An ice cream shop is a seasonal business with its demand drastically decreasing during winter and rainy seasons. As a business owner, you should be aware of this challenge during the planning phases of your ice cream shop. In this article, we will discuss how to change this challenge into an opportunity to generate income, maximize sales, and leave a positive impression on your customers by being a one-stop snack shop for all reasons and seasons.
Ten things to sell in your ice cream shop include cookies, crepes, chocolates, pizza, beverages, fries, cakes and pastries, hotdogs, sugar-free food alternatives, and dairy-free food items.
Accommodating your customers’ needs from different age groups, health conditions, preferences, and the changing season will help your business stand out. Make your business irresistible by offering everything your customers might need. Give them every reason to explore your shop.
1. Cookies
Not everyone loves sprinkles and fruit toppings on their ice cream. Sell some great-tasting cookies to go along with their ice cream. They can stick them on top of their ice cream, make an ice cream sandwich, eat it along with their ice cream or take it home.
- Crepes
Use some creativity to stand out from the competition. Adding crepes to the menu is a versatile move to boost your ice cream shop. You can add fruit fillings or use them as a yummy alternative to the usual cone. You may also add sprinkles, chocolates, or fruits on top.
- Chocolates
According to a survey, chocolate is the most popular ice cream flavor. So why not add this to the things you sell in your cream shop?
Chocolate is a perfect topping for almost all ice cream flavors. It offers a balance of sweetness and a hint of bitterness making every bite heavenly and delicious. Plus, you may also add a variety of chocolate bars and candies so chocolate lovers can grab some for take home.
- Pizza
Turn your ice cream shop into a one-stop shop where customers can enjoy both popular foods without leaving your shop. It saves them time from going to a different pizza chain. The meaty and cheesy pizza will even out the sweetness of ice cream.
Your patrons can either order a pizza and grab a serving of ice cream as dessert or eat either of the two as a stand-alone snack. Isn’t that a win-win?
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5. Beverages
Beverages are one of the most profitable products in an ice cream shop. Being a creative business owner, try to offer milkshakes, smoothies, lemonades, fruit juices, bottled water, and sodas for easy grab-and-go customers.
It’s also a smart move to offer hot beverages such as coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to accommodate a wider market. Plus, hot beverages will boost your sales during colder seasons.
You may also make a major outlay on your equipment by adding a soda fountain complete with different syrups and sundaes to choose from.
- Fries
If you want to stand out from your competition, go all out and serve fries. It’s everyone’s favorite and will help you win the hearts of kids and the younger population. The slight saltiness of the fries balances the overpowering sweetness of ice cream. And your customers can have fries alone and a drink from your wide selection of beverages.
- Cakes and Pastries
You can never predict people’s cravings. Adding cakes and pastries to your product line will not only gather more foot traffic from pastry lovers but will also help boost your ice cream sales. People who originally come to your shop to buy cake or pastry may find your ice cream worth a try and might even end up buying a cup or cone.
- Hotdogs
Who doesn’t love hotdogs? Admit it or not, both kids and adults love to eat hotdogs. Its meaty, juicy, and its flavorful taste is irresistible.
Adding hotdogs to your menu is a smart move to further widen your target market. Your customers can have hotdogs, a shake, and a cup of ice cream as dessert. See? It helps your business generate more sales without adding major equipment.
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9. Sugar-free or low-sugar food alternatives
As an entrepreneur, you need to think out of the box and consider all possible factors that may hinder your business growth. In an ice cream shop business, you need to assess the limitations and find ways to overcome them.
The major drawback of sweet food products is their high sugar content which is dangerous to diabetic patients and unsuitable to people who strictly monitor their diet. The perfect solution is to accommodate their needs by offering sugar-free or low-sugar food alternatives.
For ice creams, you can sell sugar-free or low-sugar ice cream. For smoothies, shakes, and other beverages, you may use organic sweeteners such as stevia.
- Dairy-free food items for lactose-intolerant patrons
Ice cream contains milk which is bad news to people with lactose intolerance. How are you going to overcome this problem?
Go the extra mile and meet your potential customers halfway. Offer dairy-free food alternatives especially made for your lactose-intolerant customers. You can offer special non-dairy ice cream and omit milk from their shakes and smoothies. This way, they will feel welcome and special while widening your market. The bigger the market, the higher the sales.
In seasonal businesses like ice cream shops, the rule of thumb is to peak and generate profits during the warmer months to compensate for the potential losses during the colder months. Well, this is a good strategy, but the better approach is to be versatile. Be a one-stop foodie destination instead of being stuck as an ice cream shop alone.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Adding a variety of food items to your ice cream shop helps you generate foot traffic and added sales. For instance, pastries and cakes complement the mouthwatering flavors of ice cream. Offer indoor and alfresco dining to capture the passersby’s attention. It will also serve as a free marketing strategy for you.
You can sell hot and cold coffee in your ice cream shop. This way, you get to accommodate more customers both coffee and ice cream lovers. Plus, the coffee will survive your business during colder seasons.
To learn more on how to start your own ice cream/gelato business check out my startup documents here
This blog post is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney.
Hi! I am Shawn and I am a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online ice cream/gelato business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a ice cream/gelato business owner, I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Ice Cream Business Boss: I want to help ice cream and gelato business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.