Check out this article about a sting conducted by the New York Attorney Generals office. They set up a fake frozen yogurt shop in Brooklyn, NY and solicited help from firms that promise to boost online visibility.They caught 19 companies assessed $350,000 in penalties.
Online reviews are very helpful to your business, but the costs of posting fake reviews far outweigh the benefits. Even if you never get caught, fake reviews are dishonest and they misrepresent your company. It’s just not good business!
But it is recommended to monitor popular review sights so you can respond to customers that post negative reviews. You can often turn a negative situation into a positive one, by responding to negative comments appropriately.
Here are a couple of good articles about dealing with negative reviews:
Did you know that 30 million Americans are lactose intolerant. As an owner, operator or employee of a frozen yogurt store it is important for you to understand what that means and how you can provide products for people with lactose intolerance.
What is Lactose?
Lactose is a milk sugar found in many dairy products.
What is Lactose Intolerance?
A deficiency in the body of a natural enzyme called lactase, which can cause symptoms of gas, bloating and diarrhea when foods with lactose are eaten. Lactase is needed to fully digest lactose, a sugar found mainly in dairy products. Lactose intolerance can cause severe discomfort, but is not life threatening.
How is Lactose Intolerance different from Milk Allergies?
A milk allergy is when the immune system overacts to a protein in milk and attacks dairy like it is a harmful invader. It is most common in infants and young children. Symptoms can range from hives to anaphylactic shock. A severe allergic reaction can be life threatening and is very different from lactose intolerance.
Is lactose intolerance very common?
Yes. About 65% of people worldwide have some degree of lactose intolerance. Here is a breakdown for a few geographic regions/ethnicities:
Asia: 80%
Africa: 70-90%
Southern India: 70%
Northern India: 30%
France: 17-65%
Germany: 15%
England: 5-15%
How do you treat lactose intolerance?
Many people can handle a small amount of dairy and be fine – like 8-12 ounces of milk. For those that experience the symptoms listed above, the immediate solution is to reduce the amount of lactose in the diet. There is not currently a cure. But there are commercially available enzyme substitutes. There are also many products available that don’t contain dairy or lactose, like Nanci’s new non-dairy soft serve mixes.
Nanci’s Non-Dairy Soft Serve
Nanci’s offers a line of non-dairy soft serve mixes that include:
Fruit Freezer Sorbet– a neutral base that can use most of Nanci’s flavor concentrates. The sorbet mix is colder and icier than regular soft serve.
Non-Dairy Vanilla Soft Serve– a creamy, vanilla/neutral base. Most of Nanci’s flavors can be added to this base.
Non-Dairy Vegan Chocolate Soft Serve – can be served without flavoring for a rich chocolate or can be used with many of the Nanci’s flavorings. This base contains no animal products and so it is a vegan mix.
Nanci’s non-dairy mixes contain PowerPro Active Cultures that provide all the health benefits of regular yogurt but without the dairy.
Toppings are a critical part of frozen yogurt shop operations. They play a big role in customer satisfaction, but if not managed closely you an actually lose money on your toppings. You should try to be below 30 cents per ounce on your average toppings cost. If you can get down towards 23-25 cents per ounce you are doing great.
Be careful of expensive toppings that are very light, like whipped cream. Here are a couple of tricks to manage the more expensive toppings.:
Put the most expensive toppings the farthest away from the last soft-serve machine so customers fill their cup on the less expensive toppings.
Put the most expensive toppings at the back of the toppings bar so they are a little harder to reach.
Use smaller serving spoons for the more expensive toppings.
Also, with fresh toppings, such as fruits, you should rotate the toppings to ensure that you always have fresh product in the toppings bar. If you have any problem with fruit flies contact us to purchase Fruit Fly Strips that will take care of the problem.
Here are suggested list of toppings. You can find recommendations for toppings supplies on our Equipment & Supplies page.
We have some great flavor recipes/combinations that will keep your customers coming back time and time again. We all have our “go to” best selling flavors that we don’t want to change, but you never know when a bold and unique new flavor idea could become your signature product. The beauty of Nanci’s mixes is you can keep it very easy and simple or you can make artisan products with your own creativity.
The key to these recipes is the using the “Blender Method” described below.
Blender Method
Prepare the base mix as normal in a large bucket.
Fill a blender half way with prepared base mix.
Add the extra additive (fresh peanut butter, Nutella or fruit) into the blender and blend throughly. There shouldn’t be any large particles.
Stir the concentrated base mix from the blender back into the rest of the base mix in the bucket.
Take a quick taste to make sure its the right strength and then pour into your soft-serve machine.
Recipe suggestions:
Peanut Butter using REAL peanut butter and Nanci’s peanut butter flavor concentrate
Use Nanci’s vanilla base mix.
Add 5 oz of Nanci’s Peanut Butter flavoring and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of real peanut butter using the Blender Method.
Nutella
Use Nanci’s vanilla base mix.
Add one large container (26.5 oz) of Nutella using the Blender Method.
You can also make Peanut Butter Nutella by adding 1/4 cup of peanut butter with the Nutella.
Fresh fruit
Use Nanci’s plain tart base, premium tart base, or vanilla base mix.
Add about 1 1/2 cups of fresh fruit using the Blender Method.
Be sure to blend throughly to avoid any large particles. You may want to strain the mix for seeds.
Peanut Butter Cup
Use Nanci’s vanilla base mix.
Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of real peanut butter using the Blender Method.
With all these recipes, stir the hopper regularly. After serving the flavor, be sure to clean the machines throughly to remove any seeds or particles.
New flavor combination ideas:
– Peanut Butter & Jelly (combine 1/2 peanut butter flavoring and 1/2 strawberry or raspberry flavoring)
– Snickers (combine salted caramel and peanut butter in either the vanilla or chocolate base)
– Coconut Taro (combine 2/3 taro and 1/3 coconut)
A recent study from he American Journal of Public Health has found that soft drinks and smoking cigarettes both speed up your body’s aging process. Drinking a 20 oz soda per day can lead to 4.6 years of additional aging, which is the same effect as smoking cigarettes.
The culprit in the soft drinks is the huge amounts of sugar. A 20 oz soda would have about 43 grams of sugar, which is about 3 Tablespoons.
Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt uses superior sweeteners, such as fruit sugar and stevia. Stevia is a natural sweetener that comes from a tropical leaf. It has no caloric impact and has a glycemic index rating of zero. Fruit sugar (pure fructose) does not require the same amount of insulin as table sugar and does not spike blood sugar levels like sugar.
Cleaning your frozen yogurt machines properly can help produce better tasting product and prevent any issues of harmful bacteria. Most manufacturers recommend that you clean and sanitize your machine at least once every three days, but some municipalities may require you to clean the machine every day. Check with your local health department for your local regulations. Dairy products can breed many kinds of harmful bacteria, so it’s important to stay on top of your cleaning and sanitization schedule.
The first thing to do before any cleaning is to look in the owner’s manual for the proper procedure. Many machines will come with a special brush kit to get product out of every part of it. The manual will tell you where to use them. The manual will also tell you what types of sanitizer are and aren’t okay for your machine, and which parts you should inspect every cleaning for possible replacement.
Most frozen yogurt machines follow these procedures. First, drain the machine of product. Depending on the age of the product you could put it into a freezer and reuse it. Next, get access to the hoppers and pour in water. Turn on the cleaning cycle and let it run for the recommended time. Drain the water and use your brushes to any speck of product out. Repeat the rinsing and brushing until it looks clean, then remove the scrapers and any other recommended parts. Clean these thoroughly, and check the hopper again for any missed product.
Once your parts are clean, it’s time to sanitize them. Make sanitizer according to the package directions, then soak any parts you removed for the recommended time. Make another batch to put into the hopper and use it according to your owner’s manual. Once you’re done soaking, rinse out the hopper and the parts, replace them, and then put your product back into the hopper and turn the machine on as normal.
In about 20 minutes, you should be ready to go again with fresh frozen yogurt in a clean and safe machine. Not only that, but your frozen yogurt will taste much better too. The first batch out of a clean machine is the best! Try it yourself and see.
About the Author
Emily is the customer information “champion” at Spaceman USA – a friendly manufacturer of soft serve and frozen yogurt machines. With technical knowledge of the machines and understanding of soft serve business, Emily writes in various topics – from business management to delivering the best food quality to customers.
Do you ever find you feel rushed or overwhelmed with all your responsibilities? Do you run out of products and rush to order at the last minute? Here are 6 ideas to help you get ahead and stay organized.
Weekly Inventory – Take an inventory of your store regularly. That way you are always on top of what you have in stock. If an employee uses the last of something, have a sheet ready for them to document what they used so you have a handy list of what you need to order.
Consistent Orders – Order at the same time every week or month so don’t forget – that way you won’t get caught without an important item. Set reminders in your smart phone to help you stay on top of things.
Bulk Orders – If you order something, try to order a little more at a time so that you get any available discounts. Remember, FroCup.com offers the Baker’s Dozen Special which is “Buy 12 Cases and Get a 13th Case Free”. By keeping track of how much you are using, forecasting and reordering becomes more simplified. If you are running out of one item faster than others, order one extra of it next time. This way you can continue to order in bulk without needing one item sent to you in the middle of your ordering cycle. This might help your peace of mind and your pocketbook.
Organized Workspace – Keep your work area and storeroom clean and organized so that everything is easy to find and count. Set up simple organizing systems that think like you do, and then create a habit of using those systems consistently. Use labels to remind you and your staff where items belong.
Training – When training a new employee, train each the same way every time. Have a checklist to go over so that the consistency flows throughout the whole company. There is also a training certification available to your staff on nancis.com.
Procedures – Eliminate confusion by having each procedure in your shop outlined and clearly posted in the correct places, including opening and closing procedures, and ongoing maintenance procedures.
Being organized is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. It takes daily discipline to maintain the order you created. Encourage everyone in your group to continue the cause and you will find everything will go more smoothly. The feelings of unity and teamwork will increase and those feelings of being overwhelmed with all your responsibilities will turn to feelings of confidence and peace. Relax – you got this!
You might not realize that Nanci’s chocolate and vanilla bases are rich and creamy just like soft-serve ice cream. Texture depends on how much air you get in the product and the quality of the ingredients. We don’t sell a soft-serve ice cream because it is so similar in creaminess to our frozen yogurt but lacks the health benefits. In fact, you could choose to serve Nanci’s and not call it frozen yogurt, some of our customers sell it as soft-serve and don’t even call it frozen yogurt at all. It is up to you how you want to name it and market it.
The benefits of Frozen Yogurt vs Ice Cream are many:
Frozen Yogurt provides the same satisfaction and tasty treat as soft-serve ice cream with many additional benefits.
What you’ll get with an average ½ cup serving of Ice Cream:
-2x the calories (190)
-10x the Fat (11g)
-Cholesterol (not good for heart disease)
-Sucrose (not good for hunger spikes and diabetes)
-Sweet, Rich and Creamy
-No variations of sweetness or texture available
Here’s what you’ll get with an average ½ cup serving of Frozen Yogurt:
-Half the calories (90)
-Low-fat or no-fat (healthy non-animal fat)
-Probiotic enriched to support a healthy immune system
-No Cholesterol
-No Corn Syrup
-No Sucrose
-Sweet, Rich and Creamy
-Versatile in that it can also have other tastes and textures depending on what you like best. For example, the Chocolate and Vanilla bases are just like soft-serve ice cream in sweetness and texture. The Tart bases are uniquely different from ice cream.
In addition, another base mix which is called FRUIT WHIP is a bold and refreshing fruit soft-serve like what is served at Disneyland. And it has probiotics. What is really cool is that if you add double the water in your recipe and use a frozen drink machine, the FRUIT WHIP turns into a self-serve smoothie. See link to two machine options for self-serve smoothies made from just Fruit Whip base + flavor + water.
Smoothies are a perfect anytime treat; they are refreshing and delicious! They are also a great addition to any frozen yogurt shop or cafe. Smoothies are simple to make. All you need is a blender, ice, fruit, and Nanci’s Smoothie Base Mix. Nanci’s smoothies are made with natural ingredients and sweetened with pure crystalline fructose instead of corn syrup, so they are a healthier way to boost your energy! You can even add nutritional supplements like protein or immune booster to any smoothie to increase the health benefits.
How to Make Nanci’s Smoothies:
Step 1: Prepare Nanci’s Smoothie Base Mix by adding 1 cup powder base to 3 cups water.Step 1: Stir powder and water mixture and store in refrigerator. Prepared base is good for 2 weeks in fridge.Step 2: Add ice and Nanci’s prepared smoothie base to blender.Step 3: Add fruit, juice, and boosters.Step 4: Blend for 45 seconds. Enjoy!
Here at Nanci’s we’ve been working on some new recipes for you to try. Let us know what you think!
MANGO MANIA
6 oz Nanci’s Smoothie Base
2 oz orange juice
4 oz mangos
2 oz strawberries
12 oz ice
Blend
Yield: 20 oz
PEANUT BUTTER BONANZA
6 oz Nanci’s Smoothie Base
2 spoonfuls creamy peanut butter
½ banana
12 oz ice
Blend
Yield: 20 oz
PINEAPPLE PUNCH
6 oz Nancis’ Smoothie Base
2 oz strawberry
2 oz blueberry
2 oz pineapple
¼ banana
12 oz ice
Yield: 20 oz
SUMMER CHILL
4 oz Nanci’s Smoothie Base
2 oz apple
1 peeled kiwi
12 oz ice
Yield: 20 oz
PEACH-BERRY COLADA
6 oz Nanci’s Smoothie Base
2 oz strawberry
4 oz peach
1 oz coconut
12 oz ice
Yield: 20 oz
Nanci’s smoothies are simple, even for those who have no experience making them. A bag of Nanci’s Smoothie Base Mix will yield over 150 smoothies following the recipes above. All you need is a blender, ice, fruit, and Nancis’ Smoothie Mix. They are tastier and healthier since Nanci’s smoothies are sweetened with pure pure crystalline fructose instead of cane sugar and the recipes utilize real natural fruit. Using a smoothie base mix is important because it sweetens and enhances the natural fruit flavors along with also providing a smooth and creamy texture. Including smoothies and boosters in your shop is a great way to expand your menu and your customer base. Visit the Nanci’s Smoothie page for more information and www.FroCup.com to place your order.
So, which size cup should I be using in my ice cream store?
When faced with the decision of what size ice cream or frozen yogurt cup to use in your store, several options probably come to mind. Cup sizes range anywhere from a small 4 ounce (oz) size cup to an enormous 32 oz cup. Surely there has to be an optimal size to make it easier on you as the business owner and to satisfy your customers. Nanci’s experience with soft-serve over several decades has lead us to just the answer: the 10 oz cup and the 14 oz cup. These are two new shapes pioneered by Nanci’s and available exclusively at FroCup.com. They are a perfect fit for self-serve customers! Both the new 10 oz and the new 14 oz cups have a fun and modern light swirl design around the outside and are made of a strong, durable paper material that doesn’t tear or seep at the seams. So why are these new sizes better than what you’re currently using?
10 oz – Small
This new shallow/wide shape is perfect for families with children. As you can see in the picture above, the 10 oz cup fills quickly and, due to the height of the cup, the yogurt spirals above the top to give it a nice and full look where the yogurt seems to be brimming to the top. As the yogurt melts and the customer digs in, the width will catch any running liquid or toppings from making a mess. Since it has the same width as a standard 16 oz cup, you can actually fit both your small and large cups in the same cup holders if desired.
According to our research, we have found the 10 oz cup is the ideal ‘small size cup’ to carry in your store. It has enough volume to hold yogurt for a customer who may just want a few bites – perfect for kids. It is the best of both worlds – wide enough to handle all the toppings your customer wants to add yet shallow enough to still look full. This perception of a full cup is key to a customer making their way back to your store in the future; you want them to feel as if they are getting the best ‘bang for their buck’.
Comparison of the new 10 and 14 oz cups next to the 16 oz on the right.
14 oz – Large
The 14 oz cup is a deeper cup. It has a large volume and can hold a full pound of yogurt. And it has the same wide diameter as a standard 16 oz cup so it can easily handle all the toppings your customer wants to add. What makes the 14 oz superior to the 16 oz is the shorter height of the 14 oz. As you compare the 14 oz and the 16 oz cups, you see a clear difference in the presentation of the yogurt. The yogurt in each cup is the same amount, however it stands up much taller in the 14 oz and it looks much fuller. The 16 oz cup drowns the yogurt a bit, and the customers may feel they aren’t getting as much product as they really are getting. A full 16 oz cup of yogurt is a lot even for those with the biggest appetites and we have found that it is often not necessary to have that large of a cup in stock. A hungry customer will fill the 14 oz cup to a swirl above the rim and be satisfied with their eyes, tummy and wallet.
The 10 oz and the 14 oz are the perfect sizes whether you are just starting up a new shop, or you have owned a shop for years. FroCup has 4 vibrant colors to choose from: orange, blue, green, and pink. The swirl design is popular among both young and old alike. Also available is a convenient one-size-fits-all clear dome lid for the 10 oz, 14 oz, and 16 oz cups. It’s easy to make the switch and increase your store’s customer satisfaction and perceived value. Give Nanci’s a call at 1-800-788-0808 or order online today at www.frocup.com.
The popular Swirl design is available in 12 color/size combinations.Note the more appealing and satisfying look of the swirl in the shorter height cups.
16 oz, 20oz and Larger
The 16 ounce, 20 ounce, or larger cups give you more options for your frozen yogurt shop. You can use these cups for ice cream, gelato, soft-serve, parfait, or really anything. Paper cups are a great option for both dine-in or take-out customers. Ice cream cups are also available in a range of materials – from thick, durable paper to plastic. Cups for ice cream sundaes or gelato parfaits can even include lids to keep the toppings and sauces contained until the moment of serving. Ice cream cups are really versatile, and as a result you’ll likely want to stock up on more than one type. These larger sized ice cream cups allow your customers to take larger amounts home. You’ll want to make sure you have lids available.
How to buy ice cream shop cups at wholesale pricing?
FroCup.com