So. Despite longing for warm weather for most of winter, now that it’s almost here, we still haven’t managed to do half the things we said we would, and we don’t really feel ready for the onslaught of Ice Cream Season (also known as Summer). Some people are just never satisfied.
Things We Were Supposed To Do By Now But Haven’t.
The Winter Festival
Our Winter Festival idea quietly melted away, although we’re hoping to do it next year, now that we have one winter under our belt, and have a better idea of what to expect in terms of sales and weather. It was a tad overambitious for our first winter!
New Packaging and Labels
We’re in the process of changing our pint containers, to something a bit more sturdy and less likely to chip, and once those are changed, refreshing our container labels and starting label printing in-house, in our office. This can’t happen soon enough, and of course, this means it’s happening reeeaaaally sloooowly.
New Ice Cream Products
We’re still playing around with new king cone and ice lolly products, but with most of our time taken up with ice cream production, it’s really hard to find the time and focus to dedicate to a totally new product. It’s that constant tug between making and developing, and we’re struggling to find the right balance.
Our ice cream sandwiches are now in snazzy biodegradable cellophane packaging, but we’re waiting on our in-house label printer (see above) to be able to put proper labels on them, listing ingredients, etc. So we’re selling them quietly at markets and out the kitchen door, but not via the webshop or any of our retailers. I really really love these little chocolate brownie-encased darlings, but so far, we haven’t had much feedback from customers. Which could be good (they’re too busy eating them to comment) or bad (they’re just not feeling them). I Have Been Wrong Before (unanticipated, bewildering demand for naartjie choc chip ice cream over the past month comes to mind).Our new churn was ordered, and the 50% deposit (gulp) paid for, but it’s not here yet. Crossing fingers for a Happy Delivery in the first weeks of October. It’s bigger than our current churn, and so hopefully we will be able to double, if not triple, our production. Hopefully.
Home Deliveries
Home deliveries are still a twinkle in our eye, but we’ve been talking more seriously about ways to get our ice cream from our kitchen directly to your office/home, in the near future. Because Mowbray just isn’t convenient for everyone, and let’s be honest, the parking here sucks.
A Shop to Call Home
And perhaps most monumentally, earlier this month we put in an (unsuccessful) offer to rent a retail space in the Southern Suburbs, to open a bricks and mortar ice cream parlour. After all the nail-biting anticipation of the past two weeks, we felt pretty sad when we didn’t get the lease. But it has given us a bit more time to think about what a Creamery ice cream parlour should look and feel like (pinterest, anyone??), and we’re crossing fingers the right space will come along soon. And trying to decide whether we should be doing a pop up shop somewhere else in the meantime. Decisions, decisions…
Come to Durbanville!!