11 Small Ice Cream Shop Ideas

Aiming to be successful as a new, small ice cream shop in the ice cream industry is quite an endeavor. You’ll have to go through a lot of obstacles like finding customers, increasing brand awareness, marketing, and financial planning.  

It will be a tough ride. So tough it can make you run out of ideas to help your small business stand out. Fortunately, I’m here to share some ideas to help your small ice cream shop. So, read on. 

Here are 11 ideas for a small ice cream shop: 

1. Be A One-Stop Shop
2. Make On-the-Go Treats
3. Serve a Lot of Soft Serve 
4. Make Artisanal Ice Cream 
5. Offer a Diverse Set of Flavors
6. Excellent Value for Money
7. Ice Cream Catering Service
8. Cozy and Attractive Atmosphere
9. Viral Marketing Campaign
10. Open a Pick-Up Window 
11. Attractive Decoration and Presentation

Be A One-Stop Shop

Making your small ice cream an outstanding one-stop shop is a good idea. It can help your shop increase sales and foot traffic. So, why limit your ice cream shop to just sweet and icy delectables?

An example of a successful one-stop shop is 7-11. According to their financial report, its revenue increased from $69.15 billion in 2021 to $86.73 billion in 2022.  This goes to show how profitable a one-stop shop is.

You don’t have to worry if your ice cream shop has a small space. You are not required to sell everything. Simply select ice cream-related products such as cakes, pastries, drinks, and souvenirs.

You can even sell some ice cream ingredients. That way, your small ice cream shop won’t be so small anymore. It will also help distinguish your ice cream store from the competition.

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Make On-the-Go Treats

You can consider offering on-the-go treats if your ice cream only has limited dining space. This way, you can increase sales without worrying about overcrowding in such a small store.

For inspiration, you can check these awesome on-the-go delectables:

• Gelato-filled Donuts from Gelatissimo 

• Ice Cream Sandwiches 
• Milkshakes
• Popsicles 
• Ice Cream Burritos from Ben & Jerry’s 

Serve a Lot of Soft Serve

Serving soft serve is also a good way to help your small ice cream business. They can also be considered on-the-go treats. 

Soft serve is popular for its unique and irresistibly soft and creamy swirls. It’s actually known as American Ice Cream in some parts of Europe. So, you can take advantage of its popularity to help your small business.

To give you an idea, you can serve soft serve on cups instead of cones. This way, consumers will enjoy their favorite soft serve as they go. It is also a great way to increase brand awareness. For example, the cup of your soft serve can have your brand’s logo on it. 

You can check out these awesome soft serve-on-cup brands:

• Milk Bar
• Burger King
• Soft Swerve 

But if you want to sell soft serve on traditional cones, that’s totally fine. Just don’t forget to add soft serve to your menu. It can help you join the big leagues of soft serve like Dairy Queen and Carvel. 

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Make Artisanal Ice Cream 

Go natural! Go for it! It will make your small ice cream shop stand out and create a positive perception of your brand. 

Artisanal ice creams are created with organic ingredients. They are prepared in tiny quantities and come with an eight-week storability. So, going artisanal is good for your business in terms of supplies and branding.

Aside from that, it is also good for your sales. According to a study analysis, the worldwide Artisanal Ice Cream Market was worth USD 6.12 billion in 2019 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% to reach USD 9.92 billion by 2026.

That’s why many brands are starting to switch to artisanal ice cream. Here are some brands that offer awesome artisanal ice creams:

• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream 
• Carmela Ice Cream Co.
• Toscanini’s Ice Cream 
• High Road Craft Ice Cream 

All in all, offering artisanal ice creams is a good idea for your small ice cream business. It will help you in terms of sales and branding. 

Offer a Diverse Set of Flavors

Offering many flavors like Baskin Robbins and their “31 flavors” is not a good option for an ice cream shop with limited space. The best solution for that is to offer diverse flavors in a set. 

You don’t have to worry about the cost. All you need to do is a plan and schedule your ice cream flavors thoroughly. For example, you can have a set of flavors for a certain month or you can have a specific flavor available for a certain day. You can also offer seasonal flavors. 

As for which flavors you can offer, you check out these awesome, easy-to-make flavors from Taste of Home:

• Cream Cheese Ice Cream (full recipe)
• Banana Ice Cream (full recipe)
• Coconut Ice Cream (full recipe)
• Vegan Almond Butter Swirl Ice Cream (full recipe)
• Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream (full recipe)

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Excellent Value for Money

As a small business, you should not forget to properly handle your finances. Not doing so will make your business prone to failure. 

You should have excellent financial management. This will help you properly allocate your budget to different parts of your business like marketing, supplies, and emergency funds. 

Here are some financial tips for small businesses that you can follow:

• Stay on Deadlines – Know when the bills are due. This will help you make a budget ahead of time and stay out of debt. 
• Separate Business and Personal Funds – Create a bank account for your business. This will save you a lot of time and help you easily monitor and manage your business money. 
• Manage Inventory – Make sure everything in your inventory is in order. This will allow you to see what supplies you still have and avoid wasteful expenditures.
• Monitor Spending – Know where your money goes. This will help you avoid overspending. 
• Time Your Purchases – Schedule your expenses. Avoid spending until you have paid your bills. 

Ice Cream Catering Service

Make your ice cream the life of parties. 

This is a great way to increase your brand’s awareness and sales, especially if your ice cream is on wheels. If you have an ice cream truck, you can easily go to parties. 

Offering ice cream catering services will help you reach more audiences. With this, you won’t have to worry about space.

Additionally, doing ice cream catering can help you establish a genuine connection with consumers which leads to more loyal customers. So, you have to make sure that your catering service is excellent. 

Here are some ice cream catering tips that you can follow:

• Offer Only the Best Ice Cream – You don’t want your customers to think poorly of your brand. So, you have to make sure that you bring only the tastiest and creamiest ice creams.
• Bring Awesome Toppings – This will help you to avoid making your ice cream look bland. You can bring toppings like Oreos, gummies, nuts, and popcorn. 
• Offer Some Party Accessories – An ice cream party without party hats is not a party. You can bring some party hats and balloons. You can also put your brand’s logo on them so people will be more aware of your brand. 

Cozy and Attractive Atmosphere

One of the problems of a small ice cream business is the small space; you can’t design excessively. 

The best thing you can do is go for a cozy design that will fit your small ice cream shop. You have to make sure that your customers will feel at ease in such a small shop.

For inspiration, you can check out these designs that are inviting and cozy:

• Lucciano´s Ice Cream Shop
• Milk Train  
• Off-Track Ice Cream Shop 

Viral Marketing Campaign

This is the most effective strategy to promote small businesses today. It is a commercial approach that promotes a product primarily through various social media sites. It is a low-cost and successful method of raising awareness and marketing a business or product.

It’s proven and tested! According to a report, 75% of customers use the internet to research brands.  Additionally, 73% of marketers believe that social media marketing is effective. On top of that, shoppers are six times more likely to buy from a product page that incorporates social media images.

According to Tech Funnel, there are 4 types of viral marketing:

1. Emotional Marketing – This marketing effort elicits powerful emotions that your customers cannot ignore. They might evoke feelings of nostalgia, joy, or satisfaction.
2. Incentive Marketing – This sort of marketing offers incentives to those who spread your material with others.
3. Buzz Marketing – Viral advertisements have the ability to generate buzz to attract clients.  These messages can quickly become a trending topic.
4. Engineered Viral Marketing – Engineered campaigns are viral marketing initiatives that have months of preparation and ideas behind them.

All in all, launching a viral marketing campaign can greatly help your small ice cream business. So, you can consider making your entire business more social media friendly or Instagrammable.

Open a Pick-Up Window 

This is a great way to save space without reducing customers. You can do this by setting up an online store where customers can order in advance and later pick them up by your store’s window.  

Also, you can utilize the online store for promotion. You can offer promos, coupons, discounts, and gift cards. 

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Attractive Decoration and Presentation

The easiest approach to help a small ice cream shop is to devote more care and effort to presentation. Doing so will help provide a more positive image for your brand. 

You can start with your ice cream packaging. Make it more eye-catching in a way that your customers can always remember your ice cream. For example, you can show off your logo by putting it on your ice cream cups.

Your ice cream should be visually pleasing too. For example, you can avoid making bland-looking ice cream by putting mouth-watering toppings like Oreos, cherries, popcorn, and sprinkles. You can make your cones extraordinary too. 

There’s no need to overthink the design. You just need to make it more appealing and welcoming. This will certainly make your little ice cream business stand out from the crowd.

Conclusion

In conclusion, these are 11 small ice cream shop ideas:

1. Be A One-Stop Shop – You can make your small ice cream business a one-stop shop. For example, you can sell ice cream ingredients and other delectables like cakes, cookies, and drinks. 
2. Make On-the-Go Treats – You can save space by selling on-the-go treats like popsicles and milkshakes. 
3. Serve a Lot of Soft Serve – Don’t forget to include America’s ice cream on your menu. 
4. Make Artisanal Ice Cream – Go natural. This will help your small ice cream business in terms of sales and branding. 
5. Offer a Diverse Set of Flavors – Sell a specific set of ice cream flavors. You can also schedule your set of flavors and sell seasonal flavors. 
6. Excellent Value for Money – Value your business money by having an excellent financial management plan. 
7. Ice Cream Catering Service – Make your ice cream the life of the parties. This is a good way to promote your business and gain loyal customers. 
8. Cozy and Attractive Atmosphere – Design your ice cream shop in a way that is cozy and makes customers feel at ease. 
9. Viral Marketing Campaign – Launch viral marketing campaigns to help increase your brand’s awareness. 
10. Open a Pick-Up Window – Set up an online store where customers can order in advance and later pick them up by your windows. 
11. Attractive Decoration and Presentation – Make your entire ice cream business presentable. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

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.