Issuu

August 2020

THE BULLETIN THE

OFFICIAL

PUBLICATION

THE

NATIONAL

ICE

CREAM

RETAILERS

ASSOCIATION

THE 2020

VANILLA MARKET AMIDST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC FOOD SAFETY

Support Hotline FSMA & YOU Your Guide to understanding how it applies to you

CONTENT STRATEGY

CONECON

Your Online Guide

What if it's not working nicramembersonly

nicraofficial

nicra_org

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE My mom always told me I’d run into all kinds of people in my life; some nice, some not so nice, and some downright...well, I’ll let you choose the word to describe the last group. Working in a retail ice cream business, we certainly do come across all types (and thankfully, the vast majority are nice).

George Xouris Andia's Homemade Ice Cream

But once in a while, we have to deal with someone who, for example, refuses to wear a mask. I doubt there’s anyone who actually enjoys wearing them, with the exception perhaps of a kid who’s pretending to be a ninja. But it’s the reality of the world we live in right now. So I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind you to show your appreciation to your scoopers, shift leaders, managers, and anyone else on the front lines, for dealing with these [insert your word again] and keeping the smiles on their faces. It’s a tough job, especially for a kid. But with our leadership, we can keep our ice cream world a fun place, even through these tough times.

CONVENTION COMMITTEE UPDATE Hello NICRA Members and welcome to August! I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy and you are finding ways for your ice cream business to be successful during this trying time we are living in. I have to admit, I thought I’d be riding off into the NICRA sunset as your immediate past president right now instead of writing this message as your 2020 convention chair. With that said, I am super excited to be helping NICRA and all of our members get through this challenging time and 2020 NICRA convention changes.

Just like in your world, the NICRA executive committee and board of directors have had to make some important decisions over the past few months. One big decision that was made relates to the convention chair position for 2020. Recently, NICRA found itself with this position open for this year. The executive committee decided that it was in the best interest of NICRA and our members to find a past convention chairperson to fill in this year and leave the rest of the executive committee as is to gain the experience for future years. The executive committee asked if I was willing to take on this responsibility and I said absolutely! A second big decision that was made was to postpone the in-person Orlando convention until 2021. This took a lot of tough negotiating with The Rosen Plaza in Orlando. But in the end, our executive director Steve Christensen was somehow able to get The Rosen Plaza to agree to move our in-person convention dates to November 2021 with no cancellation or change fees. This was a huge accomplishment so here’s a huge NICRA thank you to Steve! And now onto the really exciting news. NICRA is still going to have a 2020 convention! For the first time ever, NICRA will host a virtual convention on November 10 – 12, 2020. Our virtual convention will follow a very similar format as our in-person conventions. Our virtual convention will include: 1. Live seminars throughout the day that you can participate in 2. Pre-recorded seminars that you can view 3. An actual tradeshow that you are able to view companies, their products, and “talk” live with company representatives during the tradeshow hours 4. An attendee coupon book from our suppliers worth over $1,000 5. Live chat rooms so you can talk to all your NICRA friends 6. Our famous NICRA Bucks 7. Bryce Thomson Scholarship Awards 8. Ice Cream Clinic Awards 9. Best New Flavor Competitions 10. Ability to view all convention seminars and content for up to 30 days after convention 11. And many more…… Since this is the first time NICRA has put on a virtual convention, we are still learning about all of the exciting new opportunities a virtual convention presents. Everyday we learn something new about the virtual convention platform/software that we will be using. And everyday we get more excited about the new things we will be able to do at this year’s convention since it will be a virtual convention. Over the next 4 – 6 weeks you will be receiving a lot more detailed information about NICRA’s 2020 virtual convention. I’m really excited to help lead NICRA down the path of a virtual convention so we can continue to be the organization of ice cream people helping ice cream people. Any virtual convention ideas you may have, comments you want to make, or help you would like to offer, please don’t hesitate to email Steve at info@nicra.org. Looking forward to seeing you at the 2020 NICRA Virtual Convention. Cheers, Dave Deadman

A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

If you will permit me – can I share with you a feelgood experience that have happened to me in the last couple of weeks? I think we need one. We recently took a trip down to Houston Texas to meet the parents of our daughters fiancée, and as is the case with most bigger families, we made the event a family road trip. Now I don’t know how you feel about family road trips, but I love them. The passengers on this particular trip, were myself, my wife, and three of our “adult sized” children for the 12-hour drive.

We had a great time down there; got to know the “parents in law”, hit the beach, visited a few ice cream shops, and an amusement park before getting ready for the trip back home. And as most of you “road warriors” may know, the trip back is by far the more tedious than the trip down. Everyone is tired, the van isn’t packed as fastidiously as it was for the trip down, and most of the passengers just want to get home. Now, an enjoyable feature of the Christensen family road trips is singing. Granted it’s only really enjoyed by me because I tend the be the only one that is singing. I tend to sing the types of songs that keep me awake while I’m driving, usually a blend of alternative rock, some hard rock, and some classic rock. You could call me a “rock collector” Funnily enough, we pulled into the small town of Hope, Arkansas to gas up, and as I got out of the car, I heard a request from the back seat something a little “nicer”. I took the gas nozzle from the pump, placed it in the tank and started singing “I see trees of green, red roses too”. Then from the other side of the fuel pump, another singing voice chimed in. He sung in a weathered but soulful tone “I see them bloom for me and you”. It was elderly local gent, wearing a cowboy hat and a smile that was hard to ignore. I beckoned him over to our open drivers door, and we finished the verse together for the family “And I think to myself, what a wonderful world” We laughed, exchanged some pleasantries while our tanks were filling and wished each other a great day and safe trip before driving off. This experience was just a random meeting of a couple of old guys who like a sing song every now and again, sharing a verse of a classic song, in a town named Hope. And yet, when I read reports of customers yelling at teenage ice cream scoopers, or hear about the great tensions that our society is going through right now, I think about that serendipitous meeting. I have “hope” that despite our preferences, backgrounds, perceptions and challenges that we can find common ground, see the good in life (and each other) and think to ourselves “what a wonderful world” Have a safe and busy month.

Steve Christensen

Executive Director NICRA

The National Ice Cream Retailers Association Welcomes our New Members

Carrie Boulais Bokie's Drive In LLC Malone, New York

Theresa Chandler Sweet T's Ice Cream & Food, LLC Kingston Springs, Tennessee

Steven Goodman HSR Associates, Inc. Tarzana, California

Tracy Webber Village Ice Cream Factory Portland, Oregon

David Geipe Sweet Satisfaction Arnold, Maryland

Jackie Huebbe Little O's Old Time Soda Fountain St Charles, Missouri

Elizabeth Flahart Kilby Cream LLC Rising Sun, Maryland

Cathe Becker Midlo Scoops Midlothian, Texas

Candace Reich Heidi's Hollow Farm Pembroke, Massachusetts

FOOD SAFETY SUPPORT HOT-LINE FOR

SMALL/ARTISAN DAIRY 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

NICRA CONVENTION NEWS Virtual Convention 10 - 12 Nov 2020

The National Ice Cream Retailers annual Convention & Trade show (CONECON2020) will be held on the 10th through the 12th of November 2020. The format will mirror the agenda of our traditional events and provide a great opportunity to ice cream and frozen dessert business owners to access new trends and industry information, attend keynotes and break out sessions, talk live with exhibitors on the trade show floor and may other virtual features. This is a three day event that you wont want to miss. REGISTRATIONS OPEN AUGUST 17 2020 For all updates, convention news, registration links and everything about this unique three day event, go to our convention site -

www.conecon2020.com The Registration Kit Although we can't experience the tactile, in person experience that each annual CONECON provides, the convention committee is putting a lot of effort into your registration kit. This custom registration package will arrive at your address shortly after you register with all sorts of goodies to make your 3 day event one to remember.

It will include the following: A NICRA Drawstring bag Your 2020 convention T shirt Your 2020 Collectors Convention Pin The 2021 Annual NICRA Yearbook The 2021 NICRA Wall calendar Your 2021 Door Decal A 2020 Convention Guidebook Some treats to get you through the sessions A Supplier Coupon book with up to $2000 in supplier member discounts and offers And a few more surprises. Believe me when I say, when this box arrives in the mail, you will know certainly know it.

The Bryce Thomson Scholarship Remember that applications are now being received for the Bryce Thomson Scholarship and this year the awards increase to a total of $20,000 in assistance to employees of members businesses. The awards will be granted in the following sums: 8 x $1000 scholarships 1 x $1500 scholarship 2 x $2000 scholarship 1 x $3000 scholarship and 1 x $3500 scholarship If you have not spoken to your employees, or submitted your application, please go to https://www.nicra.org/Scholarship to get all of the updates and the link to the application form.

NICRA CONVENTION NEWS Virtual Convention 10 - 12 Nov 2020 CHARITY AUCTION NICRA BUCKS One of the great features of CONECON is the NICRA Bucks program where we draw out tickets to certificates that can can be used with any of our exhibitors at the show. NICRA Buck denominations are as follows: 1 x $500 Certificate 2 x $250 Certificates 5 x $100 Certificates Every registration box will also have an envelope containing 2 tickets that will be drawn at each opening day session. Be sure to be there live to win these certificates to use at the show for your business.

The Bryce Thomson Scholarship has helped close to 200 student applicants with funds for college and higer education in the past 24 years. In fact, this year will mark over $300,000 of scholarship funds given to NICRA member employees. What an achievement - and we are still going. This year, the Scholarship Charity Auction will be online, with a plethora of items, equipment, mix, ingredients, classes and services to bid on. The success of this event depends on both items donated and your generousity in donated and participting in the auction. Please advise the NICRA office if you would like to donate any item of value to the auction, and ultimately, to a student in need.

FSMA and Your Food Safety Plan Tim Stubbs Vice President, Product Research and Food Safety Mary Wilcox Consultant/Project Coordinator FSMA is a term many people use frequently, but what is it really, and how does it affect your business? The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law on January 4, 2011, was the most sweeping change to U.S. food safety system in decades. It was designed to improve health protections but in a less checklist/prescriptive way than previous approaches. Under FSMA you must show that you have identified potential hazards and that you have addressed those hazards. All of the traditional approaches are still in place (e.g. pasteurization to reduce pathogen risks), but this also means companies can provide their own scientific proof that their approach mitigates a known hazard The main point of FSMA when it comes to producing foods is to focus on prevention. We need to provide preventive controls to ensure problems never happen as opposed to testing finished products or ‘looking backwards’. The law also provided FDA with enforcement authorities designed to achieve higher rates of compliance in order to respond to and contain problems as they occur. Since that time, food facilities have been implementing the FSMA guidelines which include evaluating food safety hazards developing and documenting food safety control strategies, employing

good manufacturing practices, controlling for allergens, implementing and validating sanitation controls, evaluating and documenting supply chain controls, developing and documenting process controls, conducting environmental monitoring and developing a written food safety plan for the manufacturing facility. There were a number of different ‘rules’ issued as part of FSMA and compliance dates were staggered by the size of business. For the most part, all of the rules which impact small/very small businesses are now in place. Even if you are not technically required to comply, the guidelines are still good ones and match closely with what supply chain partners, buyers, and local regulators may expect in the future. Not sure where to start or know if your plan is on par? Help is just a click or phone call away. NICRA partners with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and several academic partners to provide training, on-line resources and even a support line for one-on-one coaching. Details and links to the tools are available HERE. Follow this link for additional details on where to find information, workshops, technical support, and/or user-friendly templates to ensure a robust plan to minimize the risk of a food safety concern or the financial risk of a recall.

What to do when your Content Strategy Isn't Working Jenn Steere- The Modern Connection If you’ve been following the advice of digital marketers and creating content, first, great job! It’s definitely time consuming and can be tedious after a long day on the job. It’s not always something that provides immediate gratification but can certainly be beneficial in the long run. But what happens when you’re writing content and it’s just not working for your target audience? It might be time to take a step back and create a strategy for your business or re-evaluate your current one.

Create a digital content strategy. If you haven’t already, this is where you absolutely need to start. You need direction and building out a strategy is the way to go. You first need to understand who your customers are and where they are online. You also need to understand what value you can offer them or what problem you can help them solve and plan your content accordingly.

Plan out your content. We know you are busy and sometimes it’s easier to write social media posts or blogs on the fly but getting organized is going to be key and will make things easier for you in the long run. Instead of racking your brain on any given day searching for something to post, you can have this planned out prior so that your posts are well thought out, adding value to your platforms or website. Create a document and list out any information in that given month you’d like your customers

to know. Make sure your posts are thoughtful, add value and are not always about the sale. Your own website can provide content by posting a helpful blog post surrounding an industry related topic. Aim to become an expert in your industry and be the go-to for your customers if they want to learn more.

Evaluate your current content. If your current content isn’t performing well, it’s important to look at a few factors. First, are you on the right platform? Is this where your audience is? And it could be more than one platform, just make sure you are putting the most effort where your customers are spending the most time. Next, is your content being posted at the right times? It could be you are missing the mark and posting during the morning hours when most of your audience is active in the evenings or vice versa. It’s important to take a look at your back end analytics to see when your audience is most active and likely to engage with your content. And finally, is your content engaging and entertaining? Is it giving your audience value or are you strictly about the sale? It’s important to create engaging posts so you can build an online relationship with your followers. If you are creating value or entertaining, they will be more likely to come back for additional information.

Are you utilizing each platform? If your audience isn’t engaging with you or seeing your posts in their newsfeed, start taking advantage of other aspects that some platforms offer to get more eyes on your content. Facebook and Instagram both have a stories feature that puts your brand front and center. You can simply repost your newsfeed content to make sure your audience is viewing. Also making sure you are utilizing hashtags on Instagram, Twitter and now LinkedIn. Creating a hashtag strategy will help to gain additional followers and viewers for your content posts.

Blog Content isn’t just about social media posts, it also expands to the content on your website, which includes your blog. Make sure your blogs are SEO-friendly to attract more attention in search engines and utilize industry related terms in each. Make good use of each blog by sharing to Facebook, Google My Business, LinkedIn and even through a newsletter to your customers. You can also repurpose blog content by verbalizing the overview of the blog in a short video.

Add in Video A successful page will have a mixture of written content with captions and videos. There are various ways to test out what isn’t working in your current strategy and ways to expand and repurpose content into other digestible forms that may be more relevant to your audience. A content strategy should always be evolving as social media trends evolve, but it’s also important to remember that not everything popular will be relevant or a good idea for your brand. If you are struggling with your content and want a helping hand, we would be happy to take a look. Fill out our free consultation form to get started. Videos are becoming the new norm and it might be time to hop on the bandwagon. With the use of smartphones and free editing apps, creating a quick social video to accompany a blog topic or a brand announcement will up your content game.

Jenn Steere

The Modern Connection

THE 2020 VANILLA MARKET AMIDST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Craig Nielsen -Nielsen-Massey Vanillas

There is nothing plain about vanilla, especially when it comes to ice cream. For most ice cream makers, high-quality, premium vanilla is one of the essential ingredients that matters most. But the use of all-natural vanilla has become challenging for some manufacturers faced with concerns about pricing and supply, especially given the recent COVID-19 developments. The whole world has been affected in many ways by the Covid-19 Pandemic and the vanilla growing regions are no exception. The following table shows how the various growing regions have been affected so far by the pandemic.

COVID 19 & Vanilla Growing Regions

Madagascar has been hard hit economically during the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides vanilla, and other smaller cash crops, the country relies on hard metal mining and tourism as the other major sources of income. The major mining companies have been shut down since early April and, as of now, do not plan to reopen until 2021. All international and interregional air travel was suspended on March 20th and is still in effect which has eliminated all tourism. The capital city of Antanarivo is currently under strict lockdown and curfew and has been so, in some manner, for over two months. Travel within the individual regions appears to be allowed on a limited, controlled basis for politicians and commerce. There has been no news on the relaxing of any restrictions soon.

COUNTRY

CASES

DEATHS TREND

Madagascar

9,295

Trending Up

Indonesia

100,000

4,838

Slightly Up

Mexico

391,000

43,680

Trending Up

Uganda

1,115

<15 cases p/day

Papua New Guinea

Low Cases

Tahiti

No cases since

India

1,440,000

37,771

5.2 Steep trend up

According to recent reports, it is expected the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic will not hit until November. It is important to note that the vanilla growing regions in Madagascar are isolated and with the travel restrictions in place, there has been limited cases so far. As a reminder, earlier in 2020, the Madagascar government established a minimum export price of $350 p/kg for all grades of beans. This action was taken to control the export

price for the remaining beans from the 2019 harvest. On May 20th, the Madagascar government announced the opening dates for the harvest of the 2020 vanilla bean crop. The Ambanja region, a small region normally the first to open, opened on May 25th, while the main vanilla region of SAVA opened on July 15th. Andapa, the final major region to open, will open on July 30th. On July 15th, the day the main market in the SAVA region opened, the government issued another decree which established the minimum export price for all grades of vanilla beans for the 2020 season at $250 p/kg. We feel this is a short-sighted method designed to bring as much currency into the country as quickly as possible and feel this could potentially harm the overall vitality of the market on a long-term basis. We encourage a discussion about longer term policies that can better support farmers to earn such a “living income” in context of the global vanilla market. Current estimates indicate at least 70% of the vanilla beans will have matured on the vine for a minimum of nine months which leads us to believe the quality of this year’s crop will be good. This length of time ensures the flavor components will be fully developed within the bean. The beans ready for export the earliest are usually the lowest grades available, it is not until November or December that the higher grades are ready for export. The 2020 crop is currently estimated at around 1,800 tons, with potential carryover from the 2019 crop of 100-200 tons, mainly poor-quality beans that could not be sold previously. In Indonesia, international travel was halted and travel within the various islands of the country was also severely restricted.

They have slowly started to ease some of the inter-island travel restrictions. We have seen a general improvement in the overall quality of the Indonesian vanilla beans the last few years and we expect this trend to continue. Indonesia will continue to slot their prices below Madagascar prices. The main Ugandan harvest, they have two per year, occurred in July. While the Ugandan vanilla bean can be extremely high quality, they have struggled over the past few years with numerous quality issues. The government recently became involved and established rules establishing official harvest dates, based on pollination dates and the required time to maturity, for each annual harvest as well as providing additional security initially led by the military, to provide security training to those elected by villages. They have also defined laws regulating the consequences for stealing and have been prosecuting those caught. With the above regulations in place, we expect the quality and quantity of the Ugandan crop to increase. Their focus now needs to turn to training in the proper way to pollinate, harvest and especially cure the vanilla beans to ensure consistent high-quality vanilla beans, harvest after harvest. Mexico has struggled with Covid-19 pandemic especially around Mexico City while the vanilla producing regions have not been as significantly affected. Their crop was harvested in December and as such their pricing is currently significantly higher than the current market prices for vanilla. The quality of the crop looks good, but it will depend on how their market reacts to the lower world prices to see if they will have any impact. Tahiti has not been greatly affected by the Covid-19 and continues to produce small quantities, less than 10 tons, of “Vanilla Tahititensis” vanilla beans. Their prices remain very high for this variety especially when compared to “Vanilla Planifolia” prices on the world market.

No matter what changes in the market, one thing remains true: There are many options for vanilla products, from origin-specific products to pastes, powders, sugars and extracts. There is guaranteed to be a vanilla that best suits your needs and budget: Tahitian: With a floral and fruity profile, this origin is ideally suited for cold and frozen applications. Indonesian: With a bold and smoky profile, this origin best compliments chocolate and dairy-based applications. Madagascar Bourbon: A complex, full and creamy profile makes this the perfect all-purpose origin.

Ugandan: This origin includes notes of creamy-sweet chocolate, naturally complimenting chocolate-based applications but also pairs well with citrus and caramel. Mexican: Deep vanilla flavor and notes of warm spice in this origin pair best with any applications that include cinnamon, cardamom, cloves or chocolate. If there questions regarding the above please do not hesitate to contact us at info@nielsenmassey.com. As always, please support your NICRA Supplier members and contact them first for any of your requirements throughout the year.

Craig Nielsen

www.nielsenmassey.com

My Two Cents By Steve Thompson-Emery Thompson Machine Company

When Steve Christensen asked me to write an article for NICRA, my first thought was what do I know really well and love to talk about most……..ME! So, I thought I’d write about a few different subjects that are unique to these Covid virus times as well as to selling frozen desserts in general. A brief bio about me…..I did warn you. I began working in my family’s South Bronx factory way back in the late 1960’s. BTW people who say they remember the 60’s weren’t really there. I was a teenager working summers and was assigned the glorious job of bending copper tubing for our Emery Thompson batch freezers. My friends were all spending their summers either life guarding, surfing or other cozy jobs that did not involve a 40 minute commute on the Cross Bronx with my father driving and me nursing the effects of the out late night before. These were memorable summers – but not always in a good way. Granted, I learned a trade at a very early age. To escape all this fun I attended college in Florida and went on to get my Masters Degree in Arbitrage….the buying and selling of foreign currencies. Now there’s a degree that will be useful in my future! But it did keep me on the sunny beaches for Florida for a bit more time. Fast forward to the future and I’m the President and owner of a company that has

over 38,000 machines running in 171 countries worldwide. The Covid Virus has changed everything. In the course of my daily duties, I get to speak to a great number of people worldwide. I’ve been taking an unofficial poll and find that my customers fall into two segments; 90% of them are 25, 30, even 50 per cent up in same store sales over last year…..and 10% are really having a tough go of it. When I dive deeper into the subject, the 90% talk about creating a take out window at their store, pre-filling pints and cups of ice cream, ices and other products to sell. A generous amount of social media to promote what they’re doing is also implemented. Sadly, the other 10 per cent admit they are waiting for their Governor or government to tell them that they can reopen. I talked to one customer (a New Yorker of course) who in the dark of night used a sawzall to cut out and frame a take out window where none existed before. His rationale was by the time the building inspector comes out of hiding next fall he will have made many thousands of dollars and can well pay the fine, beg for forgiveness and get the proper permit. He did what he had to do to stay in business. I’m not condoning his breaking the law but I do applaud his resourcefulness.

Pint Sales even before the virus, were through the roof. There are 85 million Millennials and 72 million Baby Boomers. That’s a lot of people and just two segments of your market. The Boomers have a lot of discretionary income to spend on food and beverage… and they do! The two forces have created a perfect storm to allow us to make better, fresher and healthier foods. The ice cream I make today is far better than what we were producing fifteen years ago. It seemed that “we” were stuck for years at $2.25 for a scoop of ice cream for fear that any higher and the customer would go buy commercial grade supermarket ice cream. Along come the millennials with their desire for all natural, locally sourced (when possible) and better quality frozen desserts and up goes the price of a cone to $3.25 and higher…..in some cases….much higher. If your prices haven’t gone up, maybe you need to rethink your ingredients and your pricing. So where does this put pint sales? ------in the $6.00, $7.00, $8.00 price range! Not long ago at Penn State, I attended a dinner hosted by Dr. Robert Roberts the head of the Dairy School. I asked him why two customers that we put into business Haagen Daz and Ben and Jerry only sell their ice cream in pints? Why not quarts and half gallons? His answer was eye opening! “You’ll pay six, seven or even eight dollars or a pint……..but no matter how large your income, you won’t pay $32.00 for a quart of ice cream….it’s just too much!” The other beauty of pint sales is when you walk in you are going to buy two pints of ice cream. You can’t come home with just a pint of mint chip for yourself…..you’ll also need a pint of coconut for your significant other….lest you be sleeping in the garage that night. So, here’s my perfect scenario for selling pints based on life here in Florida. I did warn you I like to talk about me. It’s 5PM on Friday and Samantha our Golden and I are driving home from work and we pull into

your ice cream parlor. I leave the A/C running in the car for Sammy because I know she won’t steal my car a second time and I’ll be back in 40 seconds. I walk into your store, see a sign for pint sales (either a small chest freezer or an upright glass door freezer) set to -5 to -10F and I pull out a Mint Chip pint for me and a Coconut for Paula. Putting them on the counter – no one is around! The server working on handling other customers excuses themselves from the line and comes over to me. “Do you want a bag?” NO. “Do you want your receipt?” NO. “Slide your card. BOOM I’m out the door and on my way home in 40 seconds! Meanwhile, the other line of people isn’t grousing that I interrupted them, they’re actually saying to themselves:” Wow, did you see that guy? He was in and out in 40 seconds! I could do that next Wednesday when I have my friends over for dinner!” And that quick sale? $16.00 Easy Peasy! Cups vs. Cones: I’m wondering if ice cream parlors in the short term are going to meet resistance serving ice cream by the scoop. Will the customer look at the practice of scooping ice cream, putting it on a cone and serving it to them as too much handling of the product.

I hope not. My short term solution would be to have 5 ounce cups with a domed lid. Instead of just being pre packaged – they would be pre packaged with style. You could list your available flavors in cups and even come up with your own combos of flavors in one cup. The customer would text in an order for say, two mint chip cups, a salted caramel cup and a pistachio and vanilla combo in a cup. Put it in a bag and hand it to the customer. Don’t forget the spoons – just in case while driving home they get stuck on the LIE (Long Island Expressway) and are forced to eat the evidence. There’s a $20.00 sale! Dairy Free frozen desserts have been around now for two years or more….but they are really catching on hard and fast.

If you’re not offering two to four flavors of dairy free along with your dairy ice creams – you’re missing out on the biggest TREND to come along in fifty years. Let’s step back for a second. Dairy Free or Dairy Free Ice Cream as I call it has always been known as “vegan frozen desserts.” Sorry vegans, but that’s a lousy name when it comes to marketing. Vegan brings up the image of an 89 year old man who weighs the same as his age and just looks like he needs to be taken out to a really good Ruth’s Chris steak. Vegan is just not an appetizing image. When my Father turned 98 my mother decided that he could/should live to be older than Ruth in the Bible. In order to do this, mom fed Ted grass and leaves and roots and all other means of horrible stuff when the man just wanted a Hershey bar and a chaser of M&M’s.

This is what vegan sounds like. SO, along come the Millennials – all 85 Million of them and they’re not in love with our high fat, super creamy dairy ice cream. In most cases dairy free is made from a base consisting of coconut (my favorite), cashew (tastes like eating the Sahara Desert) and the new kid on the block – OAT. My basic formula is coconut milk, cream of Coconut, sugar and any flavoring My basic formula is coconut milk, Cream of Coconut, sugar and any flavoring I care to make. It’s that simple! My four Millennials grew up on Haagen Daz and Ben and Jerry because we put them into business. But now….it’s dairy free! Again, remember the number Eighty Five Million of them! AS us Baby Boomers get older, you, the store owners, have to put out a BOLO (Be On The Look Out) for new customers and the largest number of customers you can find. You need dairy free frozen desserts in your store. One caveat - the Millennials do not consider Italian Ice to be a “dairy free” product….though you ought to be selling Italian Ices too! Your business has tripled in size and now you need a bigger batch freezer! Sadly for me,… you don’t. You need my latest invention of a 26 hour watch. Imagine what you could do with two more hours every single day! But until I finish building this little gem, the next best thing is to run your batch freezer more hours. How you say? You’re already working 15 hours a day. The solution is simple – hire a cop, a fireman or a retired military person. Who better to work your formulas during the night time hours and protect your business at the same time than any one of these three groups? And no, they’re not going to steal your secret formulas. They’re going to do their time and then retire to Hilton Head, SC. When we were located back in the Bronx and were a union shop, my employees had no interest in coming to work - the attitude was “ugh, I have to put in my 8 hours at Emery Thompson and then I can go home and watch futbol.

The Police, Fire, and Military - all look at making your ice cream as their “mission” for the night. It will be as good as your ice cream …..because it IS your ice cream! You’ll gain back some quality time with your family. You’ll get more than two hours of sleep per night. But if you have issues with relinquishing your formulas or your job to “that person”… call me. For a modest fee I can help you control your issues too! Or as my employees lovingly refer to me as the “Benevolent Dictator”! But if you have issues with relinquishing your formulas or your job to “that person”… call me. For a modest fee I can help you control your issues too! Or as my employees lovingly refer to me as the “Benevolent Dictator”! 700 sq. ft. vs 2,000 sq. ft. A customer once asked me if I knew the difference between the two store sizes? The answer……a whole lot of mopping! The Wheel of Marketing is not actually a wheel….it’s a clock. I learned this while getting my advanced degree in Arbitrage… that’s the buying and selling of foreign currencies. Can’t say that I’ve had much use for it….but back to the wheel. You, the new entrepreneur start out selling TV’s. The time on the clock it 7AM. BTW this is based on a true case of E.J Korvets (eight Jewish Korean Veterans)…a very large chain in NY. Then you decide that this is going well so you add dishwashers and dryers. Next, air conditioners. The time on the clock is 9AM and so far so good. At 11AM you decide to sell some women’s clothing. OK, people know your store so they come take a look. It goes so well that you increase the quality of the line to include more expensive designer labels. Still good. Then it’s 1PM and you add $1,000.00 per pair of Milano Blanco shoes. (Mlano Blanco has two ET 44 quart machines

and a herd of pampered cows – don’t ask me why). Now it’s 5PM on the clock and you open up an in store wine bar with cheese and fresh fruit sorbets. THEN IT HAPPENS. At six PM some new upstart entrepreneur looks around and says: “Hey, nobody in this town sells TV’s. I think I’ll open up a TV store!You have Wheel of Marketed yourself out of business because you lost sight of what you do best – selling TV’s. Is this where your store is going? Are you losing sight of why you went into business? Are you selling Jimmy Choo shoes when your business is mint chip ice cream? Be careful.

If you are interested in any more mind boggling, call me. I’m a New Yorker and we New Yorkers have an opinion on everything!......even if you didn’t ask.

Steve Thompson emerythompson.com

MARKETING CALENDAR AUGUST 2020 Daily Holidays National Clown Day: 1 American Family Day: 2 Friendship Day: 2 Watermelon Day: 3 National Chocolate Chip Day: 4 National Oyster Day: 5 National Root Beer Float Day: 6 Brother's Day: 7 International Cat Day: 8 International Hangover Day: 8 National Fried Chicken & Waffles Day: 8 National Garage Sale Day: 8 Book Lovers Day: 9 S'mores Day: 10 World Elephant Day: 12 Kool-Aid Day: 14-16 Best Friends Day: 15 National Honey Bee Day: 15 National Rollercoaster Day: 16 Cupcake Day: 17 I Love My Feet Day: 17 National Nonprofit Day: 17 World Honey Bee Day: 17

National Fajita Day: 18 World Photo Day: 19 Be An Angel Day: 22 Sand Castle Day: 22 National Waffle Iron Day: 24 Kiss and Make Up Day: 25 National Dog Day: 26 National Toilet Paper Day: 26 Women's Equality Day: 26 Just Because Day: 27 National Bow Tie Day: 28 World Daffodil Day: 28 International Whale Shark Day: 30 National Matchmaker Day: 31

MARKETING CALENDAR

SEPTEMEBER 2020 Daily Holidays Random Acts of Kindness Day or Be Kind Day: 1 Coconut Day: 2 Skyscraper Day: 3 National Food Bank Day: 4 National College Colors Day: 4 Bacon Day: 5 National Cowgirl Day: 5 Labor Day: 7 Pet Rock Day: 8 National Dog Walker Appreciation Day: 11 Banana Day: 12 National Day of Encouragement: 12 Grandparent's Day: 13 International Chocolate Day: 13 National Celiac Awareness Day: 13 National Peanut Day: 13 National Boss/Employee Exchange Day: 14 National Kreme Filled Donut Day: 14 National Cheese Toast Day: 15 National Guacamole Day: 16 Constitution Day: 17 National Cheeseburger Day: 18 National Doodle Day: 20 National Fried (Also Nov. 11)International Lace Day: 30

National String Cheese Day: 20 Autumn (Autumnnal Equinox): 22 Elephant Appreciation Day: 22 Ice Cream Cone Day: 22 White Chocolate Day: 22 Vegan Baking Day: 25 National Dumpling Day: 26 Family Day: 28 National Good Neighbor Day: 28 International Coffee Day: 29 World Heart Day: 29

Please find them as follows:

A NOTE FOR OUR SUPPLIER MEMBERS Hey there, Supplier Member. Hopefully by now you have seen quite a few changes in the way NICRA 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 NICRA 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. This has led to high engagement through open rates and link clicks. 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 NICRA Bulletin Advertising rates for 2020.

1 issues 3 issues 1/4 page $70 $65

6 issues $60

11 issues $50

1/2 page

$90

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$80

$70

Full Page

$160

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DISPLAY ADVERTISING Frequency rates are based on the total number of insertions used within a twelve-month 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. 743 Spirit 40 Park Dr, Suite 121, Chesterfield MO 63005 636 778 1822 * Toll Free: 866-303-6960 E-Mail: info@nicra.org * Web: www.nicra.org

NICRA OFFICERS 2020 President George Xouris, Andia’s Homemade Ice Cream, Morrisville, NC President Elect Dave Deadman, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Madison, WI Vice President Patti Otte, Sweet Firefly Gourmet Ice Cream, Richardson. TX Secretary/Treasurer Charlie Wilcox, Marianne’s Ice Cream, Santa Cruz, CA

Secretary/Treasurer Elect Kelly Larson, Sweet Temptations, Grand Haven, MI Immediate Past President David Deadman, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Madison, WI Executive Director Steve Christensen, Chesterfield, MO Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2020 Valerie Henrici, Yummies, Warsaw, NY Andy Jones, Lloyd’s of PA, Prince Frederick, MD Sue Kloter, Kloter Ice Cream Barn, Ellington, CT Donnie Montgomery, Homestead Creamery, Wirtz, VA Jason Mandler, Carmen's Italian Ice, Rockville, MD Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2021 Bob Hearn, Hearn’s Ice Cream, St Mary’s ON Canada Zach Burton, Nielsen Massey, Waukegan IL Christine D’Amico, Over the Top, Pleasant Hill IA

2020 SUPPLIER OFFICERS

Convention Committee Dave Deadman, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Madison, WI Membership Committee Patti Otte, Sweet Firefly Gourmet Ice Cream, Richardson. TX Ice Cream Clinic Committee Christine D’Amico, Over the Top, Pleasant Hill IA Scholarship Committee Sue Kloter, Kloter Ice Cream Barn, Ellington, CT NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY NICRA is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in all of its endeavors. To that end, NICRA shall not tolerate any words or acts of discrimination, harassment or any inappropriate behavior in general against any person affiliated with NICRA, including its members and guests, with regard to race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status or sexual orientation.

President Kyle Cameron, Joy Cone Co., Hermitage, PA Vice President Ben Keser, Novelty Cone, Pennsauken Township, NJ Secretary/Treasurer Evan Waldt, Ice Cream Equipment Spec. Reno, NV Chairman Cherish Mathews, Forbes Chocolate, Broadview Hts., OH

This Bulletin is published by: National Ice Cream Retailers Association 743 Spirit 40 Park Dr., Suite 121 Chesterfield, MO 63005 George Xouris, Chairman Publications Committee Steve Christensen, Executive Director, National Ice Cream Retailers Association.

COMMITTEES AND COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Executive Committee George Xouris, Andia’s Homemade Ice Cream, Morrisville, NC Nominating Committee David Deadman, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Madison, WI

This issue of the NICRA Bulletin is now available online at http://www.nicra.org. Click on the Members Only button and enter your Username and Password. If you cannot find your Username and Password, call the NICRA office at 866-303-6960 or send an e-mail to info@nicra.org requesting the information. IMPORTANT NOTE: Please “LIKE” us on Facebook using your personal Facebook page (not your business Facebook page) in order to receive our comments in your News Feed.