How to Sell Ice Cream on the Street
Sell Ice Cream on the Street
How to Sell Ice Cream on the Street
If you want to start an ice cream shop, but money is tight, you might want to look for more affordable ice cream business ideas.
One affordable way to open an ice cream business is to sell ice cream on the street. This brings you directly to the customers you wish to serve without the enormous overhead of rental leases.
Additionally, ice cream street vending is inherently low on labor costs. This is because you will either sell ice cream yourself or hire a very small team of ice cream vendors.
We’ve all seen ice cream vendors at city corners, bus stops, subways stations, or city parks selling ice cream. They sell to people wanting an impulsive and affordable treat.
This article will cover the concept of selling ice cream on the street, including what it will take to be successful and a few additional tips.
How to Sell Ice Cream on the Street
Choose Your Ice Cream Vending Concept on the Street
What type of vending concept will you use to sell ice cream on the street? Since ice cream needs to be housed in an insulated container, which concept will you employ to contain your ice cream?
For example, your concept can:
- Sell from an ice cream pushcart
- Peddle an ice cream trike or bike
- Open an ice cream stand
- Setup a pop-tent
- Drive an ice truck or van
- Pull an ice cream trailer
Each of these will have inherent advantages and disadvantages. Certainly, they all help to avoid heavy labor costs and brick-and-mortar rents. However, each type of ice cream business has its costs associated with it. For example, an ice cream truck will be much more expensive than a pushcart or pop-up tent. However, it doesn’t mean that one is better than the other.
To look at your potential ice cream business concept, you will have to study your market, customer, and competitors.
Read: Write an ice cream business plan
Once you settle on a concept, you will need to figure out your type of operation. Visualize making your first sale and putting money in your cash drawer. Next, figure out the specifics and logistics.
How will you operate your chosen ice cream concept?
Let’s talk about that next.
Develop Your Operations
Developing the specifics of your operations is where your brainpower comes in. You can either think this through beforehand or struggle with various trial and error attempts.
If you decide on a pop-up tent or an ice cream pushcart, you will have to figure out how to transport your inventory and any equipment you need.
For example, you may have a van with your inventory and supplies running off a generator to power the freezers or refrigeration systems. You may need water, ice cream cups and spoons, waffle cones, and napkins. All this takes up space and will need to be transported wherever you go. Additionally, a van that can pull your ice cream trike or pushcart will be essential to have for practical reasons.
Look for Optimal Locations
Study your target customer. Who are they, and where will they be? For example, your target customer could be tourists walking the boardwalk on the beach or at a nearby point of interest. On the other hand, they could be college students heading from one building to the next or simply commuters coming home from work.
Your optimal location must include:
- High pedestrian traffic areas
- Centered on your target market
- Easily accessible
- Lack competition
- May need power and water supplies
- Have a restroom nearby
Finding the perfect location takes time, so start early. Also, realize that there may be no “perfect location,” so you may have to get creative and make decisions based on your sales volume. Decisions may include staying mobile (with bike), travel to different parks on the same day, etc.
Find Your Ice Cream Inventory Source
Manufacturing ice cream is an entirely different operation and is beyond the scope of this article. Therefore, for simplicity, I will assume that you will be purchasing wholesale ice cream.
You will want to choose a wholesale source for your ice cream. For example, if you decide to sell packaged ice cream bars, you might get your ice cream from wholesale or bulk retailers like COSTCO, a cash-and-carry store, and a restaurant supply store. On the other hand, if you decide to sell scooped ice cream or gelato, you will have to find a high-quality vendor that sells wholesale ice cream in trays or containers by the gallon.
Pick an inventory source that is dependable and provides the prices by which you can make a decent profit.
The same goes for your other inventory items: napkins, spoons, cups, waffle cones, etc.
Establish Your Legal Structure
You will want to set up your legal structure. That is, you want to register your business with your state or city agencies officially. If you live outside of the U.S., you will also have your regional or provincial business licensing agencies to work with.
It’s essential to sell your ice cream legally and pay taxes to avoid any problems with the state, even if you have a tiny business like an ice cream bike. The insurance associated with your legal structure will also be beneficial if something goes wrong.
No matter how small your operation is, you will want to determine your business legal structure. For example, if you wish to open as a sole proprietor, a limited liability company, or a partnership, you want to have it registered with your state.
With that said, many ice cream shop vendors open as LLC. This is also true for those who wish to open a coffee shop.
How to Sell Coffee on the Street
Get Your Permits
Before legally selling on the street, you will need to get the proper licenses and permits for an ice cream shop. So don’t be surprised if you get asked to show your licenses as you sell.
It is common to be asked to show your license and permits by:
- Passing police officers
- Department of Transportation officials
- Customers
- Health Inspectors
Most city and county governments could cite or give you a ticket for selling without a license. Unfortunately, these tickets are not cheap.
You may have to get:
A business license – you will need to get a business license for every city you operate from. This is common for many country regions such as Southern California, Texas, or Mid-Atlantic regions.
A health permit – each county will require you to get a license.
DOT permit – If you operate on the street, you may need your local Department of Transportation’s approval. In many cases, a local DOT will have designated areas by which you can “rent” to sell ice cream.
Determine Your Health Regulations
The first order of business is to contact your local health department. Your county health department will have a list of items that you need to satisfy before getting approval to sell ice cream. You will have to submit several things to get approved, including a description of your ice cream cart or truck, drawings and pictures (often drawn to scale), and other vital details that vary.
Additional Items to Sell Ice Cream on the Street
Commercial Auto Insurance: If you are driving an ice-cream truck, you need to get commercial auto insurance.
General Liability Insurance: You may have to get business insurance.
Lease Contract: if you sell ice cream on private property.
Food Handling Permit: you and your ice cream sellers will need one to serve food like ice cream safely. This doesn’t apply if you handle only packaged food.
Driver’s License: You’ll need a driver’s license if you drive a van or a truck to sell ice cream on the street.
Zoning Permit: If you plan to sell ice cream on the city streets, you might need to check with your city council if the area is zoned for vending. If you plan to stay longer in one spot, you might need a license to do so.
Resale Permit: If you buy ice cream and other wholesale inventory and sell it retail, you might need a resale permit.
Marketing and Promotion
Marketing its promotion will be necessary. But since you are selling on the street – perhaps in several locations – your marketing will probably be different than a traditional ice cream shop.
When you are selling ice cream on the street, you are mainly dependent on your aesthetics. Therefore, your ice cream truck, pushcart, or trike needs to be appealing.
There are several essential things such as cleanliness and clean attire from you and your employees to help customers decide if they want to buy ice cream from you.
You can have low budget marketing:
- A vehicle wrap (designed with your logo, colors, etc.)
- Uniforms
- A-frame signs
- Flags or balloons
- Music
There are plenty of ways to sell ice cream on the street. However, we recommend you do your research, choose an area with high foot traffic and little or no competition, and work hard to keep your costs low.
How to Sell Coffee on the Street
How to Sell Coffee on the Street
Additional Questions:
Is selling ice cream on the street profitable?
Selling ice cream on the street can be profitable if you choose the right location with a high level of foot traffic with people interested in shopping for ice cream. Some areas are better than others. For example, selling ice cream at a beach boardwalk with thousands of people passing by might be better than in front of a grocery store.
To make a profit, you need to have significant sales and reasonable margins on the products you offer. So whether you make your ice cream or buy your ice cream in individual packaging, you want to have a high margin.
Can I quickly start selling ice cream on the street?
You can quickly start selling ice cream on the street. However, if you already have a vehicle, you must go through the approval process to pass the health department’s inspection. If you decide to sell from a pop-up tent, you may have a quicker time getting approved. Still, it would be best if you satisfied the health department’s need for you to maintain your inventory at a particular temperature level adequately.
Once you get the permits approved and your business license, zoning permits, etc. – you can start selling ice cream on the street rather quickly.
Your planning is the key to how quickly you can start your ice cream business. Therefore, the better to research and plan, the sooner you can get your business up and running.
