Low Season? Here's how to increase ice cream shop sales during the most difficult months

For many ice cream shops, the winter months and off-peak periods are a real challenge. Cold days and fewer customers mean that sales drop dramatically compared to the summer months.

However, a good strategy can help keep your business alive even during periods of lower demand. In this article, we will explore some ideas and strategies to deal with the most difficult months, with the aim of increasing the visibility and profitability of your ice cream shop all year round.

how to increase ice cream shop sales during the most difficult months

Take advantage of the winter to expand your offer

When demand for ice cream decreases, it is the perfect time to experiment and diversify your offer. Here are some ideas:

Introduction of hot desserts: combining ice cream with hot desserts, such as waffles, crepes or cakes, is a way to attract customers even during the winter. You can serve these desserts with an ice cream garnish, using toppings and sauces such as the classic morettina or the 35% raspberry sauce, to create a balance between hot and cold that will win you over.
Artisanal drinks: offer ice cream-based drinks, such as hot chocolates enriched with vanilla ice cream (made with royal vanilla paste), hot milkshakes or affogatos with coffee and hazelnut. Add the hazelnut paste gentile three-lobated to give a refined touch.
Baked goods: introduce cookies, mini cakes and other delicacies that can also be consumed without ice cream, perhaps using some of your ice cream pastes as a base ingredient, such as the gran gianduia paste to create chocolate and hazelnut cookies.

Offer winter flavors and limited editions

While gelato is mostly associated with the summer months, you can entice customers to visit your gelato shop by offering special limited-edition flavors. Creating winter or holiday flavors can be a great way to attract curious and passionate customers.

Winter flavor ideas with available pastes

Chocolate and orange: use orange paste with a chocolate swirl for a flavor that recalls Christmas flavors.
Pistachio and caramel: extra pure natural pistachio paste combined with a caramel topping creates a creamy gelato that is perfect for winter.
Mint and chocolate: spearmint paste combined with a dark stracciatella swirl offers a fresh but enveloping flavor, ideal even during the cold months.

Use digital marketing to engage customers

Even though the off-season can be tricky, it’s a great time to strengthen your online presence and create targeted campaigns. Here are some digital marketing ideas:

Launch a social media poll: ask your followers which flavors they’d like to see on the winter menu. This not only creates engagement, but also allows you to gather suggestions.
“try the flavor of the month” Campaigns: each month offer a unique flavor, promote it on social media and encourage customers to try it with dedicated discounts.
“bring a friend” Promotions: invite your regular customers to return with a friend by offering a discount or a free tasting for both. This strategy works especially well in the months with less traffic.

Create take-out packages and packaging

The off-season can be a great time to introduce gift boxes or take-out packages that customers can purchase as giveaways or gifts.

Ice cream tubs with specialty swirls: Use eye-catching packaging for customized ice cream tubs, perhaps with creative combinations like variegated cocoa shortbread or variegated mango maracuja.
Tasting boxes: Prepare boxes with different mini flavors (chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut, pistachio) that customers can give as gifts or take home for a family tasting.
DIY dessert kits: Offer kits with ice cream, sauces, and toppings (like 45% berry sauce or hazelnut morettina) and include a recipe booklet on how to use them to create special desserts.

Invest in local collaborations and tastings

Collaborating with other local businesses is a great way to increase visibility during the off-peak months.

Restaurant and café partnerships: Offer your ice creams as desserts in local restaurants or create exclusive pairings for cafés and pastry shops. A flavour like Malaga paste ice cream can be the perfect match for sweet and sophisticated dishes.
Tasting events: Organise themed events such as tasting evenings to try new flavours and engage customers with exclusive offers.
Specialty store partnerships: Work with local delicatessens to sell specialty packages of your ice creams, such as fruit-based flavours like raspberry paste, mango paste and red fig paste.

Tackling the off-season in your ice cream shop requires creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit, but with the right strategies you can turn this period into an opportunity to strengthen your business.

Need ideas on what ingredients to use in the colder months? Visit our section dedicated to pastas and variegated sauces or contact us directly for a personalized consultation and discover how our products can help you create irresistible flavors all year round.