Table of Contents

1. Ice Cream Shop
2. Mobile Ice Cream
3. Niche Markets
4. Ready to Eat Product

Not only is ice cream my indulgence of choice, it's arguably an essential part of summer, but Unfortunately, I couldn't get away with just daydreaming about ice cream and company time without pointing out some surprising small business insights. So, ice cream businesses are emblematic of some key concepts, like the market proof law of small indulgences and signs of what customers are really looking for these days. Ice cream really does have some shocking statistics. It's an $11 billion industry, one that is seeing especially strong gains in niche markets like low calorie, sugarfree, lactose free, and plant based.

There are more varieties than ever, and it's an industry that thrives on creativity. All the historic and recent bestsellers in the ice cream world were born of brave flavor combinations and niche problem solving. In fact, of all the videos I could be mentioning right now, we actually talked about ice cream in the algae video. It was featured on the LG Planet. So you know that it's good. Algae based ingredients have been worked into ice cream recipes to improve texture. So how can entrepreneurs reach this very sweet market?

Open up shop, start your own branded product, sell from a mobile business, create a new topping, or tackle the niche market. The options are as varied as the flavors. So let's just jump right in and figure out which of these business ideas might be the right one for you. And also I promise that that's the end of the ice cream puns. It's a very natural reaction to try to do at least one. And I frankly showed a lot of restraint.

Fun fact, most ice cream brand marketing is local and regional, meaning that your slice of the world probably has room for another local company versus competing mostly on a national level

So whether your ice cream shop is hosting community events, committed to compostable packaging, or providing plantbased options, there's a lot of room for a creative entrepreneur like you.

If your mission is to reach customers where they are, then consider a mobile ice cream business.

We actually had an email request to explain a bit more about ice cream bikes. So this is perfect. Guess how our friends over at Go Ice Cream got started? With a vintage 1946 Worksman tricycle. Every Thursday night, Rob was out there making locals fall in love with his indulgent recipes, and that helped him get his own location. If slinging scoops and working on your cardio sounds like you're kind of summer, make it happen like Rob did. And with all that community interaction, you're sure to gather some useful market research along the way.

As we saw with 'go', an ice cream bike, truck or van can be a low investment way to test out a concept, build a customer following and fine tune your products, all while capturing sales. Or if being mobile is too good to give up, stick to it. They're really cool. There are some genuinely fun mobile models out there. And to our emailer, who is asking about ice cream businesses powered by bikes? We're actually working on a more indepth guide that should cover some more details, so keep an eye out.

Are you lactose intolerant, gluten free, avoiding sugar? Have a nut allergy? If so, you are in good company. Actually, there are a lot of people living with dietary restrictions (like me!) And a lot of other people who just want to try something different. Enter the fastest growing segment of the ice cream industry. The niche market. All those specialty premium and nontraditional varieties command high sales and loyal followings. Consider how many brands have exploded recently by creating alternatives to traditional ice cream like plantbased version using coconut and almond milk.

I hear there's an algae milk and development, and that's just the beginning. The founders of the very innovative Rebel Ice Cream, Courtney and Austin Archibald set out to Keto phy their favorite ice cream recipes, and in the process they created a stand out line of flavors with the lowest Glycemic index on the market. Also, this is my one and only chance to try to get sponsored by them. Anything it takes to try to offset my pin habit. Call me!

Now we enter the world of ready to eat ice cream. Yep, that's all those Pines, gallons and pops we have a hard time choosing between in the frozen section. Even you, SpongeBob on the stick. You belong here to. Remember earlier when I mentioned the market law of small indulgences. It's not sponge pop. The definition is simple and relatable. Stressed out consumers want to indulge in affordable luxuries and seek ways to reward themselves. So keep this phenomenon in mind. You can accomplish this in a readytoeat product through high end branding of cheap ingredients, making mini versions using nice biodegradable packaging, introducing rare flavors.

There is so much much room to indulge your creative side. Once you decide on a product or product line, you can actually just keep it small batch with a strategy to sell to local shops, grocers restaurants and cafes. Idea Five Toppings You probably thought that was the end of the line. Well, not yet. Me and Mary. The toppings are very important to some people for ice cream. Even Ben and Jerry's is starting to sell just the toppings of some of their top flavors. You can browse the frozen aisle and you can get a bag of Ben and Jerry's cookie bits, Bernie Bites and more to mix in at your discretion, innovative entrepreneurs are realizing that customers want more probiotics protein.

Even CBD are all gaining popularity. Whether you're selling your toppings to ice cream shops, packaging them for retail, or selling directly to consumers over the Internet, the possibilities are never-ending, never-ending Likelmy love of Rebel ice cream, I'm serious call. If you're looking for a hyper creative way to offer the world some small indulgences, it simply can't resist than an ice cream business may be perfect for you.