How to Start Softy ice cream making business

From being used to cool off a summer evening to being used to treat one of your friends and from being used as a reason to get out of the house sometimes to being used so as to ease the tooth pain after a dental appointment, Softy/soft serve/soft ice ice creams have enhanced the ice cream options available for the consumers.

A softy ice cream has been a must-eat at many carnivals, exhibitions, food market stalls etc since many years because of it’s affordability and the unique texture different from other frozen ice desserts.

This type of ice cream with variety in flavours has its own specific niche established which is wide enough to fit in all the kids, teenagers, , adults and older people who associate different purposes of licking away a softy.

Ever thought of how unique is an opportunity such as this can help you get into a softy ice cream making business while letting you experiment with your taste buds by having one everyday? Well it is so but let’s just see how

Market potential and uses

The market for a softy making business is vast it ranges from having a routine and loyal customer demand to having an increasing seasonal demand by the ice cream simps and the summer dreading customers respectively

A softy can be defined as a frozen dessert like ice cream but is softer and less dense as a result of air being introduced while freezing.

The potential for this product has seen to be expanding because of its content, low in milk fat which is a vast plus point for every business now because of the growing health awareness, dietary constraints etc

The market potential for a softy/soft serve ice cream making business can be defined on the basis of properties of the softy ice cream mix available and uses the different target consumers are looking for in it which are as follows:

On the basis of types of pre-mixes:

• Fresh liquid
• Powdered
• Ultra heat

On the basis of kind of pre-mixes:

• Non fat soft ice cream mix
• Reduced fat soft  ice cream mix
• Soft ice cream mixes
• True milk soft ice cream mix

On the basis of uses

• It is used as a desert
• For stalls at carnivals and festivals
• For celebratory moments
• After a dental appointment
• As a part of a dessert

1. Licenses required

The licenses required to run this soft ice cream making business are:

• FSSAI certificate 2000
• GST registration
• MSME registration

1. Investment required

The investment required to set up this business is ₹ 15 lakhs

1. Profits made

The profits made from running a softy ice cream making business is ₹45000–₹60000 per month

• Target consumers

The target consumers for this softy ice cream making business are:

• Carnivals and fests: These require softy ice creams to be sold to teenagers, kids and adults at college fests and carnivals because of it’s affordability I’m terms of pricing and for a light dessert consumption
• Shopping malls: The shopping malls experience a good number of consumers belonging to every segment and age groups who’d prefer some cool off from shopping and softies could do just that
• Movie theatres: Softies are also used in the movie theatres through the coin and softy machine system so that consumers can have variety of flavours while they enjoy their movie with a light dessert
• Canteens: The canteens of various spaces like school, college commercial offices also require softies for the purpose of bringing variety in the routine food offered to then
• Ice cream parlours: These could supply the softies made by you along with the other frozen ice desserts to meet with all the requirements of all the possible consumers niches
• Catering services: These could require softies as an optional dessert along with the others at event like birthdays, parties etc

• Area required

The area required to set up this softy ice cream making business is 500 sq ft

• Raw materials required

The raw material required to run this business is

• Pre mixer
• Flavours
• Water
• Cones and cups

• Machinery required

The machinery required to set up this softy ice cream making business is

• Soft serve ice cream machine

1. Manpower required

The manpower required to run this business is

• 1-skilled worker
• 2-unskilled worker

Moreover ample training to these workers in terms of the following must also be provided with

• Machinery usage
• Equipment handling
• Safety and precautions measures

• Business model and growth

The business model of a softy ice cream making business can be defined using these 4 variants:

1. Value proposition: The value which this business is likely to get to you is:

• Easy operational activity and less management required and the production and scope of this softy ice cream business can be easily expanded
• Larger target customer base accounting for massive sales

1. Target consumers: The target consumers of this business are as follows

• Carnival and fests
• Street vendors
• Fast food joints
• Ice cream parlours
• Canteens
• Catering services
• Shopping malls etc

1. Competitor review: The softy ice cream making business has some aggressive competition but with  required needs of consumers being met survival becomes easy.

However the main competitors are

• Softy den
• Scoops
• Havmor
• Vadilal
• Amul

1. Marketing strategy:

   The marketing strategy that can be implemented by your business are

• Advertising: Through tv commercials, brand endorsements and celebrity endorsements
• Listings: on food delivery apps like ZOMATO, swiggy and directory listing on google

Growth

The softy ice cream making business has witnessed and has the potential for the following growth prospects

• The global ice cream market is expected to grown at a CAGR of 12.4% by 2025 which is growing at a CAGR of 4.7% currently
• Moreover with the youth being the most dominant population in India with 53% and because of increase in westernisation and ready to eat food trend this softy ice cream making business is expected to growth further

• Profit margin

The softy ice cream making business is likely to yield you a profit margin of 50%-80%

• Suggestions

Do us a favour, pick yourself up your favourite flavour of softy and just lick at its swirl while we give you the reasons of why you should take up this softy ice cream making business opportunity

• Firstly, The operations, labour and skill involved in this business are very minimal and it’s a time-saving business opportunity if you are looking for a side hustle
• Secondly, as per the developing needs of health conscious consumers the non and low fat mixes are introduced and with variety of flavours for all the consumers the target market is wise with something for everyone
• Lastly, this business gives you a perfect and profitable opportunity for being a distributor, retailer or even a franchise owner or even three of these at the same time