A double celebration for Baskin Robbins

Baskin-Robbins (BR), the world’s most beloved ice cream brand, marks two significant milestones as it celebrates its first year in the Philippines and simultaneously 70 years since its birth in California in 1945. These major events inspired the launch of the BR 31 Smiles Project – a CSR campaign providing free cleft lip reconstructive surgery to 31 children in partnership with the renowned charitable foundation, Operation Smile.

“This is a very special celebration of 2 important anniversaries. We’d like to express our deepest thanks to our loyal customers for supporting the brand throughout its first year in the Philippines,” says Michael Dargani, president IceDream Inc., the company that exclusively operates Baskin Robbins in the Philippines. “In line with our commitment to serving fun and smiles for seven decades, Baskin-Robbins is truly proud to welcome the 31 beneficiaries of our BR 31 Smiles Project” added Dargani.

BR 31 Smiles Project is a campaign intended to bring back the smiles of children with cleft lip and cleft palate through free reconstructive surgery, funded by Baskin-Robbins Philippines. The number 31 is symbolic of the brand’s heritage as it is known for carrying 31 flavors of ice cream at any given time – one for every day of the month. The amount needed for the 31 surgeries was raised through various promotions at the store level as well as at special selling events.

One of the beneficiaries of the cleft lip surgery is Wivina ‘Vina’ Marie Maninang, age 5. Due to her cleft lip condition, Vina was unaccepted by other children in her community and was often bullied. Under the BR 31 Smiles Project, Vina was selected by Operation Smile to undergo free reconstructive surgery at Sta. Ana Hospital. Many have witnessed Vina’s touching story in the You tube video created by Baskin Robbins at the start of their campaign in June this year.


“Kitang-kita ko po ang malaking pagbabago sa aking anak na si Vina pagkatapos ng maoperahan sya,” shares Maritess Maninang, Vina’s mom. “Kung dati po na madalas syang umiyak sa akin kapag natutukso ng mga kalaro nya, ngayon po ay mas lumakas ang loob nya na harapin ang mga ito,” she adds.



Vina dreams of becoming a professional dancer someday. And now that she has been given a brand new smile, there is no stopping her from making this dream a reality.

“On behalf of Operation Smile, I would like to thank Baskin-Robbins for this wonderful project. Your ‘BR 31 Smiles Project’ has not only brought back the smiles of 31 children

Vina Marie Maninang

but also helped their families and restored the enthusiasm and happiness of these wonderful kids,” shares Anne Gonzales, vice chairman of Operation Smile Philippines.

Eliza Mendoza

Princess Zarina 

Prince Ravien Berden 

Jherome Sabio.

The BR 31 Smiles Project is a campaign that helped bring back the smiles of 31 children with cleft lip and cleft palate through free reconstructive surgery, funded by Baskin-Robbins Philippines.  Above are some of the beneficiaries of the project: Vina Marie Maninang, Eliza Mendoza, Princess Zarina Prince Ravien Berden and Jherome Sabio. 

And the happiness doesn’t stop there. Baskin-Robbins has just introduced a delicious new lineup of indulgent Cookie Sundaes, premium Baskin-Robbins ice cream paired with warm, chewy cookies and topped with sundae toppings. Starting October, guests can create indulgent sundaes customized to their liking by choosing from a selection of warm and chewy White Chunk Macadamia, Dark Chocolate Chunk and Double Fudge Cookies to serve with up to two of their favorite Baskin-Robbins ice cream flavors. The Warm Cookie Ice Cream Sundae can be topped with hot fudge, praline caramel sauce, candy pieces, cookie pieces, whipped cream and cherries.


Over the past 70 years, Baskin-Robbins has brought its famous 31 ice cream flavors to the world. While the brand started as a neighborhood ice cream shop in California in 1945, it now has more than 7,500 locations in nearly 50 countries worldwide.

Baskin-Robbins was founded by two ice cream enthusiasts and brothers-in-law who shared a dream to create an innovative ice cream shop that would be a neighborhood gathering place for families. Over 300 million people visit Baskin-Robbins each year to sample from more than 1,200 flavor creations available in its ice cream library. Baskin-Robbins offers guests around the world a wide range of hard scoop ice cream flavors, along with custom ice cream cakes, delicious frozen beverages, ice cream sundaes and take-home frozen treats.

For more information about Baskin-Robbins, log on to www.baskinrobbins.ph or check out their Facebook (facebook.com/baskinrobbinsph), Twitter and Instagram (baskinrobbinsph) accounts. Or visit Baskin-Robbins shops at the Central Square, Bonifacio Global City; Greenbelt 5 and Glorietta 5 in Makati; Fairview Terraces and Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.

Let us help Baskin-Robbins bring smiles to the lives of 31 children

Whenever I see a child suffered from a cleft lip and or cleft palate defects, I feel for the parents as much as for the kids. I wonder if the child is in pain whenever he/she eats.  I do pray that they have consulted a surgeon and that the reconstructive surgery is on its way.

Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that occur when a baby’s lip or mouth do not form properly during pregnancy. Together, these birth defects are commonly called “orofacial clefts”. These birth defects happen early during pregnancy. A baby can have a cleft lip, a cleft palate, or both a cleft lip and cleft palate.

Through the BR 31 Smiles Project, Baskin Robbins partners with Operation Smile Philippines. For every regular double scoop ice cream sold, Baskin-Robbins will be donating P31 to Operation Smile to provide free reconstructive surgery to the lives of 31 children with cleft lip/palate deformities.

“All over the world, Baskin-Robbins is known as the brand that brings smiles to customers through its delicious ice cream flavors. Now, we want to take this thrust a bit further by bringing back the smiles on the faces of children with facial deformities through the BR 31 Smiles Project,” said Michael Dargani, president of IceDream Inc.

The number 31 is used to represent Baskin-Robbins’ iconic 31 flavors, one flavor for every day of the month. In this case it also represents the children whose lives are about to change forever through the BR 31 Smiles Project.

“We are truly grateful to Baskin-Robbins for collaborating with our organization to help children with cleft lip and cleft palate deformities through the BR 31 Smiles Project. This campaign not only changes the lives of children but also helps our organization create public awareness about this congenital deformity and how it affects the individual who is born with it.” Expressed Gian Trebol, Executive Director of Operation Smile Philippines. 

Customers can also buy a limited edition campaign badge with frequency card for only P100 and get a free junior scoop of ice cream. The proceeds of the badge sales will go towards funding the BR 31 Smiles Project. The Baskin-Robbins frequency card entitles customers to a freebie on every 3rd visit. Another way to participate is by buying their special Smiley Cake – 20% of the cake sales will also go towards the campaign.

Bringing smiles to everyone, especially children, has been deeply rooted in Baskin-Robbins’ humble beginnings. The ice cream company was founded in 1945 in Glendale, California by Burton Baskin and Irvine Robbins, ice cream enthusiasts and brothers-in-law, whose passion inspired what is now the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty shops.

IceDream Inc. exclusively operates Baskin Robbins in the Philippines. During its first year of operation it has successfully opened 5 stores with a view to expand further and cater to ice cream enthusiasts all over the metropolis.

Operation Smile is an international children's medical charity conducting year-round nationwide missions to provide free surgeries to children with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities.

For more information about Baskin-Robbins 31 Smiles Project; visit www.baskinrobbins.ph or check out their Facebook (facebook.com/baskinrobbinsph), Twitter and Instagram (baskinrobbinsph) accounts. Visit Baskin-Robbins shops at the Central Square, Bonifacio Global City; Greenbelt 5, Makati; Ayala Fairview Terraces; Trinoma Mall in Quezon City and Glorietta 5, Makati.