What constitutes the ideal ice cream experience?
This is a question you’ll have to answer time and time again to keep up with your customer’s list of demands. Many of these aren’t conscious, either, and have to be assumed based on your own experiences with the average frozen yogurt store. Are you providing plenty of classic flavors alongside your more unique blends? Do you make sure you always have a plastic spoon and fun dessert cup on standby for customers on-the-go? Figuring these little things out now will ensure everyone who comes through your doors has a tasty memory they won’t soon forget.
Make sure these five supplies are regularly stocked throughout the year so you can get used to success!
Plastic Spoon
The plastic spoon is a classic staple of any ice cream shop. You don’t just expect customers to bring their own eating utensils, do you? A recent study found a staggering 90% of American households regularly indulging in a sweet, frozen treat of some sort. Additional studies have concluded the average American will indulge in ice cream almost 30 times per year. When you have a plastic spoon on standby you can satisfy both customers on-the-go and the ones that want to linger in the shop and chat. Everybody wins!
Dessert Cups To Go
What else should your store have besides the plastic spoon? A dessert cup to go is a natural follow-up. Some customers just need to get a quick fix of their favorite vanilla or strawberry variety before heading back out into the cruel and unforgiving world, so a dessert cup that’s styled for the car will make sure nobody is thinking of your competitors. There are over one and a half billion gallons of ice cream (and similar desserts) produced in the country every year. Good dessert supplies should be comfortable enough to carry by hand and come with lids for easy packaging.
Tasting Spoons
Let’s get a little more into what makes an ice cream shop so much fun. It’s not just the treat people look forward to, but the socializing and trying something new. The plastic spoon can also take the form of a tasting spoon for customers to shake up their usual routine. Besides, who would want to invest in a brand new flavor they end up not even liking? According to a new survey by the International Ice Cream Association, vanilla remains the most popular flavor among consumers at nearly 30%. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t offer seasonal varieties and fun combinations to keep customers guessing, however!
Eco-Friendly Paper Drinking Straws
Let’s say you have some shakes or smoothies for the hot season that need to get more traffic. Do you have eco-friendly paper straws ready to go? By the time 2013 came to a close over 2,500 frozen yogurt stores were established in the United States. It’s also estimated nearly 10% of all the milk produced by American dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream. When you want to communicate an eco-friendly intent while still covering your basics, this is one supply you’ll want to regularly jot down on your delivery list.
Custom Ice Cream Cups
Last, but not least…no frozen yogurt or ice cream business is complete without custom cups. These do the dual work of giving your customers some on-the-go options and advertising your business. In any given two-week period over 40% of Americans will indulge in a frozen treat, thanks to recent research by the NPD Group. When you have so many competitors vying for attention, standing out is a matter of getting back in touch with why people even bother visiting an ice cream store in the first place. A cute plastic spoon, series of taste tests and fun combinations are all enticing reasons to skip the grocery store and get classic.
Give customers a memorable experience. Stock up on your disposable ice cream cups and Uniq colored spoons this year to give your business an edge.