Checklist for Taking Your Ice Cream to Market

A simple checklist of the steps involved with taking your ice cream or frozen dessert from conception to market.

Ask yourself, what is the product, who it is the intended audience, what special component will the product include

Overview/Purpose/Introduction

To educate the reader to all the tasks that must be completed to successfully take a food product idea from concept to market shelf.
Relevant to US readers with a dairy or nondairy frozen product idea.
Determine who and what is needed (including capitalization) to successfully take your food product idea to market

Your Idea:

The difference between a business concept that is successful and one that is not successful.
Not all ideas people have are successful getting to the market
Why new product ideas do not make it to the market
Is there a need for your new product?
How do you determine if the prospective buyer will like your product?

Outside Feedback

What are others saying about your new food product idea.
Market research
Competition
Pricing
Size/serving
Category
Flavors
Location for buying
How to do research, where to do research, who can do it for you, how much does it cost, how much time will it take.

Are You Still On-board?

What the feedback tells you
Green light or red light
Going in a different direction
New ideas, disprove previous assumptions
Incorporating the market feedback into your plan

Form a Company:

If you have a company already
For profit/not for profit
LLC, Inc., c-corp
Partnership, limited partnership, silent partners
Steps to take if you need to establish a company
Register the name
EIN vs SSN
Trademark(s)
Insurance (liability)
Web addresses
Email address convention
Contact info
Phone numbers
Address

Mission/Vision/Values /Business Plan

Steps in the Overall Process (product concept to delivering the product) :
Converting a kitchen recipe to a commercial formula
Converting grocery store ingredient to ingredients used in commercial production
Testing the formula in a commercial environment
Finalizing the commercial formula – red light/green light
Butter fat and over-run
Flavors
Cost of goods sold
Packaging – size, quantity
Secure ingredients supply chain
external packaging considerations
UPC
Ingredient statement
Nutritional information
Name, logo, graphics
Secure packaging vendor(s)

Identifying the best manufacturing environment

Outside co-pack manufacturer
Build your own manufacturing facility

Target Customer:

Where are they – local, regional or national

Retail
Institutional
Wholesale / Distributor

B2C – direct to the consumer

Company owned retail store
Web sales
Company owned food truck

What channels and who is going to help sell the product:

Product Distribution versus product Delivery

How they are different
Pros/cons
What they do
What they cost
How they can be important

Broker

What they do
What they cost
Are they important

Make it and They Will Come:

Make the product first then sell
Obtain a PO for business then make the product for those customers
Pros/Cons

Marketing and Brand Support:

Target customer
SWOT analysis
Competition and positioning
Name
Logos
Push vs Pull strategies

Pros/Cons

Advertising (various mediums)

Trade shows
Print media
Electronic media
Broadcast media
Sampling/Demo’s
Giveaways (SWAG)

Pricing strategies

Coupons
Discounts and incentives

Sales strategies

Company employees
3rd party sales reps
Compensation schemes

Continuous Improvement:

Customer feedback
Manufacturing process efficiencies and improvements
Product enhancements / Improvements / Ingredient changes
Channel / distribution improvements
New product development – extend or expand
Staying abreast with market changes

Determine Your Success- how do you know if you have been successful? (what KPIs will you use)

Money – cash flow or profit
Public awareness, brand recognition
Mission / Vision / Value alignment

Author
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Darryl David

Darryl David is a seasoned consultant in the business of ice cream, frozen plant based and infused products. Offering business consulting and hands-on assistance to all size of companies. Tap into 30 years industry experience and learn more about Darryl and the services he provides by reading his articles, on LinkedIn .