2000 Best Merchandising Ideas: Frozen Dessert Makers

Sometimes the simplest things are the most interesting to customers — the kitchen items that make life easier for everyone; the innovations to standard appliances that help keep food fresh and nutritious. Whenever you can introduce your customers to a product that combines ease of use with value and some fun, you'll have a winner and additional sales in your store.

In The Good Old Summertime

Everyone loves a bit of nostalgia, and in this dawn of the new century, we often reflect on our version of the "Good old days." Of course, everything in the last 50 or 60 years wasn't all "good," but we realize in many cases it was a simpler, less complicated time. We can remember when friends got together for summertime picnics, the sounds of children's voices mingled with the twinkling of fireflies, when small-town festivals were common, and everyone had a favorite recipe for hand-churned ice cream made on the back porch. The big problem was the time and effort necessary to make it. We forget how long it took to make this ice cream, how hard it was to turn the churn, and how many times Dad had to come out to the porch to see if the ice cream was ready.

You can recreate the nostalgia of that time but without the heavy labor involved by using a frozen dessert maker that combines innovation with great results.

Brainstorm with your staff on different ways to style the store when you feature the frozen dessert maker as part of this overall "Good Old Summertime" theme. The frozen dessert maker is sure to be the star of this event since it is so easy to use, and the result is creamy frozen ice cream.

In one area, set up a picnic vignette with a small picnic table, basket, colorful runner, and napkins, and the stainless-steel frozen dessert maker surrounded by bowls of fruit and parfait glasses. This will be a way for your customers to see the frozen dessert maker and to check it out before actually seeing it in action.

In another display, show off a grouping of frozen dessert makers, complete with kitchen utensils, such as ice cream scoops, waffle cones, sprinkles, and flavored sugars and syrups.

Finally, in your demonstration area, set aside a table where you can show how the frozen dessert maker works, and then offer your customers samples of the product that is produced quickly and easily.

Have your demonstrators dress in striped shirts and straw hats, in keeping with the nostalgic theme. When they are demonstrating the frozen dessert maker, they should remind customers that the first step is to place the product into the freezer overnight — for about 7-11 hours.

Move the frozen dessert maker to the demonstration table and have customers mix the ingredients for a favorite ice cream flavor, such as traditional vanilla, and place them into the frozen dessert maker, and then put on the lid. You can tell the customers that in less than a half-hour, this particular batch of ice cream will be ready for sampling. During the demonstration, your staff should explain that periodically during the freezing process, they should check on the freezing progress, and that before the freezing is complete, the mixture should be loosened from the sides of the frozen dessert maker and blended until the texture is smooth.

To make this demonstration move easily, use several frozen dessert makers so there is a continual supply of the product for customers to taste. In addition to vanilla, let your customers try such flavors as peach or mango. Be sure to have some flavored syrups and sprinkles nearby, so customers can individualize their samples of the ice cream.

As a special incentive, offer the frozen dessert maker at a small discount and include bottles of flavoring syrups as a bonus gift to anyone who purchases a frozen dessert maker at the end of the demo.

Multitude Of Uses

Although the frozen dessert maker is an easy way to make a light summertime dessert with little effort, it can also be used to keep other cold items at an icy temperature for serving.

Make sure your signs show the correct way to make ice cream, but also ways to use the product for cold soups and shrimp cocktail. Emphasize that Vichyssoise can be chilled in the frozen dessert maker to reduce its temperature quickly, thereby shortening refrigeration time. Not only does the frozen dessert maker let family and guests enjoy Vichyssoise or gazpacho in less time, but it makes creating and chilling soup much easier. The frozen dessert maker can even chill wine.

Snapshots

Create a "Good Old Summertime" demo to introduce frozen dessert makers to your customers, letting them sample various flavors that can be easily and quickly made.

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In demonstrations, emphasize the fact that frozen dessert makers have no motor, crank, or moving parts, but still make delicious ice cream.

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Point out additional uses for frozen dessert makers, such as their ability to quickly chili cold soups or even wine.