Buy ice cream or produce it yourself?

Ice cream is very much in vogue - currently, more newcomers, lateral entrants and newcomers from other sectors are interested in the topic than ever before: From the classic café that wants to include ice cream as a "crisis-proof supplementary product" to the complete newcomer who has been dreaming of an ice cream kiosk for a long time and says to himself: "It's now or never!

Of course, there are many points that now need to be taken into account: The right shop in the right location and with the right rent. A coherent overall concept. A beautiful, functional and at the same time atmospheric interior. And much more. But the most central issue is the delicious ice cream itself - and here there are two fundamentally different options: You can make the ice cream yourself - or you can buy it in.

To put it in a nutshell: Depending on the situation, both can make sense - what is right for you depends on several factors. And these are the ones we would like to examine now!

Purchasing - possibilities

What options are there for buying in ? Broadly speaking, there are three possibilities . Before we talk about these options in detail, let's briefly look at the difference between industrial and artisanal production.

Industrial vs. artisanal production

Industrially produced ice cream is when ice cream is produced in a continuous freezer with the addition of air . The actual "freezing time" is only a few seconds, the air surcharge is up to 100 % - so up to two litres of ice cream are made from one litre of basic mass.

Artisanal ice cream , on the other hand, is produced in portions - in so-called "batches" - in a classic ice cream machine. The production time is 7-10 minutes, the air mark-up between 30 and 50 %.

So the customer gets much more "product for his money" - 100ml of artisan ice cream equals about 70g of product (the rest is air!), the same amount of industrial ice cream only about 50g of product plus air.

Furthermore, industrial ice cream is produced in large quantities (this is due to the technology of the industrial freezers, where changing the type is costly) and must - by means of appropriate ingredients and storage - be made durable and storable for a very long time .

1. purchase of industrial ice cream from the big players

On the one hand, all the well-known "big players" in the ice cream industry offer B2B sales for the catering trade. You get a professional partner, and with a corresponding turnover you also get the ice cream display case (but don't be under any illusions: No one "gives" you a display case - you pay for it through the ice cream price, of course!) and sell - in both a positive and negative sense - the same industrial product as any other customer of the well-known ice cream manufacturer. Consistent quality and professional processing are guaranteed - you cannot expect any special individuality or craftsmanship. For smaller purchase quantities, the industrial ice cream is often not that cheap - for sufficiently large quantities, the purchase becomes significantly cheaper, but then you have to consider (see below) whether in-house production would not be significantly more economical.

2. purchase of ice cream from "small-scale" producers

There are also a number of "small industrial" ice cream producers . Even if some of them adorn themselves with the label "manufactory" - they also offer industrially produced ice cream with continuous freezers . The quality of the finished product is often not fundamentally different from the ice cream of the "big industry", so it is worth taking a look at the list of ingredients. However, these ice creams are often more beautifully and elaborately decorated, more individual and not available "on every corner". In terms of price , they are often in the middle range.

3. purchase of artisan ice cream

And of course you can also buy ice cream from a partner in the region - many ice cream parlours now offer other restaurateurs the opportunity to pick up ice cream (or deliver it if the quantity is sufficient) and sell it in their own shop - or have even said goodbye to running an ice cream café and become pure producers. Here you can often still get real, regionally and artisan-made ice cream from classic ice-cream machines - in contrast to industrial production individually, with much less air surcharge, and usually much "fresher" (i.e. produced less long in advance). However, this naturally - and rightly so! - and is generally much more expensive than industrially produced ice cream.

The spatial and temporal possibilities.

So if you want to consider whether you would prefer to produce ice cream completely yourself instead of buying it in (regardless of the supplier), then you should first ask yourself the question quite openly and honestly: Can I and do I want to do this at all?

Because one thing is clear: ice cream - especially in a certain quantity and quality - does not produce itself! You need someone to make the ice cream (for the sake of simplicity, we'll write "ice cream maker" - whether the ice cream maker is the one you want is, of course, up to you), you need the appropriate premises, you have to deal with the product, and you basically have to be able and willing to afford the investment in the appropriate technology.

Inany case, you don't make ice cream "on the side" - someone has to take care of the recipes, the purchase of goods, the declarations, the production, the cleaning and maintenance of the machines and equipment - and hopefullynot just once a week, but much more often. You need a sufficiently large production room with the appropriate equipment - water, high voltage current - and appropriate storage rooms (both for the ingredients and for the finished ice cream).

Unless they can already do it (e.g. from a pastry chef training or a Gelato University course), you should also definitely familiarise yourself with the basics of "gelato making" beforehand (even if there is no obligation for a training certificate).

So you see: If you see ice cream as a pure "by-product" - then buying it in is probably the better choice for you, because it is significantly simpler and less complicated.

The financial aspect

If you have decided for yourself that you would like to produce your own ice cream , then the question remains: Is it worth it for me at all? The answer is clear: it depends!

As a rough guideline, one can say that with a sales turnover of less than € 35,000 per year, buying in ice is usually the economically more sensible way. Because one thing is clear: first you have to invest. You need the technology, the space and you need manpower that costs or is worth money. So if you sell less than € 35,000 of ice cream per year, then ice cream is really a "by-product" for you - and thus buying in probably makes more sense(at least in the beginning, more on this below).

Conversely, if you have an ice cream turnover of more than € 100,000 per year, you should definitely produce it yourself if you somehow have the opportunity to do so. In this turnover range, the investment costs for ice cream production pay for themselves within a short time - and from a purely economic point of view, the answer can only be: produce your own!

In between - between € 35,000 and € 100,000 ice cream turnover per year - you have to weigh it up, because both are economically justifiable. Depending on where you set your priorities: Do you feel like making your own ice cream, do you plan to increase your ice cream turnover further and do you have the premises and staff to produce it yourself? Great - get started!

You don 't have the time, desire, people and/or space to produce ice cream yourself and can live with a slightly lower margin - the main thing is that you have little stress with the ice cream? Then buy with a clear conscience.

If you are unsure : We are happy to be at your disposal for a Individual profitability calculation at your disposal. We will show you what a kilogram of ice cream costs in your own production, how much you have to invest, how much time you have to plan per week and what electricity and water costs you have to reckon with - and contrast this with the costs for buying in.

Individuality

However, there is one more point that can only be guaranteed with in-house production: Complete individuality - "your" own ice cream.

So if you want to offer organic ice cream, vegan ice cream, sugar-free or -reduced ice cream, 100% regional ingredients or your very own crazy flavours ("rice pudding quinoa with kumquat ginger salsa", "dark chocolate dwarf pine" and and and) - yes, you will probably have to produce it yourself...

And start with additional purchases first?!

Finally, if you are unsure how much ice cream you can sell and whether it is worth the effort to produce it yourself, there is of course nothing to stop you buying ice cream for one or two seasons and then switching to your own production.

The only thing you (and your customers) need to be aware of, of course, is that the ice cream will change (hopefully for the better!) as soon as you produce it yourself and no longer buy it in.

Conclusion

Do you still have questions? Are you still unsure what is the right way for you? Or would you like to talk through your own individual calculation with us? Contact us - we will be happy to advise you!

Your Krä Ice Technology