National Ice Cream Retailers Association APRIL 2009 - $25.00 NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBER SPOTLIGHT EVERY DAY IS A HOLIDAY By Kasia Wilk Lucks Food Decorating Co. You can make everyday a holiday with a few cute signs and your favorite flavor that is celebrating whatever holiday it might be. Of course you know about most of the major holidays, but spend an hour or so on the computer and google “holidays”. You will find official government holidays, religious holidays, school holidays, chocolate lover’s holidays, everything from the sublime to the ridiculous. But with a clever sign and some enthusiasm you can get people returning to your shop just to find out what we’re supposed to be celebrating today. Of course you can tie in store promotions. For example, September is National Backpack safety month. So offer 10% off to students who come in with a bright color or a reflective tape on their backpack. Maybe you’re not looking for new holidays, but just want to keep up with the ones we already know about and everyone celebrates. The basics, would be Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Graduation, 4 th of July, Back to School, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. First thing to look at in your cake decorating area would be colors. Valentine’s Day, Red, Pink, Purple St Patrick’s Day: Green and Gold and Orange Easter/Spring: Purples, Yellow, Pink, Pastel Green Mother’s Day: Red, Pink, Purple Father’s Day: Blue, Green, Brown, Gold, Orange Graduation: Stock up on local High School and College or University school colors 4 th of July/Summer: Red, Blue, Yellow Back to School, again check local schools Halloween: Orange, Brown, Purple, Black, Yellow Thanksgiving: Orange, Brown, Gold, dark greens Christmas/Winter: Red, Green, Blue, Purple, Silver New Years: Blue, Purple, Silver, Gold Next plan your themes or designs, limit the number of SKU’s you introduce so you are not overwhelmed on inventory. Choose icons appropriate for each holiday and bring in designs you are not able to create with your own decorating skills. Decorate more than just your cakes for a holiday. Decorating your novelties, cones, or small serve items for a holiday will boost sales, also. Promote upcoming holidays and the cakes you will have available at least one month before a holiday. Make a note in your diary about what sells best for you. Is it a child’s party themed cake for the holiday or are your sales leaning more towards the finished dessert cakes? Just as you plan colors for a season, plan your flavors for a season. An obvious one would be pumpkin for Fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving. But what about cranberry for Thanksgiving, also? Also for Christmas, try peppermint, chocolate mint, plum pudding or rum flavors. Planning for seasonal business will make it more profitable. Of course the best indicator of what business is like during a certain holiday is to look back at your sales history. If this is your first year in business, you’ll need to trust in your gut feeling. And if it is your first year in business makes notes, keep a diary of sorts. Note in your diary all the things your cash register won’t tell you. This issue of the NICRA Bulletin is now available online at http://www.nicra.org. Click on the Members Only button and enter your Username and Password. If you cannot find your Username and Pass- word, call the NICRA office at 866-303- 6960 or send an e-mail to [email protected]requesting your Username and Password.
Transcript
National Ice Cream Retailers Association
APRIL 2009 - $25.00
NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
EvERy DAy IS A HOLIDAy
By Kasia WilkLucks Food Decorating Co.
You can make everyday a holiday with a few cute signs and your favorite flavor that is celebrating whatever holiday it might be. Of course you know about most of the major holidays, but spend an hour or so on the computer and google “holidays”. You will find official government holidays, religious holidays, school holidays, chocolate lover’s holidays, everything from the sublime to the ridiculous. But with a clever sign and some enthusiasm you can get people returning to your shop just to find out what we’re supposed to be celebrating today.
Of course you can tie in store promotions. For example, September is National Backpack safety month. So offer 10% off to students who come in with a bright color or a reflective tape on their backpack.
Maybe you’re not looking for new holidays, but just want to keep up with the ones we already know about and everyone celebrates. The basics, would be Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Graduation, 4th of July, Back to School, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. First thing to look at in your cake decorating area would be colors.
Valentine’s Day, Red, Pink, PurpleSt Patrick’s Day: Green and Gold and OrangeEaster/Spring: Purples, Yellow, Pink, Pastel Green Mother’s Day: Red, Pink, PurpleFather’s Day: Blue, Green, Brown, Gold, OrangeGraduation: Stock up on local High School and College or University school colors4th of July/Summer: Red, Blue, YellowBack to School, again check local schoolsHalloween: Orange, Brown, Purple, Black, Yellow
Next plan your themes or designs, limit the number of SKU’s you introduce so you are not overwhelmed on inventory. Choose icons appropriate for each holiday and bring in designs you are not able to create with your own decorating skills. Decorate more than just your cakes for a holiday. Decorating your novelties, cones, or small serve items for a holiday will boost sales, also.
Promote upcoming holidays and the cakes you will have available at least one month before a holiday. Make a note in your diary about what sells best for you. Is it a child’s party themed cake for the holiday or are your sales leaning more towards the finished dessert cakes?
Just as you plan colors for a season, plan your flavors for a season. An obvious one would be pumpkin for Fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving. But what about cranberry for Thanksgiving, also? Also for Christmas, try peppermint, chocolate mint, plum pudding or rum flavors.
Planning for seasonal business will make it more profitable. Of course the best indicator of what business is like during a certain holiday is to look back at your sales history. If this is your first year in business, you’ll need to trust in your gut feeling. And if it is your first year in business makes notes, keep a diary of sorts. Note in your diary all the things your cash register won’t tell you.
This issue of the NICRA Bulletin is now available online at http://www.nicra.org. Click on the Members Only button and enter your Username and Password. If you cannot find your Username and Pass-word, call the NICRA office at 866-303-6960 or send an e-mail to [email protected] requesting your Username and Password.
2 NICRA April 2009http://www.nicra.org
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What is happening with the weather?Did everyone show up for work?Does the city have a parade down your street?Was the city doing major construction in front of your shop?
At the end of each season, or shortly following each holiday, clean out your cake decorating area. Store all your cake decorations that will last to the next year. Make a note of inventory left over so you don’t have to pull it out when you should be thinking about ordering supplies. Then, when it is time to start holiday production, you can pull your decorations out of storage. To keep your production areas organized, if you don’t have on-site storage, consider off-site storage. If you do not have any storage space make a note of the loss of inventory you have to dispose of, so you have a better idea of what to order the following year.
You’ll have to make a decision about store decorations for holidays also. Do you have limited signage with just a note to say “don’t forget to order early for the holiday”? Or can you do full blown, banners, colors, hats, posters? Make the decision also on how decorating will be done. That easy route with scotch tape to hang Halloween decorations will come back to haunt you. If you must use scotch tape, when the decorations come down, use a Goof Off product or acetone that will completely remove tape residue and then clean off the cleaning product residue.
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Sometimes your enthusiasm for a holiday will determine your sales. Santa’s helper hats, may be enough. Make the decision for your employees on what is appropriate holiday attire. Make sure that it does not interfere with food or work safety and production.
Every day is a holiday if you love what you are doing. If your customers need a reason to celebrate with an ice cream cake, then give them a new one every day.
GIFFORD’S ICE CREAM WELCOMES NEW FAMILy MEMBER
“Tubby,” a soft lovable, life-sized Gifford’s Ice Cream container, is making his debut as the new Gifford’s mascot at several Spring events to celebrate the company’s return to its wallet-friendly, half gallon container.
Tubby, Gifford’s fun new family member, was created to showcase the new half gallon and the trend-busting pricing structure that goes with it. At a time when many companies are downsizing their products or raising prices, the award-winning, family owned and operated enterprise recently up-sized to a 64 ounce (half gallon) container, while maintaining the price of its original 56 ounce container, giving customers eight additional ounces per container, at no additional charge.
“Tubby is an entertaining way to spread the news that Gif-ford’s Ice Cream made a business decision that supports local fans,” said Linday Gifford, vice president of sales and marketing for the company. “But like many famous mascots, Tubby helps bring back all sorts of wonderful childhood memories. He’s a fun, old-fashioned reminder that ice cream and family fun go hand-in-hand. He’s made a couple of surprise visits in Maine already, and he’s very popular with children and families. He makes any event more festive and memorable, and that’s really what Gifford’s Ice Cream is all about.”
Tubby will be visiting grocery stores, ski areas, schools, fam-ily friendly events and Gifford’s Ice Cream stands to interact with customers and hand out delicious samples of Gifford’s Ice Cream. At select locations, Tubby will be offering numer-ous treats, including temporary Tubby tattoos, Tubby “go green” shopping bags and Tubby magnets. Tubby can also be found on his “Adventure” page on the Gifford’s Web Site (www.giffordsicecream.com) where children will find free coloring pages and information about Tubby’s latest antics.
Gifford’s opened all five company-owned stands in Maine on March 20th. Following its annual tradition, they offered free small ice cream cones from 6-8 PM. For many Mainers, the opening of the stands is a tasty reminder that warm weather is right around the corner.
Now we look back at 2008 and wonder where we are headed. The past convention had a great turn out. Many attendees left with new ideas to im-prove their business. They got to meet with old friends and make new ones. Many first timers were also at the convention to learn more about the ice cream industry. Some were already in business looking for help to improve sales. Many were looking to go into the business hoping to get needed information to strengthen their decision.
The economy was hard hit last year. For many of us in the ice cream business, there was great fear that it would be devastating. For a number of our members the past year was a good year. For others that had stores in the hard hit areas it was slower. As we look forward things are beginning to turn around. The government is helping to reduce unemployment which will improve spending.
The Board of Directors of NICRA has just come back from the mid winter meeting. Many new benefits were put on the table. These benefits will help to keep your operating costs at current or lower cost levels if you take advantage of them. The Membership Committee has worked very hard to put programs in place. They continue to look for more ways to help our members become more successful each day.
One of the first is a program to purchase business liability in-surance for your operation. We have already heard from two members that have changed over and have received a large amount of savings. The next thing that we are looking at is some type of benefit with a credit card company.
The Web Site Committee is looking at ways to make it more accessible to contact other members. One of the ideas at this time is Constant Contact Services. We will have more infor-mation on this later in the year. We have added a new supplier of NICRA logo merchandise to the Web Site for your purchases. This is a great improve-ment form the previous supplier.
The Board is working with supplier members to offer some
type of discount program to NICRA members.
The 2009 Convention Committee, chaired by Bob Turner, is in the process of putting together the seminars and events for Scottsdale in November. Now only in its early stages it already looks like another great convention for all to attend.
I feel that the economy is turning in our favor. We should look to a year of increased business.
I look forward to seeing all of you in Scottsdale, Arizona, November 4-7, 2009 for our 76th annual convention.
BUTTER PRICES
February 27, 2009 - Grade AA Butter finished at $1.15. The weekly average was $1.1340. (2008 price was $1.1863)
March 6, 2009 - Grade AA Butter finished at $1.1675. The weekly average was $1.1590. (2008 price was $1.2180)
March 13, 2009 - Grade AA Butter finished at $1.1850. The weekly average was $1.1785. (2008 price was $1.3145)
March 20, 2009 - Grade AA Butter finished at $1.1825. The weekly average was $1.1835. (2008 price was $1.3365)
Support prices for butter start at $1.05. Butter prices are reported from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange every Friday. The Merc is considered a spot market for butter. Merc prices are important to dairy farmers because the value of the fat and fat differentials in raw milk are established from the prices quoted from the Exchange, and Merc prices are used in the BFP update.
NEW ACTIvE MEMBERSManhattan Beach Creamery1120 Manhattan Ave.Manhattan Beach, CA 90266310/372-1155Fax: 310/372-5458Mike Kornbluth
Steve’s Dari Treats9898 US Route 42 NorthPlain City, OH 43064614/716-8559Steve Hull
NEW SUPPLIER MEMBERSchlotterbeck and Foss117 Preble St.Portland, ME 04101207/774-4666Fax: 207/774-3449Sam Mangino, Paul Dioli, Mary McMullin
Elenka has become synonym of success in gelato and confectionary making.Elenka products, which are based on quality and Italian tradition, give gelato and pastry makers the tools necessary to make their craftsmanship stand out from the rest.Elenka and Howard Gordy, Inc. work together to provide constant guidance and assistance in finding the right solution for each customer.
6 NICRA April 2009http://www.nicra.org
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NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
By: Darian RottmannLochhead Vanillas
Well, “Gday Ice Cream lovers!” to coin a phrase from my friend The Ice Cream Bloke. I know for each of you it’s a very busy time of year as you gear up for the summer season!
As we approach this new season it’s a great time to ask your-self, “How can I make my frozen dessert better?” One option to consider is whether your vanilla flavor could be improved. For those who purchase an unflavored mix and add their own vanilla, this isn’t a new idea. You’ve likely been adding your signature vanilla for years and doing great with it. But have you experimented with your usage rates? Could adding an extra ¼ or ½ oz. of vanilla change your product from a “home run” to a “grand slam?” The increase in cost is a frac-tion of a cent, but the wonderful increase in flavor to your ice cream or custard can generate lots of additional sales!
Does your shop serve “soft serve” ice cream or frozen custard? This mix often comes pre-flavored, with some type of vanilla already added. So, the thought of improving your product by adding additional vanilla is often overlooked. I encourage you -- don’t miss this opportunity! Pre-flavored mix goes through a pasteurization process which can greatly reduce or destroy vanilla flavor. Some estimate this flavor loss to be as much as 40-60%. That alone is a great reason to consider adding vanilla to your soft serve and/or custard mix -- and there are others.
Adding vanilla at the point of production gives you more control over your number one selling flavor “vanilla”, and the base product for your mix-in creations. Adding vanilla also gives your product “uniqueness”, as you create your own signature flavor to separate your treat from the shop across town. Finally, adding vanilla increases the overall flavor which helps you sell more products.
If you are considering adding vanilla to a pre-flavored mix, there are a couple of questions to ask. For example, “which vanilla will work best?” There are many types of vanillas to consider in “soft serve” applications, from single and double strength pure vanilla extracts, to vanilla-vanillin extracts, to premium natural and artificial blends. Some vanillas are formulated specifically for these “fresh ice cream” applica-tions. In the end, the vanilla that is ideal for your product is best decided by your own pallet.
Another good question to ask is “how much will it cost to add vanilla to my product?” Generally, the added cost per serving in your soft serve product is a fraction of a penny. But the advantage of adding that touch of vanilla flavor to
your product, and having a signature vanilla unique to your store is significant. It’s one more reason your customers come back time and again, and tell their friends where the best ice cream in town can be found! We encourage you to try adding vanilla to your soft serve product and taste the difference for yourself!
I’ll close with a simple example of how this can benefit you as we head into the ice cream season. Last year a friend and potential customer was considering adding vanilla to his pre-flavored soft serve mix. He was fearful his customers would taste a difference and not be happy. I’d suggested that if the added vanilla “improved” his product, his customers would love it. But he had that “one” customer. As you read this, you know who that “one” customer is for you. They come by your shop everyday and order the same thing, a medium or large vanilla cone.
D-day finally arrived and the vanilla was added to my friend’s pre-flavored mix. When the customer came in he ordered “the regular,” just as he’d done the day before and would be expected to do next. As the customer left the store he stopped just after walking out the door. After pausing for a few more licks, he turned around and came back in. My friend was fearful of what he would hear. The gentleman sim-ply said, “You changed your ice cream didn’t you?” Before my friend could respond, his customer said, “I don’t know what you’ve done, but keep on doing it because this is the best it’s ever tasted”.
ALMOST HEAvEN ICE CREAM FEATURED ON NORTH EAST OHIO FOOD SNOB BLOG
The North East Ohio Food Snob Blog featured Almost Heaven Ice Cream, Canton, Ohio and gave them an A+ rating for location, food and service. The Food Snob told “Ben and what’s was that other guy’s name” to move over and called the ice cream “hands down the very BEST HOMEMADE ICE CREAM that I have ever tasted!” He highly recommend-ed the store saying that he was there so many times last year that he met the owner and his son and the rest of the friendly bunch.
Make your plans now to attend NICRA’s 76th Annual Meeting
November 4-7, 2009Chaparral Suites Hotel
Scottsdale, Arizona
8 NICRA April 2009http://www.nicra.org
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GREATNESS OF THE ICE CREAM CLINIC
by Vince Giordano, Sno Top, Ltd.
Words can not describe what a national award will do for your business. We won a Blue ribbon for our vanilla ice cream at the 2007 convention. We have won ribbons each time we have submitted samples for judging. Each spring when we open for the season we send out a press release to the Syracuse papers and the local paper. The area covered by the Syracuse paper is the greater part of central New York State. We have many customers that come by just to try the award winning flavor.
You can tell that they are new to your store by the way a request is made. They don’t know what you have to offer or how it is served. Our employees try to find out where they may be from.
Last season (2008) we sent the press release out as usual, to the local and Syracuse papers. We identified that we won a Blue ribbon at the NICRA convention. From that point on it’s exciting as to what took place. Three of the four TV stations got wind of it from the local paper. Many of the TV News casters live in our area. Requests came for us to let them interview us and do clips on the Evening News broadcasts.
We were on two stations’ evening broadcasts at 6 PM and 11 PM. The remaining station completed two live broadcasts early in the morning. They also completed three additional taped interviews that were broadcast once an hour for a 24 hour period for 3 separate days. This was on the local cable News station.
At this point in time the Syracuse paper had not yet printed the press release. This is when things changed. They decided that they would like to do an interview to run with the press release we had sent in. An interview was scheduled and com-pleted with photo’s taken at the same time. What came of it was a full page story on the front page of the business section ending on a second page. For the next five to six weeks we had an increased customer cut above our regulars. We were aware of this by the many requests for the award winning flavor.
This kind of advertisement more than paid for the packaging and shipping the samples out for the convention.
Every NICRA should take advantage of the contest. It makes your store the place to go.
SMITH DAIRy BRINGS LONG HISTORy TO NEW WEB SITE
Smith Dairy Products Company, a regional maker of dairy products, beverages and ice cream announced that its Web site at www.smithdairy.com has been redesigned with new logo, graphics and features in honor of the company’s 100th anniversary this year.
The updated site launched January 12, 2009, almost 100 years to the day after John and Peter Schmid borrowed $300 from a neighbor to purchase two horses, two wagons, some milk bottles, cans, dippers and a hand-cranked freezer to begin daily deliveries to Orrville, Ohio homes.
“This is a special time in our company’s history,” said Smith Dairy’s marketing services manager, Jerry Cosentino. “With the redesign, we wanted to draw attention to this milestone while achieving our goal of interacting more with custom-ers.” The redesigned site has a warm, traditional look, with pic-tures from Smith Dairy’s past and the special anniversary logo displayed prominently. Other changes allow visitors to print money-saving coupons for Smith Dairy products directly from the site, watch the company’s “Our First Cen-tury: 1909 – 2009” heritage video and play games aimed at children of all ages. “While we gave the site new features, we kept a clean, uncluttered look so that visitors can easily access the information they want,” said Cosentino. “Interest-ingly, we’re seeing heaviest traffic to the recipes section, which features recipes using Smith Dairy products that our associates suggest and that are professionally developed.”
9NICRA April 2009 Live: 6.75”Trim: 7.25”
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NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
THE A-B-C’S OF SUCCESSFULSTORE DESIGN
By Jim MarmionAdvanced Gourmet Equipment & Design
As we all travel throughout the country we are bombarded with in store marketing, layouts, traffic flows, and designs of every variety imaginable. In our frozen dessert industry we see the same; we have everything from full menu loca-tions, to dedicated frozen dessert locations, to kiosks, to free standing window service locations to specialty locations like railroad cars and more all over the country. Aside from the franchise groups I dare say there are no two store designs exactly alike, and I would also say there are no BAD store designs. One of the signs of a successful design is taking into account and working with what you have. The one common element I find in ALL successful retail designs is that the owners follow a simple plan that they have implanted either consciously or subconsciously. This plan can be summarized as the A-B-C’s of Successful Store Design.
A: AHA!! When customers view your store for the first time and every time after, they form an immediate impression- about what you sell and to whom you sell. What AHA effect does your store present? Does it do justice to your operation?
B: BATHROOM. Like it or not, bathrooms are an important customer service. Cleanliness is essential, but why stop there. Your bathrooms provide an excellent opportunity to express you store’s personality.
C: CASH REGISTER (POS area). With the amount of money spent on trying to get customers into your store, do you overlook the cash register/POS area? What do customers peer into behind the counter while their transaction is rung up? Don’t leave your customer with a clutter, littered final impression of your store. Be sure to keep this area clear of all unnecessary distractions.
D: DISPLAY FIXTURES. Consider “built in” flexibility with your display fixtures, using modular pieces and items with wheels, that way, they won’t have to be redone every time an inevitable change occurs within your store.
E: EMPLOYEES. When a customer comes to your store, they not only encounter the ambiance of the store, they en-counter your employees, be sure to select people who present the image YOU are trying to convey and who closely match the ages and lifestyles of your customers.
F: FLOORING. What suits your needs and image best, wood, tile, concrete, combination?
G: GRAPHICS & SIGNAGE. In today’s world professional signage is easy, quick and inexpensive, 3 points to keep in mind when creating your own graphics and signs are: 1) pro-fessional, 2) consistent, 3) clear, be sure ALL your messages convey these 3 points.
H: HOUSEKEEPING. Bad housekeeping leads to a bad im-age. Are there items in the aisles not intended as displays, is the store dusted, are the windows dirty and with tape residue, are the machines noisy? Too often, stores seem less inviting than they might be. This is easily remedied, each day park at the farthest point from the store, and stop before you enter, LOOK at your store, and make housecleaning a priority every day.
I: INVOLVEMENT. The more access a customer has to our products the greater the chances that a sale will occur or a “plus” sale will be made. A customer who can see, touch, and hear, taste, or smell a product becomes involved and is more likely to purchase it. For this reason, try to have as much accessible to the shopper as possible.
J: REJUVENATE. Give your customer a reason to come back to your store, change your displays, move things around, change the theme, display new or older merchandise. What you change doesn’t matter, make it your goal to create excite-ment by changing something regularly.
K: KNOW-HOW. Your staff should be knowledgeable and be given the authority to make customer satisfaction decisions on the spot. Customers today increasingly demand service. The more your staff can assist the customer with their pur-chasing decisions the more sales you will make.
L: LIGHTING. Good lighting adds drama to your store. It can enhance a product’s appearance, a special display and create the proper mood. Consider 4 principles, 1) Establish store’s image, 2) Attract shoppers to the store, 3) Provide the correct sales environment, 4)Facilitate the closing of the sale.
M: MUSIC. Music should be selected to appeal to your customers, not your employees. Be careful not to put your customers to sleep or blow them away with volume and type of music you play. Be sensitive as to where the speakers are located.
N: NOTES. Get a binder and start taking notes, every time you spot an ad, a display, a storefront that catches your eye, WRITE it down, and every time you travel, search out local stores, attend your national trade convention, like the NICRA Convention.
O: ODOR. Few Retailers even attempt to appeal to more than one or possibly two of the 5 senses (sight, smell, sound, taste,
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touch). Think of how many stores you’ve entered that had an unpleasant odor and how fast you walked right back out. The odor can be as simple as the “Clean” smell of floors to the fresh smell of waffle cones, espresso, and pastry.
P: PRICE. You might not have thought that price has any-thing to do with store design, but it’s an important part of your stores’ image. Discount retailers, with their warehouse look, use this to underscore the sense of value. Compare that to the marble floors and posh fixtures of upscale specialty re-tailers, do not be afraid to let your pricing reflect your vision. You can always discount but raising prices usually meets with resistance.
Q: QUALITY. Quality sells frozen desserts. Every aspect of your store must validate the quality of your merchandise. One way to achieve this effect is by displaying merchandise in its natural environment. The mood surrounding a display can easily reflect the perceived quality of the merchandise. We buy with our eyes.
R: REPETITION. Repetition is an easy way to make almost any product look good. Customers can focus on familiarity in the look and decorative styles and tell their friends. And it allows your customers to focus their attention on one or two items at a time.
S: SIGHT-LINES. Sight-lines are the most under-used lure in many stores. The goal with slight-lines is to draw a customer into the store and to particular items. Low profile displays, glass and acrylic product containers and even wall panels can create areas allowing the customer to explore and discover variety.
T: THIRTY FEET. Countless studies and inventory reports have shown that 25 to 35% of sales from any given store come from the merchandise that is displayed in the first 30 feet of a store entrance. Many retailer refer to this area as the core of sales activity; therefore, merchandise should be placed in such a way as to draw a customer into your store.
U: UNIQUE. Try finding your own uniqueness, your own personality and use as many dimensions of the theater of retail (merchandise mix, appealing to the 5 senses) to provide a distinctive experience for your customers to include but not limited to signing, events, sampling.
V: VARIETY. Is the spice of life!, To spice up your store, can be as simple as choosing one wall and repaint it each season, yellow for spring, green or red for the holidays, orange for fall, or paint the door area pink in February. Be sure to main-tain a schedule for things to avoid getting static.
W: WINDOWS. As the owner you view your window dis-play head-on, your customers view them at an angle while walking parallel to the store. The orientation of the window display or signs, therefore, you should allow the merchandise to be seen when approached at an angle. Keep in mind that
faded products are a turn off, cluttered/blocked windows destroy what a window is designed to do. Keep in mind that a window is a customer’s invitation to come into or view the store.
X: EXCITEMENT. Make your store a distinctive shopping experience. Shoppers have grown weary of the same mer-chandise at basically the same price no matter what store they visit. The opportunity today is in the theater of retail, the art form of the total shopping experience. Customers remember not so much what they bought, but the experience of buying it.
Y: YOU ASK WHY. Anyone can try to become a retailer. Those that prosper however must be a merchant. A merchant resourcefully uses ALL the tools available to him or her to appeal to the right customer.
Z: ZERO IN ON THE FUTURE. The opportunity today is in the art form of the total shopping experience, be open and listen.
As you can see these A-B-C’s are mostly common sense, and yet we all become so busy we sometimes forget. Keep these in mind and teach your staff to do the same.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR A SUCCESSFUL TEAM
A team, like a ship, needs the right balance to reach its destination. When you’re recruiting people to work toward a common goal, pick the right variety of styles:
Achievers. Look for people who are results oriented. They like to solve problems, explore opportunities and implement processes.
Intelligence gatherers. These are folks who excel at asking questions, collecting data and generating creative ideas.
Analyzers. You want people who are skilled at defining problems, who know what’s succeeded and failed in the past and why, and who can set criteria to evaluate your progress and results.
Leaders. You can’t do it all yourself. Enlist people who understand priorities. They should be able to evaluate the information your efforts produce and make decisions based on the right data.
Make your plans now to attend NICRA’s 76th Annual Meeting
November 4-7, 2009Chaparral Suites Hotel
Scottsdale, Arizona
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14 NICRA April 2009http://www.nicra.org
CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST
CALENDAR FOR JUNE
MonthlyAdopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month. To promote the adoption of cats from local shelters, sponsored by the ASPCA. For more information, go to www.aspca.org.
Cancer From the Sun Month. To promote education and awareness of the dangers of skin cancer from too much expo-sure to the sun. For more information, go to www.skincancer.org.
Dairy Month. To promote awareness of the quality of nutri-tional benefits of refrigerated dairy foods. For more informa-tion, go to nfraweb.org.
Fireworks Safety Months (June and July). To alert parents and children about the dangers of playing with fireworks. For more information, go to www.preventblindness.org.
International Childhood Cancer Campaign Month. Optimist Clubs worldwide hold special events this month that benefit children with cancer and their families and caregivers. For more information, go to www.optimist.org.
National Aphasia Awareness Month. More than 1 million Americans have acquired aphasis, a language processing disorder that impairs a person’s ability to speak or understand speech. For more information go to www.aphasia.org.
National Ice Tea Month. To celebrate one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. For more information, go to www.teausa.org.
National Safety Month. To promote safety in all aspects of American life, in homes, schools, workplaces, communities and on roadways. For more information go to www.nsc.org.
National Soul Food Month. To celebrate the heritage and history of the foods of African-Americans. For more informa-tion, go to www.culinaryhistorians.org.
Perennial Gardening Month. To celebrate the versatility and beauty of perennial garden plants. For more information, go to www.perennialplant.org.
Student Safety Month. To heighten the awareness of safety and making sound decisions following graduation parties, school proms and other special events. To encourage young people everywhere not to drink and drive, and to use good judgment while celebrating throughout the month. For more information go to www.tellcarole.com.
WeeklyNational Headache Awareness Week, June 1-7. To educate the public about the reality and severity of headache pain as a legitimate neurobiological disease. To encourage sufferers
to consult with a healthcare provider for proper diagnosis and treatment, and to let sufferers know that there are new treatments available. For more information, go to www.headaches.org.
DailyNational Cancer Survivors Day, June 1. To honor survivors who are living with and beyond cancer. For more information go to, www.ncsdf.org.
World Juggling Day, June 14. Juggling clubs all over the world hold local festivals to demonstrate, teach and celebrate the art. For more information, go to www.juggle.org.
Father’s Day, June 21. Presidential Proclamation issues for the third Sunday in June in 1966 and celebrated annually since 1971.
Summer begins, June 21.
SUNDAE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER CORNER
Great Ice Cream SodasTo gain the reputation for making truly great ice cream sodas there are some very basic and important rules to follow: (1) Use only quality syrups. (2) Make sure the soda water is cold and highly carbonated. If the soda water does not have plenty of zip to it, the result will be a flat-tasting soda. (3) Use a proven formula. Follow it accurately.
Dispense 1-1/2 ounces syrup into a 15 ounce soda glass. Stir in 1 soda-spoonful ice cream. Use a chopping motion. It’s not necessary to take time to dissolve all the ice cream. Unless carbonated water has been recently use, and to assure a cold sparkling soda, draw off and discard about a glassful. Use fine stream carbonated water directed to the side of tilted glass while turning glass in a circular motion. Fill about ¾ full. Gently add 2 small dips ice cream. If soda lacks good “head,” add more carbonated water (coarse stream this time). Never serve spoon in soda glass, always by the side on a folded napkin. Serve sodas quickly, don’t let them set or they will loose their carbonation.
Try a creamy, cooling Orange Cremeshake. Put two dips orange sherbet, one dip of vanilla ice cream and 6 ounces of milk in a glass. Although it is made without syrup, if you find the sherbet you are using has a mild flavor, you may want to add ½ to 1 ounce of orange syrup. Also try using lime, lemon, pineapple or raspberry sherbet.
Basic Delivery-Checking Rules:When all the merchandise has been brought in and stacked in one place, count it before putting it away and before signing the delivery slip. In the case of ice cream and other perish-ables, get them under refrigeration as soon as possible.
15NICRA April 2009 http://www.nicra.org
The National DipperThe only magazine that keeps you up-to-date in the retail frozen dessert industry.
Call or write for a subscription today!1028 West Devon Avenue • Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-7226
Regular columns include:• New Products • Industry News • Calendar of Events • Classified
Special features include:• Equipment Reviews • Management Articles
• Association Events • Employee Training • Promotions • Annual Source Book
Also Available:• Dipping Tips Training Posters • Manuals for Costing Products
• Employee Training Posters • Point of Sale Posters • Magazine Binders
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CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST
Stick with the delivery person at all times, especially if it is a large delivery.
Discourage employees from becoming too friendly with delivery personnel. The situation may lead to a conspiracy between them. When you suspect that is happening, appoint someone else to do the checking. Keep all dealings with vendors on a business-like basis.
It is a good policy for management to occasionally recount supplies after the delivery people have left. Let them know that you have a policy of rechecking.
Credits out such as beverage containers should also be carefully counted before they leave the store. Make this a separate transaction from the checking in.
Remember, the best way to keep your suppliers honest is to make it difficult for them to be dishonest.
Pick Those StrawberriesIt’s strawberry picking time (or soon will be) in many parts of the country. Get your “Fresh Strawberry Sundae” posters made now so you’ll be ready when locally grown berries hit the market. Fresh fruits pack plenty of merchandising power when featured on ice cream. Your customers will love you! To prepare, wash and hull the strawberry. Discard bad ones. Crush with a potato masher and stir in one part sugar to four parts berries. Save some of the perfect, whole berries and pop one on top of each sundae in place of the traditional cherry.
June Sundae of the MonthHere are a few ideas for June: Blushing Bride Sundae, Groom’s Gourmet, Best Man’s Favorite, Maid of Honor Special, Honeymoon Delight. Maybe a bridal shop will loan display material to you in return for a mention of their busi-ness on your menu. Consider inviting couples who marry in June in for sundaes “on the house.” Check newspapers for wedding announcements.
Here is the recipe for the Blushing Bride Sundae: Place strawberries in the bottom of a sundae glass. Add two dips of vanilla ice cream, teaspoonful of crushed nuts. Cover with marshmallow and top with whipped cream and a cherry.
Don’t Forget DadHere is a suggested recipe for Dad’s Day Sundae. Put two dips of butter pecan ice cream in a sundae glass. Add hot fudge, Spanish peanuts, whipped cream and a cherry. Treat pop to a dad’s day delight, you owe him one.
Make your plans now to attend NICRA’s 76th Annual Meeting
November 4-7, 2009Chaparral Suites Hotel
Scottsdale, Arizona
16 NICRA April 2009http://www.nicra.org
2009 NICRA OFFICERSPresidentVince Giordano, Sno Top, Manlius, New YorkPresident ElectBob Turner, Dairy Corner, Urbana, OhioVice President Lynn Dudek, Ruth Ann’s, No. Muskegon, MichiganSecretary/TreasurerDan Messer, Eskamoe’s Frozen Custard, Monroe, La. Immediate Past PresidentJim Mitchell, Woodside Farm Creamery, Hockessin, Del.Executive DirectorLynda Utterback, Elk Grove Village, Illinois
2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORSTerms Ending Annual Meeting 2009Katie Dolan Dix, Capannari’s Ice Cream Mt. Prospect, Ill.Cliff Freund, Cliff’s Dairy Maid Ledgewood, New JerseyKaren Gagne, Karen’s Kreamery Surprise, ArizonaPeggy Gifford, Gifford’s Ice Cream Skowhagen, MaineJuergen Kloo, Joy Cone Co. Hermitage, Pennsylvania
Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2010Nanette Frey, Frey’s Tasty Treat, Inc. East Amherst, New YorkMary Leopold, Leopold’s Ice Cream Savannah, GeorgiaJeff Myers, The Double Dip Lebanon, OhioCharles Page, Page Dairy Mart Pittsburgh, Penn.Kasia Wilk, Lucks Food Decorating Tacoma, WA
Cumberland, MarylandRod Oringer, Concord Foods Brockton, MassachusettsRick Pizzi, Pizzi Farm Ice Cream Waltham, MassachusettsJim Ross, Flat Pennies Ice Cream Bay City, WisconsinDavid Zimmermann, Royal Scoop Homemade Ice Cream Bonita Springs, Florida
2009 SUPPLIER OFFICERSPresidentRich Draper, Ice Cream Club, Inc., Boynton Beach, Fla.Vice PresidentTom Zak, Concord Foods, Brockton, MassachusettsSecretary/TreasurerMargaret Anderson, Taylor Freezer of New England Norwood, MassachusettsChairmanJay Rentschler, Upstate Farms Co-op, Buffalo, New York
MISSION STATEMENT FOR NICRA
The mission of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association (NICRA), a non-profit trade association, is to be the leader in the frozen dessert industry that others look to for help, support and education. NICRA will promote business growth and development throughout the industry.
vISION OF THE ASSOCIATION
NICRA will associate with similar associations dedicated to the same interests. NICRA will facilitate communication and education that both newcomers and veterans in the industry desire to be successful. NICRA will maintain a feeling of family within the association as it grows, and be dedicated to responsibly managing the association while maximizing value to the members.
NONDISCRIMINATION POLICy
NICRA is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in all of its endeavors. To that end, NICRA shall not tolerate any words or acts of discrimination, harassment or any inappropriate behavior in general against any person affiliated with NICRA, including its members and guests, with regard to race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status or sexual orientation.
