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Almost
everyone enjoys a scoop of
ice cream every once in a while. In fact, we all love ice cream so much
that in
the year 2002, the
No
one is very sure of the origins
of ice cream, but it was once, like gelato, considered a rich man’s
treat.
Originally started as flavored ice in
Why ice
cream?
The nice profit margin is what
really makes ice cream worthwhile. Siler Chapman, owner of Ice Cream
and Pizza
Works, sells everything from extra scoops of ice cream and toppings to
sundaes
and banana splits at his South Carolina-based pizzeria. He sells one
scoop of
ice cream for $1.75. From an $18 tub of ice cream (three gallons), he
gets
about 60 scoops. “On an average day, we sell around $300 a day in ice
cream,” Siler
told me. “If you have the room to offer ice cream, it’s a great bonus
to the
business. Around 6 to 10 percent of our business buys just ice cream.
We also
have some people come in to get nothing but ice cream, but end up
getting a
pizza to go with it.”
Shelf life
According to Michael, the shelf life
for ice cream varies from producer to producer. “It also depends on how
the ice
cream itself has been treated,” Michael says. “The way the ice cream is
treated
from the manufacturer to the distributor to the consumer affects the
shelf
life. Ice cream is very airy in composition and if it melts even a
little bit,
it loses that airiness and the freshness doesn’t last as long.” In
order to
ensure the longest shelf life possible, the ice cream should be kept
around 10˚
below freezing.
Malcolm
Stogo, founder of the Ice
Cream University, warned me that to ensure the freshness and quality of
your
ice cream, it shouldn’t be stored in the same freezer with your pizza
ingredients. “If you put it in the same freezer, your ice cream could
pick up
the smells and tastes of your pizza ingredients,” Malcolm told me. “If
your
display freezer keeps it cold enough, you can keep it there and not
have to
move anything at night.”
Making vs.
Buying
Starting out in ice cream, you have
the option of making your own as opposed to buying it ready-made.
Malcolm told
me that the pros and cons of the two should be weighed before the
decision is
made. “The biggest one is quality,” Malcolm told me. “Something to
consider if
you’re making your own is that you have your own brand and you’re not
competing
directly against any other brand.” The cost is a rather large jump,
however.
The set up costs for your own ice cream can range between $25,000 and
$40,000,
which includes the cost of the equipment, ingredients and anything else
that
you might need. The costs for ready-made ice cream include a freezer (a
small
one runs around $800 and holds eight tubs of ice cream) and whatever
you pay
for your ice cream and toppings.
If
you decide to make your own, you need to
look into the laws in your state about selling ice cream or dairy
products. You
also need to come up with recipes for your ice cream. Probably the
easiest way
to handle this is to take a class or a seminar, like what the Ice Cream
University
offers, that would tell you the basics for making and selling ice
cream. With
bought ice cream, you would probably have a set price, whereas the cost
of
making your own all depends on the quality of your ice cream and
ingredients.
Another
thing to consider is other
ice cream-related products, such as milk shakes, malts, smoothies and
others.
“Ice cream, flavored ices and Italian desserts have always gone well
with
pizza,” Malcolm told me. “A milk shake would relate well with your
pizza,
besides the traditional hand dipped ice cream. Take-out is messy, but
as long
as you have a sit-down area in your restaurant, milk shakes shouldn’t
be too
much of a problem to offer.” Commercial
milk shake makers start around $300 for a new one and can get as high
as
$1,000.
Marketing
But how do
you go about marketing ice cream? The first thing to consider is how
you
display your ice cream. “People eat with their eyes,” Michael told me.
“And
what’s appealing about ice cream is the color and texture of the ice
cream.
People like to see the ice cream they’re going eat, even if there’s not
much
left.” During the day, Siler displays his ice cream in a display case
set at 7˚
below freezing. At night, he stores them in his freezer.
He
markets his ice cream by combining it with his pizza. He donates
several pizzas to local sports teams for fundraising with the
understanding
that he can bring in his portable ice cream cart and sell ice cream on
the day
of the event. The profit margin on the ice cream is high enough that it
more
than makes up for the cost of the pizzas he gave away. “We also upsell
a lot,”
Siler told me. “If someone orders a scoop of ice cream, my employees
immediately ask if they want a second scoop or a waffle cone. It
doesn’t cost
us but a few cents to put nuts, candy or sprinkles on the ice cream,
but it
costs my customers 50 cents.”
What to get
and how often
Siler buys 13 flavors and everything
he needs to go with them from Hershey’s. “They had the best price and
the best
service,” Siler told me. “The cart that I use to sell the ice cream out
of the
store belongs to them, but they’re really good about getting it to me
whenever
I tell them I need it.” Once a week he gets a shipment of 16 tubs of
ice cream
from Hershey’s. “The most popular flavors that I have are, by far, the
cotton
candy and cookies-and-cream flavors,” Siler told me. “The kids just
love
those.”
Ice
cream is separated into many different
categories based on the fat content. The higher the fat content, the
better the
ice cream. For example, regular ice cream with the normal amount of fat
is
usually a name brand. If you add things to it (like candy), making it a
specialty ice cream, it becomes a premium or a super premium ice cream.
You can
also get a variety of light, low fat, fat-free, reduced fat, no-fat and
low-carb options.
Getting
started
Getting started with ice cream can
be a little bit tricky. Depending on what you want to do, you’ll need
to buy
several things. Whether you decide to make your own or sell ready-made
ice
cream, you’ll need a display case for both your ice cream and your
toppings. If
you make your own ice cream, you’ll need a batch freezer, display
freezer and a
storage freezer and all of the desired ingredients. You’ll also need a
little
bit of time and experimentation to come up with your own recipe for ice
cream.
The price of ready-made ice cream depends on your supplier, but
Hershey’s ice
cream runs around $18 a tub. Also, you should check into your state’s
laws.
Each state has different laws regarding the quality, sale and taxing of
ice
cream. For example, the state of
Depending on how you market it, ice cream
can be a simple addition to your menu or a source of income, all on its
own.
The ice cream could be used to get people in the door or as an add-on
to your
already existing menu as a dessert option. If treated right, ice cream
has a
shelf life much longer than most other desserts. For a relatively
inexpensive
price, you can add something simple to your menu that almost everyone
enjoys.