Your Ideal Customer At An Ice Cream Shop

One of the most important aspects of opening virtually any new business is knowing your target audience. Ice cream shops are no exception. You can waste a lot of time, money, and effort marketing to people who have no interest in frequenting an ice cream shop. It may seem like a lot of work to research your target audience and learn how to market to them, but it will be well worth the effort. Families with children, teenagers, and adults all love to consume this frozen dessert. You can even cater to other customers in your shop who prefer fat free, reduced fat, and no sugar added ice creams or prefer to create the treat themselves.

Families with children

Frozen dessert preferences can vary according to both age and gender. African American households enjoy a larger range of frozen dessert products. These households also eat more servings over a monthly period than the average American household. 34 percent of households with children eat 4 or more quarts of this frozen dessert monthly. This figure is higher than the 20 percent of households without children. Young children also consume a wider selection of ice cream flavors and other frozen desserts. Families who are traveling with children are more likely to stop for ice cream in a new city than individuals and couples traveling without children.

Teenagers

As an ice cream shop, you will most likely be catering to a sizable teenage market. Teenage girls tend to opt for healthier products such as frozen yogurt, particularly those labeled as low-fat. On the flip side, teenager girls are also prone to choosing premium ice cream as a comfort food after a breakup or even a tough day at school. Teenage boys consistently select premium ice cream products, regardless of personal circumstances.

Adults

Adults tend to remain faithful to their favorite ice cream products. If a child loves this frozen dessert, he or she will most likely still love ice cream as an adult. As youth populations are projected to be in decline over the next seven years, catering to the adult segment is more important than ever.

Most adults prefer the same few flavors that they have been eating their entire lives. These people believe that the extensive variety of ice cream flavors available today appeals to children, not adults.

Brand is more important to certain segments of the population. Consumers in the 18-24 age group would rather purchase ice cream from a premium shop. Additionally, female consumers age 45 and older and African American and Hispanic populations place a high priority on ice cream brand.

Other customers

Most stores make the majority of their sales on regular ice cream products. However, many large brands and small shops alike have started to diversify their offerings in order to cater to a wider range of lifestyles. For example, many companies offer a lower carbohydrate content ice cream that is in line with one of the latest diet crazes. It is not uncommon to find fat free, reduced fat, and no sugar added ice creams on shop menus as well.

Another trend that modern ice cream consumers look for in a shop is mix in or “create your own” offerings. The “create your own” environment caters exclusively to customers while making them feel special. Consumers can select a flavor as well as add-ins and toppings. Most shops mix the ice cream creations together for their customers while most frozen yogurt shops allow customers to do the mixing.

Are you interested in opening your own ice cream shop? Consider the options available at KaleidoScoops. We have a proven opportunity for self-starter entrepreneurs with an established business plan and time tested product. You are not just funneling profits back into a franchise by owning a cooperative. To learn more about our company and the opportunities that we offer for entrepreneurs, Get The Scoop or give us a call at (877) 426-8488. You can also Contact Us via email for more information on opening your own ice cream shop.