An ice cream truck business is the mobile version of retail ice cream outlets. They are often parked in heavily concentrated public places such as parks, schools, beaches, and malls. Due to its transportability, the ice cream truck business is deemed to be recession-proof. However, a lot of factors contribute to its overall profitability. So if you want to know if ice cream trucks are indeed profitable and a good investment, this article will enlighten you with the facts and figures.
Ice cream trucks are profitable because of a potential profit margin of 10-20% up to 40% which can grow into a five-figure revenue per annum, average daily gross sales of $200-$300 during summer, and a promising global market of $71.52 billion as of 2021 which is expected to shoot up to $97.85 billion in 2027.
These data points don’t lie. Let’s find out why and how to achieve such profitability.
10%-20% up to 40% Profit Margin
Ice cream trucks have a high profit margin with a minimum estimate of 10-20% but can be maximized up to 40% depending on your local target market, your regular street vending area, products, and extra services you provide.
This maximum profit margin estimate is feasible for entrepreneurs who stick to at least one good vending spot, host activities, and games, and accepts catering gigs at private parties and public events.
- $200-$300 Average Daily Gross Sales During Summer
Seasonality is one of the major challenges in the ice cream truck business. But during the summer season, it peaks and reaches its highest sales at around $200-$300 per day. The winter season may not be favorable to ice cream truck vendors, but they can easily turn the situation in their favor with some effective marketing strategies. What’s important is to reach its maximum sale potential during peak season, so they have enough revenue to compensate for the potential losses in winter.
Let’s say you earn $200-$300 a day, your potential average income is as follows:
- $5,000- Potential Average Monthly Sales
- $60,000- Potential Average Sales per Annum
You have to bear in mind that the gross daily sales depend on several factors, including the location’s foot traffic. It’s also worth noting that the sales during summer weekends and weekdays are different. On summer weekdays, you can earn between $300-$500, while on summer weekends, the sales are higher at around $700.
What’s good about the ice cream truck business is that you can venture into other money-making activities, such as catering to private parties and taking part in public events. You can maximize your income potential by creating a pattern/schedule on where you will park your ice cream truck. This way, your patrons can identify what time and day you’re going to park in their area.
8 Things You Can Do With Your Ice Cream Shop In The Winter
Regular Street Vending
Street vending, in street vending, your sales are dependent on the foot traffic of the area- bypassers and people who intentionally come to buy your product. So it’s important to choose a good spot with strong foot and vehicle traffic such as parks, near the schools or universities, beach, etc. You also have to think that street vending is your fallback plan when event booking is rare, so pick a regular place that’s well-saturated with people, both tourists, and locals.
Public Events
At huge public events, you can park your ice cream truck and take advantage of the massive number of attendees. Bringing your products closer to people will bring in more sales. What’s good about public events is that organizers encourage mobile businesses to take part in the event for a minimal “attending fee” that commonly ranges between $100-$200. For fundraising events, they usually take a chunk of your total sales, like 10%-15%. You can generate $1,000- $1,500 net sales from a successful public event.
Private Parties
You can participate in private parties when an organizer or host reaches out to acquire your products and services to cater to the attendees. This type of event usually has a fixed price that both parties agreed upon. Depending on what type of party you’re catering to, the success rate is usually high because you just have to serve ice cream for a few hours to a specific number of attendees.
- Over $2B Yearly Sales Growth
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that the food truck business, in general, grew over $2 billion in yearly sales, and the ice cream truck business is part of that industry. The ice cream business may be a long-established entrepreneurial concept, but its demand never wavered. It even grows as time progresses and new variations and flavors are introduced making it a timeless classic dessert.
Why Selling Ice Cream Is A Good Business
Why? Because everyone loves ice cream, period!
Aside from its rising demand, the ice cream truck business is a booming business idea because it’s one of the most affordable ventures to get into. With a mobile ice cream service, you don’t need huge startup capital to materialize your business plan.
Ice cream and selling are relatively old business concepts but selling ice cream from a cute truck easily catches buyers’ interest. Its mobility allows you to maximize audience reach. Instead of waiting for someone to finally come to you and purchase your products, you can easily go to places saturated with foot and vehicle traffic and park your ice cream truck there for people to see and buy from. You come close to your market providing them with hassle-free accessibility to great-tasting ice cream and frozen products that you’re selling.
- $71.52B Global Market in 2021 to $97.85B in 2027
For hesitant startup entrepreneurs, the ice cream truck business is a profitable business because it is a globally in-demand market with a stable and consistently increasing market demand. According to market research, its global market demand hastily increased by 37% from 2021 to 2027 and is still expected to increase further up to 80% or $122,051.10 million in 2031.
Opening up a new business can be scary, but with a great-looking business forecast like this, you’re quite sure that with the right marketing strategies, you are one step closer to achieving success in your ice cream truck venture.
Conclusion
Ice cream trucks are a profitable business and that’s evident in their potential profit margin of 10-20% up to 40% which can grow into five-figure revenue per annum, average daily gross sales of $200-$300 during summer, growth of over $2 billion in yearly sales, and a promising global ice cream market of $71.52 billion as of 2021 which is expected to shoot up to $97.85 billion in 2027.
It’s natural to run in-depth research before going into a business venture to ensure that the business you choose to invest in is worth the time, money, and effort. By doing so, you get a clearer picture of what the future holds for your business. We have laid out data and facts here to help you understand the nature of the business and show how profitable it can turn out when managed correctly.
Five Tips To Make Your Ice Cream Shop Stand Out
Frequently Asked Questions
An ice cream truck is a good investment with an average of 3 years to get your Return on Investment (ROI). Aside from your ice cream vending and catering revenues, your truck is an asset that you can sell when it’s time to upgrade to a bigger one.
In business, the possibilities of what you can sell or do are limitless. In an ice cream truck business setting, you can offer delivery through food delivery service providers such as Doordash, Grabfoods, Ubereats, etc. This way, you can cater to more people while attending your food truck business.
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.