There are many business and professional usages with a soft serve ice cream machine, and making ice cream with it can be a profitable venture while producing exceptional tastes. But as any ice cream maker understands, the expenses of purchasing ingredients especially with time can add up. Fortunately for everyone reading, there are measures in place that allow for cheap ice cream to be made, all while improving the quality. With that said, here are a few effective tips on how to work the soft serve ice cream machine without breaking the bank.

1. Buy Ingredients in Bulk

When switching to a large quantity bag, a single bag of ice cream ingredients automatically becomes more affordable than purchasing the same ingredients in small packs. Now, if the same investment was made in buying ice cream in bulk for your soft serve ice cream machine, that would help in saving the expenses further definitely. As some food items are quite frankly expensive, nutritionists say that buying large bags of cream, dairy, flavorings, or toppings helps in bulk purchasing since it lowers the container cost per unit. For instance, the cost of sugar, creams or even vanilla extract increases exponentially when buying smaller units, hence why it’s recommended to buy seasonal items in bulk as it can save a lot of time and money in the long run.

Don’t discount ice cream supplies purportedly provided on a wholesale basis by certain suppliers or wholesale distributors. This strategy is particularly advantageous when you operate a business, or make regular use of your machine for domestic consumption. If your needs are for smaller operations or home use, you might want to share out the bulk items with friends or families so that you do not lose ‘too much’ in the purchase.

2. Utilize Seasonal Ingredients

Elements like ice cream can depend on the season or the fruits, berries and others may be on the higher or lower side. Such cheap ice cream can help you save a lot of your hard earned cash. Summers are meant for berries; they cost less. Fall is affordable with apples and pumpkins. You can buy all these in bulk during the respective seasons, blend into your ice creams to create unique flavors at little cost.

Further, you can put pending orders for ice cream supplies wholesale during the season of plenty. This ensures lower costs for trade items and ice cream machines which can be put to use anytime through the year.

3. Opt for Non-Dairy Alternatives

Dairy products can be costly when it comes to preparing ice cream. Because of this, when thinking about how to cut down on expenses, there are a lot of non-dairy options that you could utilize in your soft serve ice cream machine for example. Almond, coconut and soy milk are some of the dairy alternatives whose prices are lower than the conventional milk, especially when bought in bulk.

There are also coconut cream and oat cream and other plant-based creams that can be used to make delicious ice creams. These types of creams are cheaper than using heavy creams, thereby making it cheap and easier to produce ice cream. These non-dairy ingredients are also good for people with different kinds of diets making your ice cream available to more customers or family members.

4. Make Your Own Mixes

Premade mixes for soft serve ice cream can be easy to use but at the same time they can be pricey so making the mix yourself might be a better option. So if ice cream ingredients such as milk, cream, sugar, and flavoring are blended, the cost of making ice cream will significantly be reduced. For instance, if you use mixes instead of using whole milk and cream to make the ice cream, you will be incurring a 15% to 20% increase in ingredient costs.

As a helpful note, researching your own recipes to best fit your soft serve machine while also being economical is also an option. That being said, simplicity is key in creating the best ice creams. A few basic ingredients will be enough to create chocolate, vanilla or even some fruit based ice creams, and buying them in bulk could save some costs as well.

5. Reduce Waste by Proper Storage

To ensure that your ice cream ingredients remain fresh for their intended duration, proper storing practices are necessary. The end result is that you waste a lot of money; according to the figures, any ingredient that reaches its expiration date without being utilized is useless. It’s advisable to keep dairy, flavor, and savory ingredients in properly sealed storage to avoid air ingress, as this along with other perishable materials should be refrigerated or frozen in a timely fashion.

To extend serving periods of cheap ice cream even further freeze any ice cream that hasn't been served in an airtight container, and after a period of time consider defrosting it. If you’re put off the idea of buying cheaper pints because of the wastage, unnecessary waste can be avoided if said pints are stored in containers that are sealed, preventing air ingress.

6. Use Homemade Toppings and Mix-ins

Toppings and mix-ins can take your soft serve creations to the next level, however, purchasing toppings from shops can get quite costly. Instead of buying already prepared topping options, consider preparing your own at home. For instance, homemade chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, and fruit compotes are simple to make and are a lot more affordable than their supermarket counterparts. Apart from this, crushed cookies, candy pieces, or even brownies can be prepared as toppings or mix-ins.

Not only do DIY ingredients cut down costs, they also give you authority over the quality and taste of the toppings utilized. This is a simple and cost-effective means of diversifying and being creative with your cheap ice cream.

7. Experiment with Flavor Combinations

At times the simplest of flavor combinations can turn out to be the most economical. Instead of relying on costly flavoring agents, try developing cheaper intended flavor blends. Take for example, chocolate and vanilla, it would just take two necessary ingredients and it would produce an excellent taste correlation. Add peanut butter, cocoa powder, or even some citrus fruits as they are affordable yet can be deliciously useful for creating other interesting alternatives.

With careful and imaginative pairing of common elements you can have a variety of tastes without going to the expense of special flavoring or premium products.

8. Maximize Your Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine’s Efficiency

Soft serve ice cream is a rich source of great ingredients, don’t forget to check the smoothness of the machine's workings. Ice cream machines, like any other machinery, need to be lubricated properly and if not it can be inefficient, raising costs. If you want to avoid using frozen yogurt machines more than necessary, it’s best to only use them after cleaning them thoroughly and only when the desired temperature is reached. A good example of this is thawed ice cream that has reached its ideal temperature, ready for milling, with minimum waste throughout the output.

Also, to ensure the consistency of quality for each batch of ice cream, it is important that you use the right quantity of ingredients instead of pouring more than needed. You are making sure that each batch is done correctly with the right quantity of ingredients whenever required.

9. Take Advantage of Discounts and Coupons

When every other option has been exhausted it is advisable to pay attention to all ingredient purchasing coupons, discounts, and promotions, as they can come in handy at the time of purchase. Most of the suppliers, whether ordering online or buying in local shops, have special selling offers for bulk or seasonal items. If there is an option of joining the newsletter or subscribing for a loyalty program, it is a good idea to do so as it can help to make some more great deals and use them on the items you need.

Conclusion

Saving money on ingredients while using your soft serve ice cream machine doesn’t require sacrificing quality or flavor. The only requirement for this to work is that the customers are willing to sacrifice the odds of mass production and making the best top quality cheap ice cream. However, Blossom believes that if you invest the time, rather than what would go into mass production, the outcome would be worth it. Additionally, investments made into the bulk purchases wouldn’t add much onto the overall production cost and more than likely save big bucks. These are just a few examples of how the right recipes can enable you to mass produce top quality super yummy ice creams that will be nothing short of amazing regardless of whether you are into ice creams or running a business.