How to Choose the Best Frozen Custard Machines For Your Business
If you want to harness the power of a sweet, sweet frozen dessert for your business, you might be interested in looking at some frozen custard machines.
With a growth margin of 80 percent, frozen custard can be an excellent investment for your restaurant or even as its own exciting project. But you’ll need to make sure you’re making smart choices all along the way.
We’re here to help you pick the frozen custard machines that’ll be best for you. Here are some of the top things to consider:
- Floor Space
One of the first things to consider when thinking about frozen custard machines is the space they’ll take up.
If your business is already working in close quarters, this doesn’t mean frozen custard is out of the question for you. It just means you might have to be smart about your use of space.
Saving Space
If you need to save floor space, you might want to look into countertop frozen custard machines rather than floor machines. These are usually smaller and might have lower custard capacity than the floor models, but they’ll save you precious floor space.
This can also be a good option if you’re looking into full-serve rather than self-serve machines. Self-serve is a nice option if your focus is on frozen custard, but for the more occasional interest, distributing the frozen custard on the shop owner/employee side can lead to fewer messes and higher efficiency.
Lots of Space Available
For those who aren’t worried about floor space, you can broaden your options a bit. Floor machines can be a great way to bring attention to your frozen custard setup and give it its own space, apart from whatever’s going on at the counter.
Frozen custard doesn’t enjoy the same recognition in every region, so unfamiliar customers might need a bit of a boost to try out the creamy treat. While it’s well-known in the midwest, people on the coasts might not know the difference between frozen custard and its frozen-dessert cousins.
In this case, keeping a frozen custard machine in a visible spot on the floorspace rather than on a counter or in the back could be a smart move.
This way, customers won’t have to know what to ask for. They’ll just see something cool and be intrigued.
- Custard Capacity
If you’re looking to hop on the trend of self-serve frozen treats, you might want frozen custard machines with multiple barrels. This way, you can dispense more product in a shorter amount of time, and you won’t keep your customers waiting.
Not everyone needs lots of barrels, though. If you’re using frozen custard as a base or side for your main product, then multiple barrels could end up being overkill.
- Noise Level
Some frozen custard machines are louder than others, but did you know this isn’t just about the quality of the machine? It also has to do with the type of cooling system the machine uses.
A big decision you’ll have to make when sourcing a frozen custard machine is what kind of cooling to use. Water cooling is quieter than air cooling, but it might be more of a hassle to set up. You’ll need a water line as well as a drainage system.
If ambient noise is a big issue for you, though, and especially if you’ve got multiple frozen custard machines, water cooling could be the better option.
- Number of Flavors
Choosing the number of frozen custard flavors you’ll offer doesn’t have to be connected to the number of barrels you have, but it can be.
For example, you can have a few barrels with the same flavor. And you can have a smaller number of barrels, but with more variety. But each new flavor will mean at least one more frozen custard barrel or machine.
When One’s Enough
There are some instances when it makes sense to use just one flavor of frozen custard. For example, if you run a coffee shop and want an ice-cream-like option as an affogato specialty, you might only need vanilla frozen custard.
If you’re not committed to the upkeep of multiple flavors, getting more machines or barrels than you need can make you feel overwhelmed later on.
Looking for Variety
For those out there hoping to run frozen custard shops, though, you’ll need many flavors in order to stay in the competition between other dessert shops. Having a wide variety can be a great draw, especially if you can switch out flavors and add seasonal styles when the time comes.
For an investment that will help you grow as a frozen custard business, you might want to look into these bigger machine setups.
- Pre-Owned Frozen Custard Machines
Getting a frozen custard machine at an affordable price doesn’t mean you have to choose something other than your favorite machine types.
Rather than going with a smaller model or one with fewer flavor possibilities, you can look into pre-owned frozen custard machines for cheaper prices on the exact style you want. Pre-owned machines in good condition are an excellent option for anyone looking to provide delicious frozen treats on a budget.
When shopping around, it’s a great idea to work with a frozen custard machine store that’s experienced in dealing with pre-owned machines.
If you just buy someone else’s old machine from them directly, you might not get the quality you were looking for. And if anything goes wrong, you aren’t guaranteed the same customer service you would with an actual shop.
Try it For Yourself!
Now that you know a bit about what to look for, visit some frozen custard shops or websites to see what’s popular these days. Frozen custard machines provide a way to make your customers happy and invest in something that’ll widen your market. And for those just starting out, we can help you create the custard business of your dreams.
You can ask us about our collection of equipment to see what might work best for you. We’ll be happy to work with you to give you and your customers the best possible frozen custard experience.
