Could selling commercial ice cream in your cafe increase your profit margins?

The profit margins that are generated by ice cream are renowned for being high. So, if you’re looking for a way to boost revenue within your business then selling commercial ice cream could be a simple way to do it. The availability of ice cream can also provide customers with more choice and give them a reason to pick your café over a competitor. If you’re going to start selling commercial ice cream in your café in order to boost profit margins then there are a few simple steps involved.

What kind of ice cream do you want to sell?

Choose a product that is consistent with the rest of the menu at your café. So, if you’re pioneering plant-based dishes, opt for a vegan ice cream made from almond or coconut milk. If your key demographic is the after school crowd choose ice cream that can be used in desserts or soda floats. And if you’re aiming for high end, invest in the highest quality ice cream that you can – the higher the butterfat, the richer and creamier the taste.

How are you going to sell it?

There are two key questions here: what flavours are you going to offer and how are you going to provide your ice cream to the customer. Offering multiple flavours provides more of an opportunity to increase revenues by appealing to a wider range of tastes. You might even want to look into some of the more innovative flavours, such as brown bread ice cream. You can serve this in any way that suits your business, whether that’s in a cone, a tub or a dish.

How many sales are you likely to make?

Most cafés or restaurants that offer ice cream sell it to around 10% of the client base. So, if you are attracting 200 customers per day you could potentially see ice cream sales of 20 per day. This is just a basic analysis as there are also many ways in which you can help to boost sales of ice cream to your customers. From creating your own signature desserts to adding ice cream into drinks or milkshakes, with a little imagination you can push up this average number into something more impressive.

How much can you charge?

This will depend on the way that you’re selling your ice cream but the average cost of an ice cream cone in the UK is £2. That’s compared to the manufacture cost of the ice cream, which comes in at around 12p. That’s an impressive profit margin in any sector. There will also be a number of key factors to bear in mind when it comes to the prices that you charge, including the location of your business, competition nearby and the quality of the product.

Selling commercial ice cream in your café has a lot of potential when it comes to increasing profit margins for your business, as well as boosting customer numbers and loyalty too.