands was part of allied domecq until its purchase in 2006 by a group of private equity firms bain capital thomas lee and the carlyle group . 8 in august 2012 dunkin brands became completely independent of the private equity firms . 9 in 2008 baskin robbins launched its first full menu of better for you frozen treats called bright choices and removed all artificial trans fats from its ice cream . bright choices provides a variety of options for guests looking for a lighter treat . 10 irv robbins died at eisenhower medical center in rancho mirage california on may 5 2008 at age 90 . 11 the franchise model created by burt and irv decades ago is still used by baskin robbins today . baskin robbins is nearly 100 % franchised with each owner holding a stake in the business success while product development and merchandising are handled at dunkin brands headquarters in canton massachusetts . 3 while baskin robbins struggled in the early years of the 2000s to retain business with competitors such as frozen yogurt shops 2013 saw a turnaround in the company s fortunes with four new u.s. stores opened . an additional five to ten shops were planned to open in 2014 12 however baskin robbins ultimately surpassed that goal with a grand total of 17 net new openings throughout 2014 13 and continued growth of the brand with 15 new stores opened in 2015 . many new baskin robbins shops are co branded with dunkin donuts including california s first co branded location of the two in san diego which opened in march 2014 . in 2014 baskin robbins also began selling its ice cream for the first time in supermarkets nationwide . 14 international edit baskin robbins outlet at circular quay sydney australia baskin robbins has more than 7 300 shop locations in nearly 50 countries outside the u.s. including locations in armenia aruba australia azerbaijan bahrain bangladesh canada china colombia cura ao denmark dominican republic ecuador egypt georgia honduras india indonesia ireland japan kazakhstan kuwait latvia lebanon malaysia maldives mauritius mexico nepal oman panama the philippines portugal puerto rico qatar russia saudi arabia singapore south korea spain sri lanka st. maarten taiwan thailand ukraine united arab emirates the united kingdom vietnam and yemen . baskin robbins international locations feature flavors of ice cream popular to the tastes of each country such as red bean green tea litchi gold black currant cantaloupe and coconut grove . 15 see also edit dunkin brands references edit dunkin brands people . dunkin brands . retrieved january 27 2013 . a b c d our history . baskin robbins web site . accessed 25 feb. 2013 . a b about baskin robbins . dnkn 2013.12.28 10k . staff 2013 . history dunkin brands . dunkin brands . retrieved 20 march 2013 . a b baskin robbins 31 original flavors . la times . 2013 . accessed 25 feb. 2013 . baskin robbins japan celebrates the opening of its 1 000th store . this page http www.dunkinbrands.com aboutus history.html at the dunkin brands site confirms the baskin robbins founding date the j. lyons purchase and date the allied breweries merger and date and the pedro domecq merger and date . quotes 1946 baskin robbins is founded by burt baskins and irv robbins . ; 1973 london based j. lyons & co. ltd. purchased baskin robbins . ; 1978 j. lyons is purchased by allied breweries creating allied lyons . ; 1994 allied lyons partners with pedro domecq the leading spirits marketer in spain and mexico to form allied domecq . http www.dunkinbrands.com . retrieved september 4 2012 . missing or empty title help baskin robbins intros bright choices treats . co founder of baskin robbins ice cream stores dies at 90 . usa today . ap . may 6 2008 . archived from the original on september 4 2012 . retrieved september 4 2012 . kate taylor 24 february 2014 . how baskin robbins is trying not to disappear . entrepreneur . dunkin brands group inc. 12 january 2015 . dunkin brands announces 2014 domestic restaurant growth . baskin robbins packaged ice cream and ice cream bars now available in grocers freezers across the country press release . may 20 2014 . baskin robbins international . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to baskin robbins . baskin robbins official website v t e food chains in the united kingdom casual dining angus steakhouse ask beefeater grill bella italia brewers fayre byron hamburgers caf rouge carluccio s chiquito damon s ed s easy diner frankie & benny s giraffe gourmet burger kitchen harry ramsden s harvester hungry horse la tasca little chef loch fyne restaurants nando s ok diner pizza hut pizzaexpress prezzo strada table table taybarns t.g.i. friday s toby carvery tony roma s wagamama wahaca wildwood kitchen zizzi fast food barburrito burger king chicken cottage chipotle mexican grill dixy chicken domino s pizza five guys kfc mcdonald s morley s papa john s pizza sam s chicken sbarro southern fried chicken subway taco bell tops pizza tortilla wasabi wimpy yo sushi baked goods auntie anne s cinnabon cooplands ditsch dunkin donuts eat greggs krispy kreme millie s cookies patisserie valerie pret a manger sayers spudulike upper crust the west cornwall pasty company coffee shops and tea rooms amt coffee betty s caff nero caff ritazza coffee 1 coffee republic costa coffee harris hoole starbucks dairy baskin robbins ben & jerry s kaspa s shakeaway pub chains all bar one chef & brewer o neill s scream pubs slug and lettuce walkabout wetherspoons yates s v t e fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the united states chicken chains coffeehouse chains pizza chains hamburgers a & w back yard big boy burger king carl s jr. checkers rally s cook out fatburger five guys freddy s fuddruckers the habit hardee s in n out jack in the box johnny rockets krystal mcdonald s roy rogers shake shack smashburger sonic steak n shake wayback wendy s whataburger white castle asian l & l hawaiian barbecue manchu wok panda express pei wei asian diner pick up stix sarku baked goods au bon pain auntie anne s bruegger s cinnabon corner bakery cafe dunkin donuts einstein bros. great american cookies honey dew donuts krispy kreme mrs. fields nestl toll house panera bread pretzelmaker pretzel time shipley do nuts tim hortons t.j. cinnamons wetzel s winchell s beverages argo tea biggby coffee caribou coffee bean & tea leaf coffee beanery dunn bros gloria jean s jamba juice juice it up orange julius peet s planet smoothie robeks seattle s best coffee smoothie king starbucks teavana tropical smoothie cafe tully s frozen desserts baskin robbins ben & jerry s braum s bruster s carvel cold stone culver s dairy queen dippin dots fosters freeze friendly s golden spoon graeter s h agen dazs handel s kiwi yogurt maggiemoo s marble slab menchie s pinkberry red mango rita s sweet frog tastee freez tcby tropical sno tutti frutti yogen fr z yogurtland hot dogs hot dog on a stick nathan s famous portillo s wienerschnitzel mexican style tex mex baja fresh cafe rio chipotle del taco el pollo loco freebirds green red burrito moe s pancheros qdoba rubio s taco bell taco bueno taco cabana taco del mar taco john s taco mayo taco time wahoo s fish taco noodles fazoli s noodles & company sandwiches arby s atlanta bread blimpie capriotti s charley s cos cousins d angelo daphne s erbert & gerbert s firehouse subs great wraps jason s jerry