Client Name

HeyDay

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Amer Iqbal Awan

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

Our ELP aligns with the thought leadership area of Entrepreneurship and Innovation because it involved working directly with a growing entrepreneurial venture and addressing the practical challenges associated with scaling a business. Throughout the project, we explored innovative approaches such as the HeyDay Express kiosk model, improvements to digital ordering systems, and new strategies for customer acquisition and engagement. We also gained first-hand exposure to the realities of entrepreneurial decision-making, particularly how founder vision and risk appetite influence strategic choices. The experience allowed us to move beyond theoretical concepts and understand how innovation is implemented, adapted, and sometimes constrained within a real business environment.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Aligned SDGs Justification

Our ELP aligns with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure as it focused on helping a local business strengthen both its digital and operational capabilities to support sustainable growth. The project involved evaluating and improving HeyDay's digital infrastructure through website audits, chatbot testing, and recommendations for better data tracking and user experience. It also explored innovative business solutions, such as the HeyDay Express kiosk model, aimed at creating scalable and efficient retail formats. Through these initiatives, the project contributed to promoting innovation and enhancing the infrastructure needed for a growing business to operate more effectively in a competitive market.

NDA

No

Abstract

Project Ignite 360 is an Experiential Learning Project (ELP) that develops a full 360-degree strategy in marketing and operations to support HeyDay, a well-established premium dessert brand, in navigating its expansion roadmap for 2026. In a very crowded and fast-changing food and beverage industry, HeyDay needed a formalized blueprint to move from organic, founder-driven growth to a scalable enterprise. The main goals for this consulting work were to understand the current market position of the brand, to find the key marketing and operational constraints and bottlenecks, both online and offline, and to deliver workable operational solutions. The deliverables included a full Gen Z engagement playbook to update the marketing strategy, the development of a go-to-market Kiosk Playbook to support the launch of the brand's small-footprint "Express" sub-brand, and the development of a user acquisition framework that encourages adoption of the brand's own digital delivery app to avoid dependence on third-party user acquisition aggregators.

The project used a mixed method research design, which moved from theoretical diagnostics to a very active operational implementation, to accomplish these goals. The survey method employed for the primary quantitative data was a digitally distributed Consumer Perception Survey which was given to a purposive sample of university students to assess brand awareness and digital conversion. At the same time, a thorough technical and physical audit was carried out. This encompassed a User Experience (UX) and backend audit of the brand's proprietary website hosted by Blink and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) of the automated WhatsApp delivery chatbot. Physical data collection comprised on-site traffic monitoring at the Aga Khan Pakistan State Oil (PSO) petrol pump to determine the viability of the Express kiosk model and qualitative product benchmarking at Dolmen Mall to assess HeyDay's product consistency against immediate competitors. The methodology was further extended to collaborative oversight following the mid-project recruitment of the 360-degree marketing agency, ARE Ventures, including direct involvement in scriptwriting and on-camera execution of Gen Z-oriented content.

The diagnostics revealed a significant gap between top-of-funnel marketing performance and bottom-of-funnel conversion. Website audits identified pricing discrepancies and taxation errors that contributed to cart abandonment, while UAT of the WhatsApp chatbot exposed geofencing failures and inventory communication gaps. The Express kiosk model was validated through field audits, and B2B negotiations secured viable expansion opportunities, including potential partnerships with Vibe Cafe and Shop Stop. Based on these findings, the project recommended integrating Meta Pixel for improved conversion tracking, deploying a phased kiosk pilot, standardizing quality control protocols, and leveraging curated student ambassadors for micro-influencer campaigns.

Keywords: Premium Dessert Industry, Gen Z Engagement, Digital Infrastructure, Conversion Funnel Optimization, Kiosk Retail Model, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Entrepreneurship and Innovation, B2B Negotiations, Brand Awareness, Omnichannel Marketing, Strategic Consulting, User-Generated Content (UGC).

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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