Ice cream shop owners dread the winter months because the rapid decline in foot traffic and downturn in profits often occur during the cold season. Understandably, people will crave less cold desserts during freezing temperatures and chilly air. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to cease your operation. Why not keep up with the challenge and think of ways to thrive instead of temporarily closing the shop?
Eight things you can do with your ice cream shop in winter are to offer grab-and-go ice cream, introduce ice cream cakes, entice your customers with limited edition desserts, be a foodie haven by adding hot beverages and comfort foods, host parties and events, supply ice cream to other businesses, reduce your production volume, and cut down your business hours.
Offer Grab-and-go Ice Cream
Going out for ice cream during winter is not the best idea. The surrounding temperature is cold hence, the body needs something hot to keep it warm. Additionally, people prefer staying indoors during cold weather. Plus it’s a hassle to deal with coats and gloves just to eat ice cream unless you badly crave one.
To eliminate all the hassle and encourage more people to enjoy their favorite comfort food, offer your ice cream in easy-to-grab packaging. This way, more people are likely to order to-go ice creams and enjoy them at home.
Ice cream is still the party’s favorite because it’s convenient, easy to prepare, and yummy. Take advantage of the people who celebrate birthday parties, holiday gatherings, and special events in winter because your grab-and-go ice cream suits perfectly to this market. According to statistics, half of the ice cream consumers prefer ice cream packed in half gallons, while 23% prefer the ones packaged in pints. So, offer party-size ice cream in cute and convenient packaging
- Introduce Ice Cream Cakes
Ice cream sales are expected to decline during the winter season. To thrive, you need to be creative and flexible by introducing new products such as ice cream cake. Maximize the fact that there are still parties and events during winter, and no party is complete without a cake.
Ice cream cakes are not only delicious but also a perfect addition to your limited-edition winter-only menu.
- Entice your Customers with Limited Edition Desserts
Another way to minimize the decrease in foot traffic during the cold season is to add enticing offers, such as limited edition desserts that are only available during winter. The waiting game will excite them; they will grab the opportunity to taste your limited-edition desserts once they’re available again. The seasonal production of these desserts will also help you save more on production costs.
When choosing limited edition desserts, pick the unique ones that will make your shop stand out among your competitors. Consider the desserts that go together with ice cream. For instance, you can add brownies, hot pies, and tarts to your menu because they’re commonly eaten with ice cream either on top or as sides.
- Be a Foodie Haven by Adding Hot Beverages and Comfort Foods
Winter season is not the best time for your ice cream shop business, but you can reverse the situation and turn it to your favor. Lean forward to the bestselling products during the winter season to make it easier to hustle and thrive.
Hot beverages are chart-busters and fast-moving products during the chilly season. People indulge in hot drinks and soups to keep them warm and help soothe them from the unbearable cold weather.
You can offer hot chocolate, tea, mocha, latte, brewed coffee, or even easy-to-make soup served in a lovely bowl. Mushroom soup, pumpkin soup, and red-lentil soup are just a few of the more appealing soups during cold weather. You can tweak your menu and add new seasonal products to it. Transform your shop into a foodie destination where people can find different comfort foods perfect for all seasons. Broaden your market to generate foot traffic throughout the year.
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Host Parties and Events
Put your shop’s great interior and exterior design into good use by hosting parties and events. Foot traffic may decline on wintry days. This will make your shop available to hold gatherings and small corporate events. Be a venue of happy events and not just a hangout place.
For ice cream shops with a relatively big space, you can hold birthday parties, gatherings, corporate functions, and other small-scale events. You can offer all-inclusive deals, which include the venue and food. If your customer wants to outsource food from other suppliers, you can charge them with venue rental or add a corkage fee.
Hosting parties and events will not only broaden your sales prospects but will also introduce your shop to potential customers (guests), get free advertising, and your guests will likely buy your ice cream and other food products.
- Supply Ice Cream to other Businesses
Reach out to other businesses and pitch the idea of supplying them with your ice cream and other frozen products. You can sell your products to restaurants where they can add them to their menu and offer it as desserts. You can make a tempting offer where you give them a lower price for bulk orders so they can still mark it up and generate revenue. This way, they save on production costs and gain profit by just serving them.
Partnering with other local businesses will widen your market and introduce you to the local business in the area. Aside from establishing camaraderie, you will learn how the local industry works and whom to reach out to next in case you want to expand your business.
- Reduce your Production Volume
You may need to cut down your production volume during winter so as not to pressure yourself to sell everything you’ve made. Lower production volume means lower production cost, plus it will save you from all the pressure and potential losses.
You can either produce all flavors in small quantities or reduce your flavor options and make your bestselling flavors only.
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- Cut down your Business Hours
If you don’t want to temporarily close your business during the winter season, you can opt to cut down your business hours to avoid revenue loss. As much as you want to avoid closing down or trimming down business hours, some locations are hard to sustain during cold seasons.
The perk of keeping your business open during winter is that you will remain visible, and your customers will know that your business is thriving despite the decrease in demand and sales. They will not forget you, and in turn, you will remain a household name giving you better chances at gaining massive sales during the summer.
By reducing your business hours, you save on production costs, employee salaries, utility bills, and maintenance. You can plan your marketing strategies for the summer while you lay low during the off-peak season. Use the time to enhance your business and upgrade your products and services so you can generate great sales in the summer to compensate for the losses during the cold season.
Conclusion
Winter season will take a toll on your ice cream business, but there are a lot of things you can do to overturn the situation to your favor. Explained above are the eight things you can do with your ice cream shop in winter which includes offering grab-and-go ice cream, introducing ice cream cakes, enticing your customers with limited edition desserts, being a foodie haven by adding hot beverages and comfort foods, hosting parties, and events, supplying ice cream to other businesses, reducing your production volume, and cutting down your business hours.
Do you have other suggestions in mind? Let us know, and we can add it to our list so other struggling ice cream business start-ups will get an idea of how to counter the winter season situation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The decline in foot traffic and loss in profit is expected during the winter season. It’s challenging to prevent losses or reach a break even. However, you can offer unique, interesting, and customer-oriented products and services to generate foot traffic and profits. With thorough planning and creativity, you can thrive even in the toughest season in the industry. Plus, you also need to do a double grind during summer, the busiest time of the year for ice cream shop businesses.
Keeping your ice cream shop open during winter gives customers access to their favorite ice cream while most of your competitors are closed. Hence, you have the upper hand of being remembered as a resilient business giving you greater chances of sales and patronage in the summer.
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.