Competition In The Ice Cream Industry

One of the critical aspects of starting an ice cream business is knowing your competition in the industry. In the world of premium ice cream, your biggest competitors are soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt shops. The more you know about soft serve and frozen yogurt, the more you will be able to be successfully competitive.

Competition from soft serve ice cream products

Soft serve ice cream is lighter and softer than regular ice cream due to the fact that air is introduced during the freezing process. The air content, or overrun, can range from 0 percent to 60 percent of the total product volume. Typically, soft serve is cheaper than premium ice cream and is readily available at fast food chains.

Most soft serve comes from a powdered, fresh liquid, or ultra heat treated mix. The mix is added to the storage chamber in the soft serve machine. When the draw valve pulls the product, the fresh mix combines with the target air quality. Then, the mixture moves into the freezing chamber via gravity or a pump. The soft serve is mixed, flash frozen, and stored until it is ready to be dispensed.

The use of a mixture and the process of serving the product from a machine means the dessert is produced quickly. However, soft serve contains more preservatives and fillers than you’ll find in premium ice cream. A soft serve base consists of milk, sugar, whey, and cream.

Competition from frozen yogurt products

Frozen yogurt is made with cultured milk, such as yogurt, with probiotics that cannot withstand freezing temperatures. As frozen yogurt is not made with cream, it doesn’t have the same fat requirement as ice cream. The biggest difference in nutrition between ice cream and frozen yogurt is fat content. One cup of regular vanilla ice cream has 275 calories, five grams of protein, 31 grams of carbohydrates, and 15 grams of fat. The ice cream also has 9 grams of saturated fat. In comparison, one cup of regular vanilla frozen yogurt has 221 calories, 5 grams of protein, 38 grams of carbohydrates, and 6 grams of fat. The frozen yogurt has only 4 grams of saturated fat.

In recent years, frozen yogurt shops have gained widespread popularity. Many customers like having the control of choosing their portion sizes and adding their own toppings. As frozen yogurt is known for having less calories, it is easy to assume that any dish of frozen yogurt will have fewer calories.

Although soft serve and frozen yogurt have competitive qualities, premium ice cream is of a higher quality. Owning a premium ice cream business means that you have access to unique flavors of hand dipped ice cream. Your customers can choose their own cones and toppings as well. If you would like more information about KaleidoScoops premium ice cream products, call us today at (877) 426-8488.Get The Scoop on becoming part of the KaleidoScoops cooperative. You can also connect via email by clicking on Contact Us.