How to Open an Ice Cream Shop in 10 Sweet & Easy Steps

To open a successful ice cream shop you need:

• A solid business plan
• The right permits
• A high-traffic location
• A creative menu
• A promotional strategy

If you are dreaming of opening an ice cream shop that will be the talk of the town like any other food business. You shouldn’t venture forth without a clear plan in mind.

Below, we’ll show you how to open an ice cream shop from start to finish. Grab a spoon, and let’s dig in!

Let’s kickstart this ice cream business guide with the blueprint for your operations: your business plan. Here’s what you should include:

• Executive summary: Sum up what your store will be like, from its unique selling proposition to short and long-term goals.
• Company overview: What is your business model, strategy, and future projections? Do you plan to run the business as a sole proprietor or an LLC?
• Competitor and industry analysis: Who is your target market and what other businesses in the area are vying for their attention?
• Financial summary and projection: List all your ice cream shop expenses, as well as sales projections and a break-even analysis.
• Staffing: How many employees will you need to hire and for what positions?
• Menu: What items do you plan to sell? Will you have a seasonal menu or a year-round one?
• Marketing: List all your ice cream advertising ideas, both free and paid.

While you should already be familiar with your expenses and revenue projections from your business plan, it’s a good idea to make a separate financial plan that will cover:

• Startups costs: Everything from rent to equipment and permits.
• Operating costs: Utilities, salaries, supplies, and so on.
• Overhead costs: Maintenance, administration, advertising.
• Variable costs: Food, beverages, labor costs.
• Funding requirements: You might not have the necessary capital to open an ice cream shop at hand. In this case, you need to explore different types of funding, from loans to lines of credit or merchant cash advances.

Do you need a license to sell ice cream? Yes, several licenses and permits are required, based on your business model and the type of services you want to offer.

It’s important to check your local laws and regulations to see exactly what you need to acquire. However, this is the bare minimum required across the US:

• Business license – this is a permit that allows you to operate legally within your city or state.
• Seller’s permit – this is a state-issued authorization that allows you to collect sales tax on taxable goods and services. These taxes are need to be paid to a government agency when you files your taxes.
• Health permit – a license required for any business that handles or serves food, including ice cream shops.
• Food handler’s permit –  is a document that verifies your employees have completed training on safe food handling practices.
• Employer identification number – is a federal tax ID number for businesses issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and primarily used to report employment taxes.
• Ice cream shop vendor permit – is a license that allows you to sell ice cream, typically from a mobile vehicle or cart, to the public for immediate consumption.

Additionally, you might want to acquire a ice cream shop sign permit so you can promote your business, as well as a liquor license if you want to sell anything alcoholic.

To boost ice cream business profits, you need a stellar location. Here are some factors to keep in mind when choosing one:

• Foot traffic: You want a spot that’s bustling with potential customers at all hours of the day.
• Seasonal traffic: Similarly, look for a place that’s not just popular during a certain season and otherwise abandoned.
• Space: Does the location meet your space needs in terms of storage, dining tables, etc.?
• Accessibility and visibility: Is the place easily accessible on foot and by car? Is it blocked by anything or can customers clearly see it while walking down the street?
• Competition: Are there a lot of competitors in the area that are already well-established and popular? That might make it difficult for you to break in.

If you want to open a mobile ice cream truck, you can afford to be more flexible with the location you choose since you can change it at any time.

Serving ice cream is a time-sensitive business. Not only are customers used to fast service, but the nature of the product also requires it.

Serve more customers every day by implementing a QR code menu that clients can scan on their smartphones to order and pay at the table, without having to wait for a server.

You can create your own ice cream shop menu in minutes with GloriaFood’s fast menu builder:

• Add different categories and menu items
• Add unlimited toppings and other add-ons
• Include allergens and nutritional information for each item
• Make unlimited changes to the menu without having to reprint it

Once you’ve crafted the menu, all you need to do is generate the QR code and display it on every table. That’s it!

You’re getting closer to the end of this guide on how to open an ice cream shop. Next on the list: equipment and supplies. This is the main equipment needed for an ice cream shop:

• Ice cream makers
• Blenders
• Refrigerators
• Freezers
• Ice cream containers
• Topping containers
• Cups
• Spoons
• Scales
• Takeout containers

Now, it’s time to put together a reliable team that will help your restaurant succeed.

First, think of how many front-of-house employees you need (less if you use a QR code menu with self-checkout) and look for these qualities:

• Enthusiastic
• Good people skills
• Works well with others
• Organization skills

When hiring back-of-house employees, look for people who:

• Work well under pressure
• Have a strong work ethic
• Have a good attention to detail
• Are committed to teamwork

• Accept a variety of payment methods to cater to any customer: Debit or credit cards, mobile payments, smartwatches, etc. Lightening fast restaurant payment processing, so your money is in your account before you know it.

• Lower customer wait time on hot summer days with an intuitive and friendly user interface and color-coded menu categories.

• Quickly edit customer checks with intuitive POS gestures such as:

➡️ Swipe to delete an item

➡️ Click to increase the number by 1

➡️ Long click to reset the quantity

• Keep the queue moving and avoid disgruntled customers with the Offline Mode that allows you to keep processing orders and payments even when the Internet is down.
• Increase in-store tips with our dedicated payment terminals that allow you to set your own tipping percentages or fixed dollar amounts.

• Easily manage menu stocks and mark items as sold out so customers don’t get disappointed by ordering something that’s no longer available.

What if we told you that you can unlock a whole new revenue stream while never leaving the GloriaFood restaurant dashboard?

If you’re already using our POS for your ice cream shop, you can also add the ordering widget on your website for free. It’s as easy as adding a button.

That way, customers can order your delicious ice cream online, no matter the weather. Learn more about setting up online ordering in less than 10 minutes:

As the grand opening approaches, it’s time to think about how you’re going to attract customers and secure their loyalty.

Here are a couple of ice cream shop tips for offline promotion:

• Print our flyers featuring a special discount and distribute them around the neighborhood.
• Tease the grand opening on a blackboard in front of your location.
• Partner with other local businesses for mutual promotion.
• Organize an opening party with special offers and limited-time flavors.

But offline promotion can only take you so far in a world where most people spend their free time online. Here’s how you can promote your ice cream shop online:

• Add an ordering link on social media so customers can find your menu and place an order without having to look for it.

• Create a Google Business Profile and fill in relevant information like your address, opening hours, website, and so on.
• Optimize your website for search engines so more locals can find it online. If you don’t know how to do that, you can simply generate an SEO-optimized website from GloriaFood.
• Create special offers for new and returning customers (i.e., Free delivery, 15% discount, buy one get one free).

• Set up automated emails to prevent cart abandonment and tempt customers who haven’t ordered in a while with a discount.

Before you open an ice cream shop, it’s vital that you weigh the advantages and disadvantages to see if the former outweigh the latter.

• Low ice cream shop start-up costs: One of the main reasons why people choose to open an ice cream shop is because the initial investment is much smaller than for other food businesses.
• High ice cream shop profit margin: Additionally, the profit margin for ice cream shops can go as high as 25%, which is higher than most.
• Flexibility: As you will see below when we explore different ice cream shop concepts, there are many directions you can go with an ice cream business.

• Weather-dependency: Since you’re selling more of a seasonal product, you might struggle selling during the cold season. Keep reading to find out how to sell ice cream in winter.
• Limited space: Depending on the type of ice cream business you want to open, you might be facing limited storage space and thus be forced to have a smaller menu.
• Fierce competition: The ice cream parlor market is forecasted to reach $22,759.2 million by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.1%. This explains why so many new ice cream shops are opening and why you might be facing tough competition.

Generally, an ice cream shop can make between $200,000 to $500,000 a year. Even so, many places fail to turn a profit. Let’s delve deeper into why and how you can ensure you’re not one of them.

• Have a good attention to detail
• Are committed to teamwork

If you’d like to learn more about streamlining communication between your front-of-house and back-of-house employees, check out this guide.

According to LimePack, only 50% of ice cream shops make it past the five-year mark. Here’s what’s causing this high failure rate:

1. Tough competition – The ice cream shop market is saturated with both large chains and independent shops, making it hard to stand out and attract customers.
2. Inability to sell year-round – Ice cream shop sales are heavily reliant on the weather. In the summer is the peak season and winter months bring a big drop in sales.
3. Unsuitable location – When researching how to open an ice cream shop, location selection is often underestimated.
4. Financial struggles – Miscalculating startup costs, failing to secure enough capital, and poor budgeting can lead to financial pressure and eventual closure.
5. Inability to adapt to social and economic changes – Lack of experience in the food and beverage industry or poor management skills can generate craks in your operating strategies.

Let’s take these issues one at a time and see how you can counteract them.

If you do things exactly the same way your competitors do, you will get lost in a sea of other ice cream businesses. Come up with a unique concept that will help you differentiate yourself.

Start by identifying your target audience, their wants, and needs. For example, if your target audience is health-conscious, you might want to consider a dietary-friendly menu.

Once you’ve come up with your concept, craft your entire branding around it. A cohesive brand image will help you attract a loyal clientele.

If you’re wondering “how do ice cream shops survive winter?” Here’s the answer:

• Introduce limited-edition winter flavors: From Christmas pudding ice cream to peppermint crunch, egg nogg, gingerbread, and other festive flavors, these can keep winter sales coming.
• Consider other things to sell in an ice cream shop besides ice cream: It’s difficult for an ice cream shop to survive solely from ice cream sales. Add hot beverages and baked goods to the menu during the cold season. You can also brainstorm some unique creations that feature ice cream, such as a croissant ice cream sandwich.
• Offer at-home delivery: No one wants to brace the cold winter air, even if they might be craving ice cream. Take the ice cream to them by enabling delivery. You can do that for free with GloriaFood by simply adding a “See Menu & Order” button on your website.
• Offer discounts and special offers: One way to persuade customers to order ice cream no matter the weather is to offer discounts for larger purchases or free delivery. You can set up any promotion you can think of using the promo templates built into the GloriaFood ordering system.

A crucial part of how to open an ice cream shop is understanding your customer preferences and adapting accordingly.

Wouldn’t it be great to change your shop’s location at a moment’s notice? With a mobile ice cream truck, you can.

This type of business gives you the flexibility to travel around, not only to new locations that you might want to explore, but also to events like music and food festivals.

While start-up costs for an ice cream shop are relatively low, you need to have a safety net in case of unforeseen expenses, as well as for times when your sales will dip.

The best way to ensure you don’t get an unpleasant surprise is to keep a close eye on your analytics so you can track sales trends, menu stars, and so on. That way, you can adjust your staff schedules, inventory, and marketing to ensure you don’t bleed money.

You can track in-store analytics with the help of your POS system, such as:

• Net sales – are total revenue generated by a company, minus any sales returns, allowances, and discounts.
• Daily sales – is the total revenue generated or products sold within a single day.
• Order types – is how your customers choose to consume their meals, i.e., dine-in, takeaway, or delivery.
• Cash payments – is the use of physical currency (paper money and coins) to pay for meals and services.
• Most-wanted menu items – is the most popular and profitable dishes on a restaurant’s menu.

You can track online analytics with an online ordering system with built-in reporting, such as:

• Total revenue – is the sum of all money earned from various revenue streams. This includes sales of food, beverages, merchandise, catering services, and any other activities that generate income for the restaurant.
• Revenue per sales channel – is the amount of money generated by each specific way a restaurant sells its food and beverages.
• Sales trends- the patterns and variations in sales performance over time, revealing shifts in customer behavior and preferences.
• Best and worst-selling menu items – are items that are difficult to prepare, don’t hold up well under heat lamps, or are not a specialty of the restaurant.
• New and returning clients – new clients are individuals who visit the restaurant for the first time, while returning clients customers are those who have dined or ate there before.
• Lowest and highest order density areas – Low density areas indicate the neighbourhoods where less of your delivery orders originate from, while high density areas are neighbourhoods where most of your delivery areas come from.
• Website rank – the position a restaurant’s website occupies in search engine results pages (SERPs) (like Google) when someone searches for relevant terms.
• Website funnel – a planned path designed to guide website visitors through a series of steps, ultimately leading them to a desired action, like placing an order or making a reservation.

If you’re only relying on your brick-and-mortar location, you might not make it in the ice cream business. Listen to what your customers want and meet their expectations if you want them to keep coming back:

• Enable pickup and delivery options;
• Allow customers to reserve a table and pre-order in advance (You can do that for free with GloriaFood);
• Speed up service and serve more people daily by enabling tableside ordering via QR codes. Follow the steps in this video to set this up in minutes:

As we’ve already mentioned, one of the main selling points of an ice cream business is its flexibility. Here are the main ice cream shop ideas and concepts you can try:

• Mobile ice cream business: Also known as an ice cream truck, this is the perfect concept for you if you want to move around and go where your customers are. However, keep in mind that this comes with vehicle maintenance, additional permits, as well as parking regulations.
• Ice cream parlor: A brick-and-mortar location, an ice cream parlor provides you with more space, which means you can experiment with your menu and include other items besides ice cream.
• Seasonal ice cream shop: Since it can be tricky to sell ice cream in winter, you can opt to close your shop during the colder seasons.
• Year-round ice cream shop: Whether you live in a place with a warm climate year-round or trust that your ideas will bring in customers even during winter, this could be the best option for you.

You’ve almost ready to open your ice cream shop. You have your business plan, location and equpment ready but how do you make money?  You should focus on offering high-quality, diverse products, calculated  pricing, and targeted marketing. Think of adding unique flavors, artisanal options, and even non-dairy or low-fat options to attract a broader customer base.

Strategies to increase your ice cream shop revenue

• Offer a wide range of flavors, sizes, and concepts (cones, cups, sundaes, shakes, etc.).
• Launch limited supply gourmet flavors or specialty items like ice cream cakes to validate higher prices and increase profit margins.
• Create special promotions or limited-time flavors to increase sales during slower periods.
• Make use of social media and local events to promote your shop and its menu.
• Always provide a positive customer experience to encourage positive reviews and repeat visits.

Congratulations, you now know how to open an ice cream shop! Not just that, you have the tools and technology you need to ensure its long-term success.

What are your next steps? Organize a soft opening with family and friends. Their valuable input will help you optimize everything ahead of the big day. Good luck!