Sweet seduction on wheels: Successful with a mobile ice cream parlour

This is how you too can become successful with a mobile ice cream parlour: Since last summer, Asude has been on the road as “Die Eistante” with her mobile ice cream parlour in Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein. In this blog article, you can learn directly from Asude how her creativity helped her to take the step towards self-employment and how the offer with her mobile ice cream parlour is being received.

The ice cream aunt

Originally, Asude’s professional background is not in the restaurant business, let alone the ice cream business. Instead, she has her roots in the medical and service sector. But since her childhood days, she has been captivated by sweet highlights as a passionate baking lover. She turned this hobby into a profession last year: In June 2022, she brought the Eistante to life and provides more than just cool refreshment on the go: With individual ice cream, waffle and coffee combinations, Asude brings plenty of sweet highlights to the streets.

Best practice: Asude and the mobile ice cream parlour

Covid knocked us all out. So, over time, Asude and her husband came up with the idea of starting a business that could put a smile back on people’s faces. And what better way to do that than with creative ice cream creations from our eye-catching ice cream buddy?

Asude, how did you come up with the idea of a mobile ice cream parlour?

My husband and I have been fans of crazy business start-ups for years – spontaneous ideas, taking things into our own hands and simply putting them into practice. Especially in the last few years, when life was increasingly restricted by Corona and encounters with other people were completely different, we thought about it and asked ourselves: What can we do to put a smile back on people’s faces? We looked around a lot, orientated ourselves towards mobile and sweet sales and finally found the sales trailers of BuddyStar. We were immediately hooked!

What advantages do you see in a mobile ice cream parlour?

Flexibility is very important with a sales trailer: It’s the ideal opportunity to face the sun – and be where the people are, need us and are looking for a sweet change. Our mobile ice cream parlour allows us to attend weddings, children’s birthday parties, events or street festivals directly and provide unforgettable sweet experiences there. Due to the small and compact form of our ice cream buddy in the retro size M, we can be used almost everywhere and can also be handled alone.

Unfortunately, time is a limited commodity and the assignments at events are certainly more time-consuming at times: How do you manage to get everything under one roof?

I am currently on parental leave – we have two small children. It’s not always easy to combine and coordinate everything. However, the compact equipment and size of the Buddy is a tremendous support: our Buddy already had all the equipment integrated, so it is relatively easy to prepare for an upcoming event or function. With my staff and, of course, the support of my family, we therefore manage to take part in various events.

What features were particularly important for your mobile ice cream parlour and how did you decide on BuddyStar?

I was looking for a trailer that comes with everything – a fully equipped and ready-made concept. I found this solution with the ice cream Buddy. Everything you need to sell ice cream is available in the BuddyStar ice cream concept: Ice cream display case, cooling facilities, storage cabinets, hygiene package and cash register. At the same time, there is enough space to integrate additional equipment. So we had our Buddy additionally equipped with a waffle and crêpe iron. This means that we can not only serve ice cream, but also our individual creations and combinations – so sweet temptation is guaranteed!

The full compact service made it particularly easy for us to decide on BuddyStar. In addition, BuddyStar offers a community where you can exchange information with different companies.

How many litres of ice cream fit into your Buddy and how many ice cream scoops can you serve with it in total?

Our ice cream Buddy comes with the standard equipment: the ice cream display case with 16 trays holds about 50 litres of ice cream.

How many ice cream scoops do you give out per day on average?

The amount always depends a bit on what we offer in addition to ice cream – like coffee variations, waffles or crêpes. And with ice cream, the weather also plays a role, of course. At an event with bright sunshine, we have even sold around 350 scoops of ice cream.

As you mentioned, your mobile business does not consist exclusively of ice cream sales. How can this be combined with the offer of coffee, waffles and crêpes?

Since we stand for sweet highlights, we didn’t want to limit our sales to just the ice cream business. So in addition to our vegan and vegetarian (without gelatine) ice cream varieties, we also offer the finest bean coffee and fresh Belgian waffles. Our highlight are the super delicious crêpes in all variations. And of course, all this can be ideally combined with ice cream – whether iced coffee, waffles with ice cream or filled crêpes. In combination with toppings such as colourful sprinkles, roasted almonds and brittle, or spiced up with various sauces, (almost) everyone will find their own individual sweet temptation.

How did your first assignment with your buddy go?

Every entrepreneur knows that the first time is always exciting. When I look back at our first assignment, it brings a smile to my face:

It was an exciting day. Our first event. The sun was shining. The weather was perfect and so were the guests. Everyone was in a good mood and that was the best thing that could have happened to us. Of course we had to get into the flow first – so the beginning was a bit wild and confused. We had our new buddy by our side for only a few weeks and started directly with an event where about 1,000 people were present. But looking back, that was exactly what was crazy. Even if not everything went perfectly, it was great fun! With our sweet highlights, we not only created unforgettable experiences for our guests, but the day will also always remain a great memory for us. And of course, we can only grow and expand with challenges like these. In the meantime, our processes are well-rehearsed and we know exactly what we need in terms of quantities and materials.

Where can you be found?

We come from the small town of Henstedt-Ulzburg, which is close to Hamburg. Everything within a radius of 50 to 80 kilometres is therefore very easy to reach.

The Eistante is often booked for festivals, weddings, children’s birthday parties, private events or corporate events. We have covered everything from 50 to 1,500 people. This year we are even at an event where up to 17,000 visitors are expected.

What experiences have you had with your Buddy so far?

So far, we have been able to put a smile on the face of every one of our customers with our Buddy and our sweet offer. Due to the rather golden appearance of the Buddy in retro-look and the integrated recognition value of the sweets and the choice of colours we have chosen, we look back on exclusively positive feedback. It really is always a surprise what the little Buddy can do and how fully equipped we are here.

Did you have any concerns about the current challenges, such as the energy crisis and recession, regarding your mobile business?

Of course – we have also been affected and, like many others, have had a stomach ache, especially with regard to prices: the purchase of goods, staff costs and stand fees have also increased for us. But we didn’t want to pass this on to our customers. So we didn’t adjust our prices, but looked specifically at which events we could take part in, taking into account our costs.

Tips from you on what to consider before starting a mobile ice cream van:

It is essential to be well informed and advised. Starting with the official documents that are needed – from a travel business card to training for the staff – or the requirements for storage. Especially when selling ice cream, this is the most important point.

What would you like to say in conclusion?

I am completely happy and satisfied with the Buddy and very glad to have taken this step.

What else is important to say? We are always there where a sweet highlight is needed!

Thank you so much for your time and insights into your business, Asude. We wish you a continued successful year!