How to Start a Business of Ice-Cream Cones?

Material required, Investment & Steps

Do you know the value of the ice-cream industry in India? The answer might surprise you! According to statistics, the ice-cream industry in India has hit the mark of INR 201.4 billion in 2020.

So, do you also aspire to step into an ice-cream cone manufacturing business? Are you looking out for a detailed procedure to begin an ice-cream cone business? If yes, you have reached the right page. Here is a detailed guide on how to start a business of ice-cream cones, material required, investment, and steps.

You see, ice-creams enjoy a massive demand all year round. Be it winters or summers, people in India love to relish their favourite ice-cream while shopping or travelling. Moreover, people even love to eat homemade ice cream. And ice-cream cones are the perfect edible product to serve it.

Therefore, they prefer to buy empty ice cream cones and store them in their homes. These cones are easy to store, have a long shelf-life, and come with zero disposal. As the demand for ice-cream is increasing at a rapid rate, the demand for its cones is also increasing.

As far as the ice-cream cone business is concerned, any person can start it with a decent investment. The stats show that the ice-cream industry has witnessed a steep rise in India lately.

Moreover, an improved per capita income of the middle-class people has further fuelled the demand for the different ice cream cone types. So, yes, an ice-cream cone business can be a profitable venture that can have a bright future in India.

Investment Estimate

You can start an ice cream cones business with a minimal investment of INR 3-5 lakhs. Moreover, if you are selling around 12 lakh cones in a month, you can expect a monthly earning of Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.50 lakhs.

As far as the profit margin is concerned, it can fall in the range of 30%-50% if you are following a planned marketing strategy. Coming to manpower, you can easily operate an ice-cream cone business with 8-10 employees.

Steps to start an Ice-Cream Business In India

Starting an ice-cream business is quite easy in India. The production comprises simple machinery and processes. As far as infrastructure is concerned, you need not lease out a huge factory premise for making cones. Here is a 10-step guide for you.

1. Market Analysis

A market analysis is a comprehensive assessment of the market in a specific industry. It will help you in understanding the buying pattern, market dynamics, potential consumer segments, competition, and scope of your business.

Moreover, it also helps in reducing risks, evaluating benchmarks, determining the ice cream cones price, and understanding market trends. Here are the steps of a market analysis:

• Determine the purpose.
• Research the industry state.
• Identify the target audience.
• Understand the competition.
• Gather data.
• Analyse data.
• Make a business plan.

2. Prepare a Project Report

Once you are done with the market analysis part, you need to prepare a project report. There should be ideally two parts in this report; technical and financial.

• Technical Part – It contains details of the ice cream cone machine, organisation, manufacturing technology, and production processes.
• Financial Part – It includes details like ROI, costs, and break-even analysis.

You can also hire a professional to draft a business plan for you.

3. Arrange Finance

Finance is the backbone of any business format. The financial requirements for your business will depend upon your unit size and desired production output. If you are willing to go for a business loan, make sure you connect with only the lending institutions. Also, don’t forget to consider both fixed cost and working capital cost while applying for the loan.

4. Registration and License

Registration is mandatory for all companies in India. Here is a list of registrations and licenses for your reference.

• You have to register your company as a Pvt. Ltd, Ltd., or LLP company.
• Once you are done with the registration, you need to apply for MSME Udyog Aadhar and Trade License registration.
• Apart from this, your ice-cream cone business also requires an FSSAI license.
• If your manpower exceeds 10, you also need to register with ESI and PPF.
• GST registration is mandatory in India.
• However, such a business unit need not procure any NOC from Pollution Control.

5. Unit Set-up

Post-registration and licenses, you are ready to set-up your ice-cream cone manufacturing unit. The best part about this business is that you can set-up your production unit in as small as a 500 sq. ft. area. However, you need to take care of a few things, like:

• Make sure you have continuous water supply and electricity facilities.
• You will also need to set-up an efficient transport system to deliver cones.
• Prepare a systematic floor plan. Ensure optimum utilisation of the space.
• Plan specific areas for machinery installation, production, store, office, and dispatch for smooth operations.

6. Purchase an Ice-cream cone making machine

Once you are done with the floor plan, it is time to procure an ice-cream cone making machine for your unit. Here are some important pointers for you:

Make sure you go for an automatic cone making machine only. It includes a dough kneader, softer, weighing scales, and sugar pulveriser.

Apart from this, you will also need to get some advanced lab equipment and office furniture for your unit.

7. Hire Manpower

You will need a team of skilled and experienced people to operate your business unit. Ideally, the total number of employees will depend upon the size of your production unit and output. Here is a list of professionals that you should hire for your business:

• Production manager
• Accountant
• Sales manager
• Marketing manager
• Technical executives

8. Procure Raw Material

The choice of raw material plays a vital role in determining the overall quality of your product, i.e., ice-cream cones here. Here is a detailed list of raw materials that you need to procure for this business:

• Dry Ingredients – It includes corn flour, wheat flour, and sugar.
• Wet Ingredients – It includes water, food colour, edible fat or grease, salt, and flavouring. Please note that both flavouring and colours used in ice-cream cones should be natural and made by a specialist.
• Packing Material – You also need to arrange packaging materials. However, make sure you use only moisture-proof packing material for your cones.

You should also use the finest quality raw materials to attain the best firmness, crunch, baking, and sweetness. After all, the quality of your final product will depend upon the quality of ingredients used.

9. Understand the Best Cone Making Process

There might be several ice cream cone recipes around the world. But, you need to identify the ice cream cones recipe that best suits your customer’s taste and weather conditions. You see, the ice cream cone making process is ideally a mechanical operation. However, make sure you control the flavours and colour of the cones according to consumer demand.

10. Quality Control

The last step comprises quality control. It is the responsibility of the production manager to ensure the perfect taste and crispness of the ice cream cones. Moreover, the food department should ensure that the dough is kneaded properly with the right quantity of flavours and sugar. Last but not least, quality packing is essential to safeguard the cones from breaking and crushing.

Bottom Line

The Ice-cream cone business is affordable, comes with huge profit margins, and has a bright future in India. Moreover, excellent marketing strategies will help in creating lasting brand awareness and brand loyalty.

You can also use other online and offline mediums to promote your product and services. Don’t forget to keep a watch on the moves of your competitors. It will help you in staying a step ahead in the competition. Good luck.

Also read:

1) Online Business Ideas You Can Start Quickly
2) What online business can I do to make money? Here are the top-6 ideas for you.
3) Where Do the Best Business Ideas Come From?
4) Best Home Business Ideas in 2020
5) OkCredit: Simple, Paperless & Secure solution for businesses

FAQs

Q. What are the primary market drivers of the ice-cream cone business?

Ans. The major market drivers of this industry include increasing population, rising disposable incomes, ease of availability, rapid urbanisation, increasing competition, and expansion of distribution channels.

Q. What are the major industry trends of the Indian ice-cream market?

Ans. The key industry trends are the wide variety of flavours and the launch of vegan and gluten-free variants.

Q. Name the prominent distribution channels in the ice-cream industry.

Ans. The major channels are:

• General trade
• Hypermarkets or supermarkets
• Convenience store
• Online stores
• Ice-cream parlours