The journey of starting an ice cream business is strategic, encompassing four key steps: 1. Conducting market research and devising a concept; 2. Creating a comprehensive business plan outlining your goals, strategies, and financial projections; 3. Setting up your shop; and 4. Implementing efficient business management process.
We encourage you to explore our detailed article, Four Steps to Start and Succeed at an Ice Cream Business, which breaks down each step and highlights the importance of strategic planning in your ice cream business.
This article delves into the crucial first step: conducting market research and designing a business concept. This step is the bedrock of your ice cream business, as it helps you understand your potential customers, their preferences, and the market trends.
How to Design a Concept for Your Ice Cream Store.
Designing an ice cream shop concept involves deciding the type of ice cream you will sell, to whom, and in what style your shop will be. The steps below guide you through formulating a concept for your store.
1. Find Your Starting Point and Next Market Research Step.
Our research has shown that aspirant ice cream shop entrepreneurs often find themselves in different starting positions when embarking on their ice cream business journey. This variation is entirely normal, and understanding it can help you better navigate your unique path.
For instance, some entrepreneurs have a well-defined concept and target market in mind, which is the backbone of their business strategy. On the other hand, some may be unsure about the type of shop, the target market, or the location of their shop. A clear concept is essential to steer your business in the right direction.
Evaluating where you are is essential in deciding your next logical and practical step towards formulating an ice cream shop concept.
Why It’s Vital to Identify Your Starting Position:
Identifying your starting position is essential for several reasons:
• It Helps Decide Your Next Market Research Step.
Market research will always be needed, and your starting position will determine the extent of that market research.
Some examples:
Example 1: You are unsure what ice cream shop to start. You want to start an ice cream shop but are uncertain whether to open a traditional ice cream parlour, a mobile ice cream truck, an upscale gelato shop, and the target market and location.
Thus, to decide on the type of shop, you must conduct market research by surveying potential customers, preferences, and demographics, analysing local competition, identifying underserved areas, and evaluating foot traffic in different locations.
Example 2: You have a concept but not the location. You may want to open a vegan ice cream shop targeting health-conscious millennials. However, you are unsure about a suitable location for your business.
Your next step may be to evaluate potential locations based on foot traffic, visibility, and accessibility to your target audience. Following your market research, you may choose a spot in a trendy, walkable neighbourhood.
Example 2: You know who your target market is. Another example is knowing what your target market is. For instance, you want to sell ice cream to families with children. However, you are unsure about the type of ice cream shop and the location of your shop.
By researching preferences and location, you can develop a menu that caters to the preferences of your target market and choose a location with high foot traffic and visibility to attract your target customers.
Following this, you may open a family-friendly ice cream parlour with a wide range of classic and kid-friendly flavours in a high-traffic area near a park or playground.
• It Helps You Define a Clear Vision.
Knowing your starting position helps you define a clear vision for your business. If you know your concept and target market, you can align your efforts towards creating a product and experience that meets your customers’ specific needs.
• It Helps You to Set Realistic and Attainable Goals.
For instance, if you are unsure about the type of ice cream, you can set an initial goal to conduct market research to determine customer preferences.
• It Helps You Prioritise Tasks.
For example, suppose you are clear about your concept but not your target market and location. In that case, your immediate priority might be finding a target market and location that matches your concept.
Let’s say you’d like to open a gourmet ice cream parlour but are unsure about its target market and location. By conducting market research, you may identify health-conscious young professionals as your target customers and select a trendy neighbourhood with high foot traffic as the ideal location.
• It Helps You Recognise Knowledge and Resource Gaps.
Recognising your starting position highlights the gaps in your knowledge or resources. This awareness can prevent costly mistakes. For instance, if you are unsure what kind of ice cream will appeal to your target market, you can conduct taste tests or surveys before investing heavily in production.
Tips To Pinpoint Your Starting Position:
• At this point, the most crucial task is to evaluate where you are at honestly.
• You also need to assess any knowledge gaps you have, such as how to do market research.
• Lastly, determine specific next steps based on your business starting point, like identifying your target market for your concept or learning how to do market research.
2. Market Research to Identify Your Target Customer.
This next step always involves marketing, as market research is a critical guiding factor in starting an ice cream shop. As noted above, market research must be conducted regardless of one’s starting position.
Market research involves gathering and analysing data to understand market trends and customer preferences and to identify your target customer and your competition. Market research can help determine your ice cream store concept, target market, and location. It is particularly critical if you have not identified any of these yet.
While market research can be time-consuming, it’s a necessary investment and is a step that must not be skipped.
Why Market Research Is Important:
• This process lets you identify your target market and strategically position your business around them.
• The most critical aspect of market research is identifying a problem or need in the market in a specific location that your ice cream shop can solve.
• To generate a concept for your ice cream shop that can solve the need you identified.
• It helps to ensure that your business concept aligns with market demand, reducing risks and increasing chances of success.
• Suppose you already have a concept and target consumer in mind. In that case, market research can validate the feasibility of your idea and help you find the best location for your concept and target audience.
Tips for Market Research and Identifying Gaps:
• Gather original, first-hand data directly from potential customers. Use surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather insights on preferences, habits, and unmet needs.
• You can also do secondary research using industry reports, academic journals, and market analysis from reputable sources. These provide information on ice cream and health food market trends and help you understand the increasing demand for health-focused food products and the growing popularity of unique, experiential dining options.
• Check the trend of online reviews and social media posts to understand customer preferences and behaviours.
• Visit competitor ice cream shops to review their offerings, pricing, and marketing strategies, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and identify opportunities for differentiation. Doing so can also help to identify gaps in the market.
For example, visiting competitors may result in opening an artisanal ice cream shop in an area already saturated with generic ice cream chains. This way, you can capture a niche market looking for premium options.
An Example of a Gap Identified from Market Research.
Through research, you may eventually discover a gap in the market for an ice cream shop that can meet the needs of health-conscious young professionals who want a place to hang out with peers and have Instagram-worthy experiences. With this identified gap, you design a concept for your shop to meet their needs.
3. Draw Up a Detailed Profile of Your Targeted Customer
Once you’ve identified your target customer, you must do further research and create an in-depth customer profile for that market.
You need to understand your customer. Your detailed understanding of your target customer allows you to meet their needs through the shop you introduce to the market.
To compile a target customer profile, you must gather comprehensive information about them and draw up a profile that includes information about their age, gender, income, and occupation, which are generally referred to as their demographics.
Additionally, you need to gather information on their lifestyle, values, and interests, known as psychographics, and lastly, the buying behaviour of your target market, which includes their spending habits, preferences, and needs,
Why Profiling Your Target Customer Is Necessary:
• A clear and detailed customer persona guides all business decisions. Understanding your target customer is crucial for making informed decisions about every aspect of your business, from product offerings to marketing strategies.
• It helps tailor products, services, and marketing efforts to meet your target audience’s specific needs and preferences.
• It ensures that resources are allocated effectively by targeting the right audience, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Meeting customers’ personal needs through your offerings allows you to develop higher engagement and a more robust customer connection.
Tips to Gather Information and Profile Your Target Market.
• Do market research and gather first-hand data directly from your target market. You can conduct surveys and focus groups and analyse existing data to gather insights about your target market.
• Using this information, you can create detailed customer personas representing your ideal customers.
• Continuously update the customer profile based on ongoing research and feedback.
An Example of a Target Market Profile:
Profile Details: Health-conscious young professionals (ages 25-35) living in urban areas, earning moderate to high incomes. They value wellness, are willing to pay a premium for healthy options, and are active on social media.
Behaviors and Needs: Prefer healthy yet indulgent treats, enjoy socialising, and seek Instagram-worthy experiences.
Pain Points: Limited availability of healthy, trendy, and social-media-friendly dessert options.
4. Develop a Shop Concept Around the Target Consumer.
Now that you understand your targeted consumer, you can create a unique and appealing business concept for your ice cream shop that aligns with their preferences and needs.
Remember that the concept you design must answer the need you identified in your market research and align with your customer profile.
Developing the concept for your ice cream shop includes the product (the type of frozen dessert offered), the shop type (sit-in or take-out), the shop ambience (décor, layout), branding (name, logo, and marketing message), and customer experience (service style).
Of these, at this point, the most critical aspects in formulating your shop concept are:
- The type of frozen dessert you are going to serve. There are many options for frozen desserts, such as ice cream, gelato, sorbet, frozen yoghurt, and dairy-free ice cream.
- What type of shop are you going to have? For example, will it be a dine-in, a take-out, or a food truck?
Why Conceptualising Your Shop Is Necessary:
• It Defines Your Shop’s Identity.
A clear concept is crucial, as it defines the shop’s identity and sets it apart from competitors. It ensures that every aspect of the business, from product offerings to marketing strategies, aligns with the expectations and desires of the target market.
• It Impacts Decisions like Equipment and Shop Size.
Knowing what kind of frozen dessert you want to sell is necessary, as this determines the equipment you buy and the space you need for your shop. For example, deciding to sell ice cream or gelato requires very different equipment and space for storage and freezing than selling soft serve.
If you sell more traditional frozen desserts like ice cream and gelato, you will need equipment to blast freeze, store, and temper ice cream, compared to selling soft serve, where you will need only a soft serving machine.
Tips to Define the Concept of Your Shop:
• Generate Ideas Based on Your Client Profile and Their Needs.
Be guided by the fact that the type of shop you choose, its design and layout, and the frozen dessert you sell must align with the need you have identified in your target market.
For example, suppose your priority target market is health-conscious young professionals looking for a place to hang out and connect with their peers. In that case, you will likely have a sit-in ice cream shop with ample comfortable and cosy seating where your young professionals can linger, connect with others, or work.
You may also decide on a frozen dessert like gelato, which aligns with the target market’s preference for healthier options. Gelato typically contains less fat and fewer calories than traditional ice cream. It is also seen as a more indulgent and premium treat, which may appeal to young professionals seeking quality over quantity.
Conversely, if you target more health-conscious shoppers in a busy mall, you are likelier to have a grab-and-go shop selling a frozen dessert that is easy to eat while walking, like frozen yoghurt sold in cups, cones, or bars.
• Study successful concepts in similar markets and identify trends that resonate with your target audience.
