Soft Serve comes in
many forms..Soft Serve comes in
many forms..
Ice milk mix: a Dairy product containing anywhere from 3% to 6% Butterfat the mix is usually delivered in 1/2 gallon containers, or can be ordered in 2 gallon bags. It does require refrigeration, and it does have a shelf life like milk.
Powdered Mixes: There are some very good dry mixes that do not require refrigeration, and have a long shelf life. You mix them with water, refrigerate and then put into the machine.
Ice Cream mix: Usually used for making Batch Ice cream (also called hard Ice Cream) this is the premium of the mixes and can have butterfat as high as you would like. Note, Some states request that you do not advertise your product as "Ice Cream" unless it meets a minimum percentage of Butterfat. Check with your local Dairymen's association.
Soft Serve Yogurt: This also a Dairy product that has an active culture added to give it that "Tangy" taste. Butterfat percentages vary for each manufacturers. The food cost is usually higher than Ice milk mix.
Food Cost Example
We all
are familiar with whipped cream, it comes in small 1/2 or 1 pint containers. If
you were to put the container into a freezer, you would not end up with ice
cream, but a frozen cube of cream, and it would not be very consumable.
BUT, if we place the cream in a bowl, and "WHIP" it blending in air,
them the cream traps the air, and expands resulting in whipped cream. However,
CONTROL is important so that you stop blending the whipped cream at the right
point, continuing to whip, and the cream will break down into butter and water!
To calculate the food cost, you would need to WEIGH the container of cream before "whipping". Let's say the cream (less the container) weighs eight ounces and you paid $.80 cents for it. After Whipping, if you weigh the portions you serve, then you can calculate your food cost. Using a large 6 ounce (by volume) ladle, you'll find that the whipped cream you served may only weigh 1 ounce, so, you will have a food cost of $.10 cents for that serving.
Soft Serve, Shake and Batch (hard ice cream) machines "MANUFACTURER" the finished product for you. They blend in the air, while cooling or freezing it to a point where the "CONTROL" stops the process. The operator then opens the dispenser valve to take out some finished product, and the machine re-starts to continuously repeat the manufacture of finished product, as long as it is re-supplied with additional "raw" mix.
The average finished food cost for a 4% soft serve product is $.03 cents. That means a four ounce serving, by weight (small cone) will only cost you $.12 cents for the mix, add $.05 for a cone gives a total cost of $.17 cents. A normal selling price is $.89 cents for a
PROFIT OF $.72 cents per cone! Show me the MONEY!
Soft
serve not only is inexpensive and simple to serve, but everybody loves it too!