The Bulletin-March 2023

How To Turn Your SOP/FSMA Binder into a Working Training Tool

5 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2023

Inventory Management

The Official Publication Of The North American Ice Cream Association

Controlling Foreign Materials

March 2023

THE BULLETIN

A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Do you have butterflies in your stomach?

I've played a couple of roles in amateur theatre production, and by amateur I mean amateur! I remember the butterflies I had in my stomach before I went on stage for the first time. Memorizing lines and remembering where my entry and exit points were filling my head. The director told us that everything had to be perfect for the audience to have a great first impression of the character and the overall enjoyment of the experience.

The butterflies weren't necessarily a bad thing: it meant that I still had to go through the procedures in my mind to reaffirm that I was doing things right.

Well, it's nearly our time to step on stage. Some of our members are reporting the excitement of opening for the 2023 season, or even opening for the first time. It's a great time to go over in our minds and in our businesses, the policies, and procedures that will make our customer's first experience at our business in the season a great one.

Remember, you don't get a second chance at the first impression.

This edition of the bulletin is dedicated to the process of getting ready for the season.

Using the information here, and the plethora of information in our free video-based training should set you up for a confident "first entrance" onto the 2023 stage.

Remember, all of the crew and support people need to be just as ready. There is no performance without the curtain puller doing his or her job. Make sure that your support personnel and work crew are equally trained and up to date on their tasks and responsibilities as well.

Should you still have butterflies? Well, a few little ones generally don't hurt. have a great month.

Steve Christensen Executive Director

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Don't Miss a Beat Confirm your contact detials on your membership profile are correct to ensure you keep up to date will all things Ice Cream

CLICK HERE FOOD SAFETY SUPPORT HOT-LINE FOR

SMALL/ARTI SAN DAI RY PROCESSORS

Not sure where to start? Our network of food safety experts from Universities across the US are here to help you take the next step by providing free one-on-one plan consultation and review.

315-787-2600 Dairyfoodsafetycoach@cornell.edu

Conenect With Our New Mentorship Program We are looking for mentors for the Association mentor program. Please CLICK HERE to get eligibility details and sign up today!

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Food Safety Corner Controlling Foreign Materials What is a Foreign Material Hazard?

Foreign Material is any material that is not a natural component of a food, they can be a food safety hazards and must be included in a risk assessment of a HACCP Plan or Food Safety Plan. FDA defines a foreign object that presents itself as a food safety hazard as; Hard or sharp foreign objects in food may cause traumatic injury including laceration and perforation of tissues of the mouth, tongue, throat, stomach, and intestine as well as damage to the teeth and gums. They further define it as: product contains a hard or sharp foreign object that measures 7 mm to 25 mm, in length. Even objects that don’t meet this legal definition can harm customers and your business (i.e. pits are OK in Cherries, but are not expected in Ice Cream)

Because many ingredients in ice cream manufacturing are added to a ‘mix’ it is imperative to reach out to your suppliers to understand their risk assessment program and controls as well.

What it means to your business?

Foreign materials in your product could harm a customer and impact your business, so committing to enhancing your food safety programs benefits your company in many ways. It is imperative that a thorough risk assessment is completed to identify and control anywhere your product could be contaminated. In a risk assessment, one would look at each step in your process to consider the introduction of any of these items as a potential risk and then identify appropriate control strategies.

Here’s what you can do right now?

Having good control programs provides a proactive approach rather than reacting after discovering a foreign material in your product.

Control programs that catch foreign materials before they reach your customer reduce the

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risk to your brand, maintain your earned reputation, and save you money from expensive recalls or litigation. This can be accomplished by breaking your approach into “People” (awareness, training, culture…), “Programs” (preventive maintenance, sanitation, supplier controls…) and “Detection/Separation” (screens/strainers, metal detectors…)

Examples include: conducting supply-chain reviews, inspecting ingredients when they arrive at your facility, conducting routine glass and brittle plastic self-audits of your facility, and anything else you identify for your location.

rounded team enhances buy-in and creates a positive food safety culture.

Broad participation beyond the Food Safety and Quality Team, results in many sets of dedicated eyes focused on identifying potential issues and a passionate workforce protecting of dedicated eyes focused on identifying potential issues and a passionate workforce protecting your facility and brand. Continuous monitoring and re-assessment, especially when changing suppliers is important. Robust food safety systems are built one step at a time. It is never too late to begin.

When building and designing your own program, it is important to involve team members throughout the process to get a broad understanding of potential foreign material introduction sites. Creation of a well-

For more on Foreign Material controls see this CDR article (pages 6-9) and visit www.safeicecream.org for additional resources, training options, and direct access to Ice Cream Food Safety Experts.

Brian Kraus Director of Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance.

Safe Ice Cream Hub The Association is working with other food safety organizations and university's to develop an industry standard and an online/live training program that caters to all ice cream makers, large and small.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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How To Turn Your SOP/FSMA Binder into a Working Training Tool (and why it’s so hard to do this) You’ve put all your good ideas on paper.

You’ve attended hours and hours of food safety training. Now you’re finally ready to implement all of these documented practices into your scoop shop, frozen dessert or ice cream manufacturing business.

How do you take the oral tradition of “this is just how it’s done”, get it in writing, and then successfully train teams of ever-rotating employees to do it the right way?

Here are a few helpful tips or reminders as you implement your training tools & company SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures- step by step how to do different activities in your business) and GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practiceshow your people /place /processes etc successfully create a high quality, consistent, safe product): People don’t actually read.

Studies vary but it’s estimated that when we read material, we only retain 15% of the information after an initial read. It gets worse when it’s on a digital screen.

Why do we write it all down if no one is going to read it? KEEP IN MIND: your health inspector actually digests information via the written word and we do it for them. And if you get hit by a bus, at least the Good Manufacturing Practices, SOPs, Food Safety Plan and company policies exist somewhere

outside your brilliant brain.

So how do I get this darn information from my google doc or binder that I just laminated into the hands of my employees and actually used if they won’t read it?

Demonstrate the work sequence visually (short videos, images, and hands-on are best) Have the trainee repeat back and show you or another person how to do something Make a short series of videos or pictures and plop them into a shared Google Drive/OneDrive (NOTE: some scheduling platforms have a library or database for training materials and you can upload files there and assign them to staff).

These do not need to be perfect, professionally made or graphically designed! It’s better to have raw footage than none at all! EXAMPLE: as part of the on boarding process, right after the I9 meeting, have your new hire watch the first batch of videos and look at the material that’s relevant to their position.

Ideas for training modules: “How to Scoop Properly”, “How to wash your hands the right way”, “Filling up the sani buckets and testing chlorine” “When do you wash your hands/ take off your apron”, “Gross bacteria that you can’t see and how to kill it”, “How to take temperatures and

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record them”.

Remember that, yes, this work is REDUNDANT. You have your written Bible of Ice Cream Truth (Food Safety binder and logbooks) to show the health inspector and ALSO have your library of training materials that demonstrate the actual work sequences in a practical useful way.

It takes time (and money) to train people well [but it’s worth it] Job satisfaction comes from you setting clear expectations, providing opportunities to advance within an organization, having good communication and making your team feel respected. If people are satisfied with their job, they stick around longer (thus saving you from having to train someone new!).

Good training does ALL of that A good training program protects you against the inevitable “no one ever taught me how to do this” moment when a staff member might be falling short of expectations Make sure to keep accurate employee files where you can check off that someone has completed their training and what exactly they completed Put reminders in your calendar for people to get re-trained. We often forget details even if we do a job over and over again. Do re-trainings in the Winter if you’re a little slower.

When that calendar notification pops up, stick to it and do the training no matter what.

Communication styles differ by job function, personality traits, experience and natural curiosity As the leader of your organization, you will have to sit in the Trainer seat quite a bit but make sure your managers and other leaders know how to communicate effectively, too.

Save the Date

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In addition to you sharing information with your trainees, you also need to listen to your team. Look for visual cues or encourage people to ask questions while you’re training. Make training a dialogue instead of a monologue.

A lot of outgoing, “I love people” personalities (ex FOH scoopers and managers, myself included) are often motivated by FUN. How do you keep things lively and lighthearted and a good time for these staff members? Try training in groups.

Make it a competition and have them train each other. Keep the same high standards but allow for some creativity and playing and socializing in the process. It might feel distracted or time-consuming if this isn’t your style, but I promise the information will stick better and they’ll be more invested in

future training.

More reserved, “keep to themselves” folks (ex BOH Manufacturing team) are often motivated by A JOB WELL DONE. Have really precise examples of what the best outcome is (ie this is exactly how we like to have the cookies distributed in this ice cream flavor, here are some tricks on how to cut through the ice cream with a hard-edged spatula to achieve that caramel swirl, here is how you stack a pallet so the tubs don’t fall, now you try) Reward consistency and accuracy.

Rather than public declarations of love, try pulling the person aside and give them praise one-on-one as they start to get the training down.

If this isn’t your personal style, you might be thinking that these people aren’t getting it or they aren’t being very vocal but by patiently allowing them to figure out the new task, they have a deeper knowledge of the process.

NO ONE LIKES TO BE MICROMANAGED Assume the best in others first. Let them fail a little and make adjustments.

Learning is a process and whether you’re 15 or 65, you will learn more if you’re able to relax, try, try again and have someone give you positive and constructive feedback.

Provide feedback in real time: if someone is doing something incorrectly and you see it, pull them aside and remind them how to do it correctly. If it’s compromising food safety in any way, make the correction immediately. “Hey, hang on there. I see you’re still wearing your jewelry, can you go take that off?

We don’t want that to end up in someone’s cone”. If it’s less urgent, pull them aside a little later, “I noticed earlier that your scoops were a bit uneven.

Remember that customers see that and we don’t want them to have underscooped or over-scooped cones or that’s what they think they’ll get next time”.

You (and the leaders within the organization) set the example of behavior and should walk the walk in any role. No shortcuts or “we’ll just do it this way this time”. Don’t go make ice cream on the weekends and forget to wear a hairnet in front of others or don’t scoop sloppy cones on a busy Saturday night.

If training is overwhelming you or you feel strapped for time to even begin, reach out to fellow NAICA members (myself included!) and this community of ice cream individuals will be happy to help.

You have to tackle training and people management just like every other part of your business: break it into smaller, manageable chunks and stick to it.

Shannon Leach Ice Cream Consultant Traveling Table LLC

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5 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2023 Target Market The years move fast, but social media moves faster. Staying informed on social media marketing trends is crucial for brands to boost engagement, reach, and conversion rates while simultaneously building customer loyalty and a unique brand impression. Here at TargetMarket, we know a thing or two about staying up to date with the latest social media marketing trends. Check out the projected trends for 2023!

Augmented Reality (AR) Augmented reality is a subsection of artificial intelligence and is predicted to become mainstream in the coming years.

Not only does it allow your brand to improve its promotion and advertising efforts, but it also reinvents how consumers share, communicate, and create content on various social platforms. Some benefits of AR in social media marketing include ‘Try’ before you buy Immersive experiences Branded filters Content sharing With the benefits of augmented reality being so great and adaptation so easy, the number of mobile AR users is expected to reach 1.4 billion in 2023.

Micro-Influencers

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Influencer marketing is not a new phenomenon. Big brands such as Dunkin’ will collaborate with influencers that boast millions of followers to increase sales.

However, in 2023 micro-influencers are expected to lead to great success compared to celebrity endorsements.

Although micro-influencers have smaller audiences, they often have higher engagement rates and a lower price point. For your social media marketing in 2023, partnering with several smaller influencers with niche communities may result in a better return on investment.

Short Form Videos It’s no secret that video is king. Unlike static images, video offers a landscape to express creativity in such a crowded space. As 2023 approaches, audiences continue to consume more and more short-form video content. Is this due to our depleting attention spans? Maybe.

Regardless, video is here to stay. Apps like Tik Tok have proven consumers appetite for short-form videos, which expanded to other platforms such as Instagram reels and YouTube shorts.

Short-form videos can be a great addition to your social media marketing strategy in 2023. If you don’t know where to start, TargetMarket has you covered.

Social Audio Social media platforms such as Facebook are entering the market early with an audio creation tool that will allow users to create “Soundbites.”

According to Facebook, Soundbites are creative, shortform audio clips for capturing anecdotes,

jokes, moments of inspiration, and more. In addition to Soundbites, Facebook is adding a podcast feature and live audio rooms in Facebook and Messenger. Facebook is not the only one jumping on the social audio bandwagon. Twitter also has voice tweets and Twitter spaces, while LinkedIn has Audio Events.

UTM Codes UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) codes are used to track and measure the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns, including those on social media. Hootsuite outlines the three main benefits of UTM tags, including Track the value of social marketing programs and campaigns to measure ROI

Provide precise data about conversion rates and traffic sources Allow you to test on individual posts in an A/B testing style UTM codes are pieces of code that get added to URLs and are among the most accurate way to measure and prove the value of your social media efforts, refine your social media marketing strategy, and track influencer marketing results.

Target Market

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Save The Date

Location

Horseshoe 3645 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas, NV 89109

Dates

November 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2023

Registration opens June 1st, 2023

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Conenect With Our New Mentorship Program We are looking for mentors for the Association mentor program. Please CLICK HERE to get eligibility details and sign up today!

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Inventory Management Inventory Management

packages of paper towels.

With costs rising all around us, the principle of inventory management has never been so important. Butter and associated dairy ingredients are pushing mix prices up, and fuel prices are escalating which means that everything that gets transported by road or rail also becomes more expensive.

These numbers may be a guestimate at first, but at you fine tune your sales of each ordering period, you may tweak these numbers, so you don’t have inventory just sitting on the shelves. Those boxes, packages and other items that move slowly are just like having wads of cash sitting on the shelves.

Ensuring that your inventory is ordered, counted, and used efficiently and effectively should be a top priority of your business right now, and here are some suggestions to get the most out of the process.

Ensure your “Par” or “Build to” numbers are correct.

These two terms refer to the amount of product you need per item and category.

Initially your supplier will provide a recommendation as to how many items or inventory you will need of each item. A paper goods supplier may recommend that you need 10 boxes of medium plates, 7 boxes of dispenser napkins and 5 packages of paper towels.

These two terms refer to the amount of product you need per item and category.

Initially your supplier will provide a recommendation as to how many items or inventory you will need of each item. A paper goods supplier may recommend that you need 10 boxes of medium plates, 7 boxes of dispenser napkins and 5

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Remember that these numbers will also change from season to season, so remember to edit the orders based where you are in the year. Obviously, you won’t need to keep these high levels of goods in the slow season.

Do you count when you employees can see you I know it may be more convenient for you to count all of your items late at night or before the crew gets in, however it is important that your employees see you counting cups, mix, cookies and anything else you have stored at your business.

This way, if the thought crosses their minds about taking one thing or another home with them, your overt counting of all of the items may discourage this kin fog behavior.

It is very hard to create an atmosphere where all theft is prevented, but every single layer of crime prevention goes towards the end goal.

Ask for Discounts

Get Rid of Inventory that is just sitting

When the pandemic was at its worst, many ice cream stores turned to their suppliers for assistance, delaying invoice payments and the like. What a lot of retailers didn’t realize is that the suppliers and vendors to the industry were also suffering very intensely. Now that we are through the thick of it, it still is OK to ask a vendor for better terms or discounted pricing.

If you have menu items that are not rotating well, you really need to take them off the core menu and perhaps put them on a “weekly specials’ list or a “limited time offer” time slot. This process is referred to as “lean manufacturing”. You really can’t afford to have ingredients spoil or just sit on the shelves not being used regularly.

I remember going out with my dad when I was younger, and I recall him always asking for a discount. He was a mechanical engineer who worked for the state government designing power stations. He would ask for a “government employee” discount and he often got 1015% off most items he asked about.

Look, in the grand scheme of things, your suppliers can always say no but remember that as you grow and become more successful, so do they. Asking for volume discounts as you grow is a natural process of business.

Each year you should do an audit of what sells well and what doesn’t. Don’t hold back on products on your menu that don’t perform well, even if you personally love them, or they are named after great aunt Doris, and she would roll in the grave if you took her off the menu. Great aunt Doris doesn't pay the bills.

Remember every percentage point you use on inventory and cost of goods, goes straight to your net profitability, so taking time to fine tune this process is always time well spent.

Ensure you get what you Pay for This sounds like common sense, but always make sure what was delivered and what was invoiced were the same things.

Sometimes a supplier may be out of a certain specific item that you order from them, and in the short term, they may provide you with a cheaper and different but comparable product.

Save the Date

Make sure that your invoice reflects the proper item and number of items. I am certainly not suggesting that your suppliers are dishonest, but mistakes can be made, and a quick cursory check of items and numbers may pick up some discrepancies that could be costing you money.

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Interested In Helping At Convention?

We are looking for volunteers to help our committees at this upcoming convention.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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MARCH 2023 Daily Holidays

National Peanut Lovers Day: 1 Dr. Seuss Day: 2 Princess Day: 3 National Frozen Food Day: 4 Daughters' and Sons' Day: 5 National Dentist's Day: 6 National Cereal Day: 7 National Peanut Cluster Day: 8 Barbie Day: 9 Mario Day: 10 Genealogy Day: 11 Daylight Saving Time Begins: 12 Donald Duck Day: 13 Potato Chip Day: 14 Pi Day : 14 National Panda Day: 16 St. Patrick's Day: 17 National Corn Dog Day: 18 National Chocolate Caramel Day: 19 World Flour Day: 20 Twitter Day: 21

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As Young As You Feel Day: 22 Ramadan: 22-4/20 National Chia Day: 23 National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day: 24 Pecan Day: 25 Spinach Day: 26 National Scribble Day: 27 Barnum & Bailey Day: 28 Piano Day: 29 Pencil Day: 30 National Crayon Day: 31

MARKETINGAPRIL CALENDAR 2023 Daily Holidays

April Fools or All Fools Day: 1 National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day: 2 Find A Rainbow Day:3 Vitamin C Day: 4 National Deep Dish Pizza Day: 5 Hostess Twinkie Day: 6 Good Friday: 7 World Circus Day: 8 National Unicorn Day: 9 National Farm Animals Day: 10 National Licorice Day: 12 Husband Appreciation Day: 15 Herbalist Day: 17 Nabisco Animal Cracker Day: 18 National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day: 21 National Panda Day: 16 St. Patrick's Day: 17 Earth Day: 22 National Jelly Bean Day: 22 Content Creator Day: 23

Hairstylists Appreciation Day: 25 National Library Day: 25 Alien Day: 26 National Pretzel Day: 26 Babe Ruth Day: 27 Arbor Day: 28 National Pool Opening Day: 29 National Raisin Day: 30

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A NOTE FOR OUR SUPPLIER MEMBERS

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DISPLAY ADVERTISING Hey there, Supplier Member. Hopefully by now you have seen quite a few changes in the way the association is improving member benefits and communicating with our members.

Our main method of communication is still our monthly Bulletin published on the 10th of each month. Up until recently, The Bulletin has struggled to attract advertisers and we have been offering free ads to those supplier members who contributed an article.

THE GOOD NEWS IS.....

We have recently put extra effort into increasing the effectiveness of the Bulletin with the following functions: Full Color Front Cover President and Executive Director Messages Monthly Food Safety Articles Marketing and Event Calendars More Links to articles and online content.

Frequency rates are based on the total number of insertions used within a twelvemonth period.

Space Reservations: 10th of month preceding publication Material Deadline: 15th of month preceding publication.

Please direct any questions to Steve Christensen, Executive Director at the below contact details.

636 778 1822 * Toll Free: 866-303-6960 E-Mail: info@icecreamassociation.org * Web: www.icecreamassociation.org

Association Officers 2023 President Kelly Larson, Sweet Temptations, Grand Haven, MI Vice President Rick Pizzi, Pizzi Farms, Waltham, MA

This has led to high engagement through open rates and link clicks.

Treasurer Meg Cappanari, Cappanari's, Mt Prospect, IL

With this higher engagement, we are having more inquiries by Supplier Members about advertising to our members again in the Bulletin. For this purpose, we are publishing The Bulletin Advertising rates for 2022.

Immediate Past President Dave Deadman, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Madison, WI

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Supplier President Evan Waldt, Ice Cream Equipment Specialists, Gainesville, FL

Executive Director Steve Christensen, Wildwood, MO

COMMITTEES AND COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Executive Committee Kelly Larson, Sweet Temptations, Grand Haven, MI Nominating Committee

Dave Deadman, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Madison, WI Convention Committee

Kelly Larson, Sweet Temptations, Grand Haven, MI Membership Committee

Rick Pizzi, Pizzi Farms, Waltham, MA Ice Cream Clinic Committee

Christine D’Amico, Over the Top, Pleasant Hill IA Scholarship Committee

Sue Kloter, Kloter Ice Cream Barn, Ellington, CT

This Bulletin is published by: The North American Ice Cream Association PO Box 601 Wildwood, MO 63040

NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY The Association is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in all of its endeavors. To that end, we shall not tolerate any words or acts of discrimination, harassment or any inappropriate behavior in general against any person affiliated with the association, including its members and guests, with regard to race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status or sexual orientation.

This issue of The Bulletin is now available online at www.icecreamassociation.org. Click on the Members Only button and enter your Username and Password. If you cannot find your Username and Password, call the office at 866-3036960 or send an e-mail to info@theicecreamassociation.org requesting the information.

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