How to Start an Ice cream Business
Are you planning to start an ice cream business? The ice cream business provides a lot of different ideas, which makes it diverse, profitable and exciting. If you are an ice cream lover, maybe at some point in your life you went to an ice cream store, observed this colorful environment with so many happy people and the different ice cream flavors and you thought: “I could do it!”
And why not? You will be your own boss and your ice cream will be loved by you and your entire community. In addition, the growing appreciation of ice cream has opened up new opportunities in the market. You can either independently develop a form of work, or take advantage of existing options.
When starting a new business, it is first of all important to choose the most convenient and suitable form of work. The ice cream business is no exception However, as in any business the work is not always easy.
So, let’s get to know all the pros and cons of opening an ice cream store to help you be successful in your business.
Read Also: How to Start a Catering Business
Pros and Cons
The biggest advantage of the ice cream business is that you can start small and expand as needed. So at the start, you don’t need to invest a lot of money, and you can go test the market to see if you can grow your business.
Perhaps the biggest drawback to having an ice cream store is that you have be conscious of the seasonality of the business. In some part of Nigeria, there are a lot of movement during the hot season, so you need to make your business extremely efficient and profitable in the hot season and keep it running lighter and more efficient in the cold season.
Market challenge
One of the biggest challenge in the ice cream business is Innovation, the ability to create something different from the normal. Competition in the ice cream market is very fierce, especially since it is not just a type of establishment. Therefore, your goal is to offer something different, which encourages your customers to choose you over other competitors. You can differentiate your ice cream business by ensuring that you have a committed and creative team, a cold-site ice cream store that supplies coffees and chocolates in cold seasons. It can be diversification of flavors, so that your customers always comes back for more. However, more than that, the market also demands quality in terms of nutritional value. People are willing to pay more for a better product.
How to Start an Ice Cream Business
If you desire to start you own ice cream business, you need to take the following steps.
Market Research
The best way to learn something is to get started and do it, and that’s it for the ice cream industry!
If you really want to understand the ice cream industry, you need to do these things:
- Find out more than you already knew.
- Go to work in an ice cream shop to get an idea.
- Be ready to talk to customers! What do they like? What would they want improved?
- Determine what equipment you will need (and how much it will cost)!
Everything you do here is market research, so the more you do, the better. In the end, it will all come down to understanding the ice cream industry, which will help you create a solid plan.
Study your Competitors
You will need to do a research on other ice cream business in your area. Get to know your competition to see what you are facing and set higher standards. The more ice cream business there are in your area, the more you will need to stand out. Try to be different from what’s already happening in your area. If you’re like everyone else, no customer will be motivated to walk through the door of your ice cream store.
This is required so you will be able to assess whether the market is large enough to welcome a new entrant (your ice cream business). You will be able to identify interesting locations. Also, you will know which concepts can work depending on the characteristics of the population and what your competitors offer.
Read Also: How to Start Frozen Food Business
Ideal location
Choosing a location for your ice cream store depends on your business model. For instance, if you want to have an ice cream truck, you can just walk around where there are quite a large number of people, especially children.
If you are opening a store, make sure you are in an area with good traffic, high visibility, lots of light and easy access to get in and out of the parking lot and store.
However, remember that you need a location that fits your budget.
If you’re not sure what to look for, identify a successful ice cream merchant and analyze what makes their location so great. Operating an ice cream business is a lot of work. You can make your work easier by choosing a place that attracts customers.
Marketing Plan
In order to acquire and retain the customers of your ice cream store, you will need to develop a marketing plan. Without customers, it doesn’t matter how great your ice cream is, you may not make sales. Customers are the most important thing any business needs to be successful. So how do you promote your concept? Well, there is the old method and the modern technology. You must be willing to do both!
First, you can erect a visible signage so that people can easily see your store while passing by. Of course, you should use attractive and clean photos of your offers so that people know what to expect. Stand on the sidewalk and distribute flyers to passers-by. Let people know that you have opened a store and that it is open. Do the same at local sporting events and in parks. Take advantage of social media and digital marketing. When it comes to digital marketing, be sure to pay attention to your website.
Publish your menu online, as well as daily and weekly schedules. Another great way is to create a Facebook page for your store and be sure to respond quickly to inquiries and messages sent to them. By doing this, you will give them a clue about the type of customer service in your store. In addition, take advantage of Facebook and Google Adwords ads to be present locally in searches. And when the hot season arrives, if your budget allows, you can always explore radio and television commercials! But think about it in advance and have an action plan for your marketing and promotions!
Business Plan
Once all of the previous steps have been completed, you can then embark on the realization of the business plan, an essential document for any business creation.
In fact, the business plan is a kind of summary of your professional project which includes market research, commercial positioning, choice of location, legal status, and of course the financial budget.
Simply put, an ice cream business plan has two parts:
- A written part used to present the project and highlight its strengths
- A quantified part, which is the financial budget, used to highlight the need for financing and the profitability potential of your business
This document will allow you to further explore your project and check its financial feasibility. It is also through this business plan that you will communicate to the banks when seeking financing.
Suffice to say that a business plan must be easy and pleasant to read, give the key information of your professional project, and give enough details without drowning the reader.
Read Also: How to Start a Supermarket or Grocery Store
Setting Up
You now have a store and its opening is getting closer. You must therefore obtain all the necessary elements. Make an appointment with your suppliers and partners and ask them for references for ice boxes, freezers or other items you need. Ask other contractors to tell you who designed their stores to get the right decor for yours. Otherwise, consider visiting other stores and take notes. See what you like, put it in writing and use these items for your own store.
Also buy your stock of ice cream. Ask several suppliers and compare prices and get a wide variety of flavors to meet the different tastes of your customers. You may also need toppings, cups and jars, soda glasses and the like. You will also need to find the right suppliers for these ingredients and supplies.
Hire Employees
As with any business, you can’t do it all by yourself. You will either be in such a rush that you will make mistakes, or you will take so long that the customers will leave. Either way, your service, feedback and customer loyalty will all suffer. Hiring reliable and enthusiastic employees will help ensure the success of your ice cream business.
Create a system of procedures for how to do everything right. From the weight of a scoop of ice cream, to the duration of mixing a milkshake, to the amount of each filling on an ice cream cone. This ensures consistency so that customers always have the same great experience! You have to make sure you have great employees and there is a way to do it. First, determine the character traits you are looking for. Then decide how many employees you need and where to find them.
Finally, determine what your interview process should look like, how you will train them and how you will schedule them. By developing a staffing plan in advance, you will save a lot of time and effort.
Read Also: How to Set Employee Compensation
Join an Ice Cream Community
This gives you a huge boost in running your business because you will be surrounded by a support group who wants to see you succeed. You will meet other ice cream retailers and sometimes also suppliers of cones, toppings, nuts, flavorings and equipment. Also join a private community to share tips & support each other.
Conclusion
Before you start an ice cream business, you should understand that opening (and managing) an ice cream business is a lot of work, but if you do it right, it’s not only rewarding, it’s a lot of fun. Plus, you become your own boss and light up people’s lives as part of a daily business!
Either way, we hope you take advantage of this comprehensive guide.