Things To Sell at an Ice Cream Shop

Maximize Your Ice Cream Shop Sales

As you begin planning your ice cream shop business, you’ll start thinking about what items you’ll sell.

This is the fun part!

Of course, you’ll sell ice cream – and possibly frozen yogurt, gelato, and other items such as coffee, tea, and snacks.

However, even the most essential things like coffee should be tested, tried, and selected. To generate sales, you want to provide your customers with excellent products and don’t compromise on quality.

Additional food items will largely depend on your concept and budget. For example, you might start an ice cream shop that serves a more bottomless menu – but soon find out that a kitchen will require more space, more labor, and some extra permits and licenses, which you haven’t budgeted for.

Likewise, the more complicated your menu is, the more equipment and space it will require. Your ice cream shop sale items may be entirely based on the uniqueness of your coffee shop concept.

Your ice cream shop menu items and other items you sell may largely depend on:

target customer,
ice cream shop concept,
location,
available space,
available budget

Choosing the right products to sell will propel your ice cream business into a successful, profitable business. Choosing the right products may be the challenging part, though! That’s why never skip researching your target market.

This post will discuss possible things to sell at an ice cream shop. Your ability to sell your chosen inventory will directly impact how much money you can make as an ice cream shop owner. Your menu will also impact how much your ice shop business will cost.

So, let’s get started.

Things to Sell at an Ice Cream Shop

Let’s have some fun! To determine what’s on your ice cream shop menu, you’ll want to know:

What your ice cream shop customers need
What your ice cream shop customers expect
The menu of your local competition

You can do this. It’s fun to check out what others are doing and how you can make things different or better for your customers!

What Your Ice Cream Shop Customers Need

Study your ice cream shop location and target market, and look at the potential customers you’ll serve.

Are they tourists?
Students?
Do your customers consist of families with young children?

Depending on what you find out, you want to adjust your menu items to cater to your target market. For example, if you plan to serve primarily families with kids, you must add more kid-friendly menu options. It might be popsicles, milkshakes, or crepes with additional decorations for kids. Don’t forget about the parents too: they will want coffee and quick snacks.

What Your Ice Cream Shop Customers Expect

As an ice cream shop, many customers will have certain expectations about what products you’ll likely have. Additionally, you may have a variety of yogurt, crepes, and desserts.

You might want to work on a solid core menu centered on ice cream and then work from there. Always be observant and trust your wise judgment. Walk around the neighborhood and get a feel of it. To learn about your customer’s expectations, you also want to talk to the community and approach local organizations and businesses. Having an online or offline survey might be a good option too.

Try to do this research before renting your ice cream shop premises. You don’t want to eventually discover that your potential customers have expectations different from your ice cream shop concept.

Your Local Ice Cream Competition

If the local competition has secured a corner of excellent ice cream, you may consider adding something different to your ice cream shop menu. For example, you may need to add crepes, waffle cones, and a variety of other toppings that will make your customer’s order – and overall experience – slightly different.

But studying your competition, you will have an insight into what your customers expect – and make it even better. It’s also important to look at the customer service that your competition offers – and again, work to bring your customer experience to a higher level.

Ice Cream Shop Favorites

As an ice cream shop owner, you’ll want to offer what I call “ice cream shop” favorites. These will be expected in any ice cream shop you go to. Of course, their quality will vary, but you want to make sure you serve the best product adequately priced for your customers to buy it and for you to make a profit

Further Reading: Low-Cost Ice Cream Business Ideas

Ice Cream Shop Favorites Include the Following:

Food Items

Ice Cream Cups

Ice Cream Cones

Buckets

Soft Serve

Sundaes

Gelatos

Sorbet

Frozen Ice

Yogurt

Frozen Yogurt

Popsicles

Ice Cream Non-Dairy Alternatives

Crepes

Smoothies

Cakes

Pastries

Muffins

Tarts

Cake

Pastries

Banana bread

Donuts

Croissants

Cereal bowls

Chocolate

Waffles

Hot Dogs

Sandwiches

Drinks:

Milkshakes

Coffee

Teas

Lemonades

Sodas

Your Physical Space

Your physical space will put constraints on the scope of your operations. If the area is small, you might have only a tiny freezer and won’t be able to install a kitchen to serve more sophisticated menu items. With a small freezer, you will only be able to serve a limited amount of ice cream. So look for a space that can accommodate your ice cream shop concept and menu.

If your ice cream shop space allows for it, you might consider renting it out for birthday parties or other celebrations. In addition, renting out a room, a section of your ice cream shop, patio, or entire shop can generate additional revenue.

Further Reading: How to Sell Ice Cream on The Street

Things to Sell at Ice Cream Shop

Your customer’s needs and expectations will ultimately play a role in what you serve at your ice cream shop. Consider doing local research before finalizing your ice cream shop menu. Ask around, and determine what other customers are enjoying at different locations.