dipndip is synonymous with smiles. How did the journey of turning dessert into a popular business venture begin?
dipndip was created by two friends, Firas Daker and Amer Haffar, who had the passion to make high quality chocolate desserts that were so unique and fun, that people’s faces lit up with excitement. With a strong entrepreneurial spirit, they opened a small kiosk that was almost instantaneously a hit. They then took the overwhelming success of their small kiosk to the next level with dine-in cafes. Two years later, we were approached by several franchisees who loved the concept and wanted to start dipndip in their own countries, which launched the expansion of our brand globally. Today dipndip has more than 65 cafes in over 14 countries, and that’s just the beginning.
What are the brand values of dipndip, your mission and goals?
Our philosophy is simple. You smile, we smile. We want to spread smiles globally and continue to create products that are truly unique. We strive to ensure that every customer experience
Our philosophy is simple.
You smile, we smile
is exceptional and that everyone who visits our cafés enjoys themselves. We love the fact that people leave our café with a smile on their faces.
As the culinary world evolves and the competition grows, how has dipndip maintained its stance, and what strategies have been and will be involved in making it into a global brand?
We believe that to thrive in any market, our brand must continue to evolve and have a strong differentiator from competitors, by continuously offering new items, improving our service and creating closer relationships with our customers. Our global strategy follows the same formula of understanding the uniqueness of each local market, and offering the products and services that our customers demand. There is no magic formula. It is very simple to understand but very hard to execute.
How has the on boarding of specialists enabled dipndip to envision a franchising goal?
One key thing we make sure of when we hire, is that we pick the crème de la crème. We look for exceptionally creative, unconventional thinkers that can offer a unique perspective when it comes to our business. Our specialists and in-house staff are all committed to our global vision and work hard as a team to accelerate our growth and build dipndip into the brand that it is today.
Who are the key players behind the vision of dipndip?
The founders, Firas Daker and Amer Haffar had the initial vision. Today, the executive team, supported by the Board of Directors, drives this vision forward. Companies don’t succeed only because they have strong vision. You always need a very strong execution team.
Behind the decadence of chocolate there is an intelligent corporate team that makes dipndip the brand it is, could you elaborate on the roles of the key players?
Yes, it does all start with chocolate and our desserts, so let me tell you a bit about our Corporate Executive Chef Kira Desmon. Kira is a well-known pastry chef with over 12 years of experience in the culinary industry. She is mostly recognized for her elegant and colorful unique dessert creations, forming that perfect finish to any meal. Her extensive skills in pastry making has allowed her to work for prominent restaurants such as Mission Hill Family Estate and Mango Shiva. She has now taken her passion for dessert making and infiltrated her skills into the dipndip kitchen where she creates our unique, trendsetting dishes.
Could you give an overview of the background of the team of specialists who are going to take dipndip to the heights of higher success
Our team is exceptionally diverse in terms of educational, professional and national backgrounds, and we are very proud of that. Some of our team members are graduates from Harvard University, American University of Beirut, American University in Washington DC, in business and marketing, graphic design, law, and philosophy, and most of them worked for some of the top companies in food & beverage, finance and strategy. Our specialists come from North America, Europe and the Middle East, and soon we will be adding new team members from Asia. We have recently built up an exceptionally strong team of specialists that focuses on customer experience and innovation.
What are the expectations of the leaders and executives of dipndip from the global expansion of the brand?
To become the undisputed number one chocolate café globally and to keep our customers smiling every day!
Will dipndip retain its brand value and what new features are going to be integrated to attract a wider audience?
Innovation across our company is what we live by. We are continuously innovating our offering and seeking new and exciting ways to engage with our customers. Furthermore, we are currently working on two new platforms that will attract more customers to our cafes and generate stronger customer loyalty. So stay tuned
