Making Events Memorable

You can certainly open an ice cream shop without making your own ice cream. In fact, many shops take this approach. They find an ice cream supplier that sells a product they like, and they carry that supplier's ice cream in their own shop. In most areas, there are at least a couple of ice cream suppliers to choose from. Here are some questions to ask in order to determine if a particular ice cream supplier is the one for you to use.

Does the product have name recognition in your area?

In other words, have you heard of this company's ice cream before? Will your customers recognize the brand? If the answers to these questions are "yes," this is a major asset. It means you can advertise that you carry that brand of ice cream, and you'll draw in customers as a result. While it is certainly okay to buy from a supplier with less name recognition, doing so does take away this marketing option. If you're torn between two brands, one with name recognition and one without, the one with name recognition is often the better choice.

Do they sell a variety of flavors?

Some ice cream suppliers set up their businesses to sell primarily to restaurants, cafes, and other businesses that may only need to carry a couple of flavors of ice cream. Other suppliers set themselves up to sell to ice cream shops, so they carry a greater variety of flavors. Since you're opening a dedicated ice cream shop, you probably want to find a supplier that offers more than a couple of flavors. Alternatively, you could buy chocolate and vanilla from a supplier and then create your own specialty flavors with mix-ins, but that is a lot more work.

Do they add new or specialty flavors to their line-up?

Ask the supplier how often they introduce new flavors. Also, ask whether they ever feature special flavors for the holidays or other occasions. If they do, this will help you with your promos, which will bring more customers into your shop. If they don't add new flavors often, you can hold back on ordering certain flavors and only carry them in your shop on special occasions.

If you ask the questions above, you will learn more about an ice cream supplier and have an easier time deciding which supplier is right for you. Before long, you'll be in your shop, serving ice cream. 

Contact an ice cream supplier to learn more.