Written by Preparing high-quality and pleasant-tasting ice cream in a family kitchen or a small-scale business can be very costly. However, an alternative way to enjoy the delightful taste of an ice cream sundae while cutting costs is to use an ice cream machine. With a little creativity and guidance, you can make ice cream in bulk for a group of friends, a business event or even a family gathering. You only need to follow a few easy steps.
Understanding the Benefits of a Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine
One of the most significant advantages of soft serve ice cream is the machine’s ability to serve many people in a short time. As the number of people increases, so will the need to keep serving ice cream. Such machines also help minimise wastage by retaining the texture of the product during serving. Additionally, remember that a good investment in the more expensive models of these machines can serve you well for years or even for the rest of your life.
The data shows that the average cost of providing soft serve ice cream in fast food establishments, using a commercial machine, is approximately £0.50 to £1.00 depending on the ingredients and type of machine, which is significantly lower than the output ice cream obtained from supermarkets where prices start from £4 per pint up to £7.
Choosing the Right Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine
One way to lower the incurred costs is to consider the factors that best suit your soft serve ice cream needs. The main ones include production capacity, reliability, and power efficiency. In terms of size, there are small units intended for home use and large models intended for heavily trafficked businesses.
Small units: These cost around £200 to £500 to buy and can produce 10 to 15 servings an hour, making them ideal for couples to use or during small gatherings.
Business units: These come in large sizes and are capable of producing over 100 servings in an hour. They cost between £2,000 to £10,000.
Choosing a more powerful model will enable you to make ice cream in large quantities. In the business world, this means that the return on the higher investment will be substantial due to cost savings on each serving.
Ingredients: Keep It Simple and Cost-Effective
The next step is to use the appropriate components that ensure the production cost does not escalate. Soft serve ice cream is made using sugar, milk, and a stabiliser, but the production cost can be managed by optimising these components:
Base mixes: Pre-packaged soft serve mixes containing a good quantity of milk, stabilisers and sweeteners are used in several businesses. Rather than wasting money purchasing ingredients separately in bulk, these mixes can be much cheaper and easier. A typical pre-mix costs about £5-£10 per gallon and makes approximately 4-5 servings.
Prepared Mixes: If you want to create inexpensive ice cream on your own, then a mix that you have to prepare can be a perfect solution. You can simply prepare a mix of milk, cream, sugar, and emulsifiers for a simple recipe. You can also use standard quantities of cream and whole milk to produce ice cream that is quite creamy and not too expensive.
For instance, a basic DIY soft serve ice cream mix might consist of:
- 1 gallon of whole milk, costing £3
- 1 pint of heavy cream costing £1.50
- 1.5 cups of sugar costing £0.50
In total, this homemade mix costs around £5 altogether and produces approximately 40 servings with a cost of 12 pence for each serving.
Streamlining Production to Cut Costs Further
Once you have decided to purchase a particular soft serve ice cream machine and the input ingredients, the next step involves focusing on how else production can be carried out more cost effectively. In the following paragraphs, a few techniques to make the process of making ice cream easier are put forth:
Bulk Purchasing of Ingredients
Bulk buying of input ingredients is one of the most recommended solutions for lowering the cost of inputs. Sugar, powdered milk, and stabilisers can be bought in large quantities at a unit price of 30-50% less than wholesale bags. This will be particularly helpful if you are making ice cream for business since the cost benefits are substantial over time.
Freezing in Bulk
If you want to make a lot of ice cream, freezing it in bulk instead of making small amounts all the time might be a better option. This allows you to make ice cream in bulk, which is more efficient and significantly increases the working hours of the machine. You can place the ice cream in the deep freezer in large sealed containers, and it will remain good for as long as a month.
Maintenance to Extend Machine Life
Regular maintenance of a machine is essential to its continued effectiveness. You should adhere to the rules of the instruction manual, cleaning the machine after every use to optimise its performance. This routine procedure will not only reduce the costs incurred in repairs, but also eliminate the possibility of replacing the product with a new one. Of major importance is always checking the various components of the machine such as the motor and the dispensing peripheral. This habit will avert the risk of unforeseen breakdowns that could cause downtimes or additional costs in repairs.
Portion Control and Pricing Strategy
Another easy way out is portion control; it is the ability to offer reasonable portions while lowering the cost. For instance, if we have one cone of ice cream, we might fear over-serving it, as that would require an increase in the purchase of frosting. That poses a problem as well so instead of engaging our staff as frosters, one possible solution is to set the machine’s portioning mechanism to about 4-6 ounces per cone. In most instances, a cone that is set up this way tends to minimise waste or abuse associated with the ice cream machine.
Furthermore, branding is useless unless one prices it well. A decent costing of soft serve ice cream is able to capture all the costs. For instance, at a cost incurred in ice cream chunks at around 50 pence, we can serve the product at 250 pence. In doing this we cover our overheads and make some profit – we make a markup of approximately 400%.
Conclusion
To conclude, a soft serve ice cream machine can be used to mass produce cheap ice cream, however, this might be more effective if one opts to use it with the right machine. To reduce the cost of making ice cream, all that’s needed are affordable ingredients and, more importantly, a suitable machine. Making ice cream for your own use or for a small business will be made easier through these techniques.
Written by 
Written by