An ice cream shop is one the most enjoyable and profitable businesses out there. It’s a dessert that's loved by most people, especially children, and it's a go-to treat during the summer. The challenge is how you plan to manage the marketing for your ice cream parlor, and what you can serve to call the attention of even more people. Soft serve may seem like a popular choice, but here are some facts about serving soft serve at your ice cream parlor that you may not know about.
Maintenance
One of the requirements to start an ice cream business is obviously having the necessary equipment. On the outside, a soft serve machine may look simple. But the truth is that it has a lot a moving parts to consider, and each one of those are supposed to be checked frequently which can become a tedious task. There is also the added factor that if one part breaks down, the quality of the ice cream suffers, or the whole machine stops working.
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Labor
In connection with maintenance, cleaning is required daily. This is easier said than done because each moving part must be thoroughly sanitized. This can be very time consuming for your staff, especially if they could have used that time and energy for something better, like serving and helping clients.
Waste
Soft Serve ice cream, unlike the others, has a shorter lifespan. This may be from the ingredients or mixture used to create the ice cream base. The point is that you have to dispose the excess or leftover ice cream since it expires really quickly throughout the day. This may create more waste than financial gain, unless you know how to set it to reduce leftovers.
Selections
What other ice cream parlors bank on is their ability to serve a wide variety of flavors and even create unique flavors of their own branding. This gives them flexibility to cater to their customer’s needs and it creates an avenue for them to come. Soft serve ice cream has neither of these, and it limits flavor selection to a minimum. We're not saying that soft serve ice cream machines are bad, but there are a lot of things to consider before purchasing. Make sure you consider all your options!
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