Why you should add ice cream to your online menu

Over the past few months, online dessert orders have been steadily increasing. Global food trends for 2020 predicted that desserts would gain popularity in restaurants and online - and it looks like this prediction wasn’t far off. Just Eat revealed Great Britain’s eating habits during the first months of the initial lockdown, reporting a significant rise in dessert orders. Studies in other parts of the world confirm that dessert is in high demand. Ice cream, in particular, is highly coveted.

This is good news for your restaurant, because sides, drinks and desserts could increase your customer’s average basket size significantly! Here are even more reasons why you should consider putting ice cream on your delivery menu.

#1 Your customers want ice cream

Ice cream is the number one choice of dessert for customers when ordering online. An independent study showed that 55% of people looking for desserts when ordering food online, prefer ice cream (followed by brownie and cheesecake). In other words, more than half of the people visiting your restaurant online and looking for a dessert to top off their dinner or lunch, want to buy ice cream. 

#2 It will help you earn more money

When adding ice cream to your online menu, it will increase the average order value of your restaurant. This will not only help you earn more money; it is also one of the most important parameters that platforms like Takeaway.com, Deliveroo and Uber Eats use to determine how high their delivery fee is. The higher your average order value, the more likely delivery platforms are to lower your delivery fee.

#3 Partnering with a major ice cream brand can help you become more visible on platforms

We know it is not always easy to get the attention you deserve on third-party food delivery platforms. You want to stand out and offer a more attractive proposition than your competitors around you, but sometimes that is really hard. Some major ice cream brands have developed a good relationship with the delivery platforms and try to leverage this relationship to get more visibility for their restaurant partners (eg: a special campaign only for restaurants carrying their products). So, by choosing the right ice cream brand, you could unlock an extra visibility boost.

#4 It’s EASY!

 Most established ice cream brands have a very wide distribution in traditional retail as well as in wholesale. Talk to your current frozen distributor to get an idea of the available assortment, or search for an ice cream distributor that covers your area.

When offering pre-packed ice cream, you have no extra preparation costs, nor does it take time to prepare (which can be important during those hectic peak hours). You simply take it out of the freezer and it is ready to be served. 

#5 Ben & Jerry’s as an example

Ben & Jerry’s can serve as a prime example of an ice cream brand that works very well with delivery/takeout.

Over the years, they have developed a very good relationship with the different delivery players active in the market and are constantly discussing potential joint campaigns with these delivery parties. Secondly, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream has a very high density (meaning it contains very little air) and therefore does not easily melt. This is necessary to offer your customers the quality they expect even after a 30-minute delivery trip.

Thirdly, Ben & Jerry’s is a well-known brand, making it accessible for all different types of customers. Lastly, Ben & Jerry’s offers a lot of materials to support its new or existing restaurant partners: next to offering content that helps you make your menu more attractive, the brand also offers a lot of offline support tools to let your regular customers know, you are now offering ice cream.