Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as strawberries or peaches. Ice cream parlors or ice cream parlours are places that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream, and/or soft serve, which is usually dispensed by a machine with a limited number of flavors. Ice cream parlors generally offer a number of flavors and items. Parlors often serve ice cream and other frozen desserts in cones, cups or dishes, the latter two to be eaten with a spoon. Some ice cream parlors prepare ice cream desserts such as sundaes or milkshakes, or even a blend.

Starting vs Buying a Ice Cream Business for Sale

Starting or buying and running a Ice Cream Business or Food related businesses such as Ice Cream Businesses Shops FOR SALE, Franchises Parlors businesses or complimenting and supporting services such as Ice Cream Shop, Dairy Queen, Gelato Business, Ice Cream Trucks, Baskin Robbins, Ice Cream Route, DQ, Frozen Custard Business, Cold Stone Creamery, Ice Cream Parlors, Frozen Ice Cream Cakes, Ice Cream Truck, Gelato Shop, Shave Ice Business, Ice Cream Cakes, Cus... etc., can be an exciting, challenging and a rewarding experience especially, to those who are passionate about their work.

If you are interested in starting a small Ice Cream business or related company, buying an established Ice Cream business or an existing Ice Cream franchise for sale near you or buying a Food related online business, can be one of the best ways to start your own small business. It is fairly easy to start a business in current times but making it profitable and keeping it profitable is not easy and only a small percentage of startups stay in business beyond five years and only a few reach consistent profitability. There are several advantages in buying an existing Ice Cream or Food related business with an established customer base when compared to starting a new Ice Cream company and it may also be easier to finance an existing business than to obtain financing for a new start-up, wherein the banker will want you to show assets and collateral along with a solid business plan, before even considering providing any financial assistance. This is no different than financing a vehicle or real estate with a small down payment rather than paying the full price but and the lender is happy to finance as long as the business is cash flow positive, instead of paying the full amount but only in case of buying a business, the amount can be so large that most people do not have the money to make an upfront purchase and even if they do, most small and large businesses are financed via debt or equity financing.

Talk to any friend or a family member, most certainly they will have an idea for a food related business, whether it is a sauce based on grandma's recipe or technique based on uncle's experience or cousin's killer hot sauce, there is no shortage of ideas for starting a food business. The organic and natural food movement has gained popularity from organic soy milk to gluten free products. If you are passionate about food, there are always new opportunities to start a niche Ice Cream food company or a small Ice Cream manufacturing business locally or sell via drop shipping or through online through marketplaces like Amazon FBA businesses and Etsy. You may consider buying an established Ice Cream Businesses Shops FOR SALE, Franchises Parlors Ice Cream Shop, Dairy Queen, Gelato Business, Ice Cream Trucks, Baskin Robbins, Ice Cream Route, DQ, Frozen Custard Business, Cold Stone Creamery, Ice Cream Parlors, Frozen Ice Cre... etc., Instead of just thinking about the main product or the business, also think about other opportunities that may exist with regards to services centered around a Ice Cream business or if it is possible to rebrand or introduce complimenting or other related services such as ecommerce, distribution, and customer acquisition possibilities, etc., While there are many considerations, when it comes to buying a business and the purpose of this page is not meant to outline all the details on how to buy a Ice Cream business, the first and foremost factor is that, one would want to find a profitable business to buy and it is great if it is with business financing arrangement in place with pre-approval for a loan from a SBA qualified lender or a third-praty lender and better if it is a owner financed company but in some cases established businesses and aged shell companies are bought even if they are not profitable. In many cases the company or product can be re-branded later or additional services can be added to existing business to acquire and expand market share but also to finance and even to go public, such as a recent example of an electric vehicle start-up that bank rolled their startup by acquiring a shell company and went public. Also, keep in mind that while starting a new Ice Cream company is not too hard, running a business is not easy and making it consistently profitable and growing it is another thing because a vast number of small business that are started will usually fail within first few years and a small number of them are consistently profitable. Hence, buying an existing Ice Cream Shops & Businesses or franchise with cash flow can be a better option, depending upon the type of business and its finances.

Buying a Small Ice Cream Business from a Business Owner vs Broker

Many users seem to be searching online for Ice Cream Businesses Shops FOR SALE, Franchises Parlors & and Ice Cream Shop, Dairy Queen, Gelato Business, Ice Cream Trucks, Baskin Robbins, Ice Cream Route, DQ, Frozen Custard Business, Cold Stone Cre ... related business for sale by owner and may be it is because buyers are led to believe that they can negotiate better with the owner or get a better deal. Despite websites and marketplaces like our's which facilitate any independent small business owner to sell a business directly, most small Food businesses are still sold through brokers and hence no FSBO websites & marketplaces have been successful. Also a very few businesses listed by owners eventually get sold because most sellers price it higher than what it is worth or do not use real valuation metrics, whereas an experienced broker in the Ice Cream - Food related industry will price it based on the market metrics and valuation, so that they can sell it quickly because keeping it on market for too long can be counter productive. There are also other advantages of dealing with a qualified and experienced broker but in the end whether it is an FSBO business or listed by a broker, everything depends on the real value of the business, current market conditions.

Whether you are buying a Ice Cream business from an independent small business owner or form a broker, the most important factor or the first step is to evaluate the business to make sure the business is priced right or at a discount. You can either use an evaluation software or in some cases you can find valuation metrics online or you can hire an accountant, CPA, professional appraiser or a broker who can use provide a good valuation. While the valuation metrics differ with the type of company, industry and current market conditions, the most used metric for valuation is based on EBITDA or SDE ie Seller's Discretionary Earnings. Buying a small business can be once in a lifetime event for most people and before you put your hard earned savings in the business, always seek advice from a qualified business professional such as licensed broker, M&A advisor, consultant, small business accountant or a lawyer with regards to verification of finances, drafting contracts and price negotiation.

Find Established Ice Cream Business for Sale or Existing Franchises & Opportunities

Find established & running Ice Cream Businesses Shops FOR SALE, Franchises Parlors for sale near you or franchise resale listings by a small business owner or by a business broker and Ice Cream Shop, Dairy Queen, Gelato Business, Ice Cream Trucks, Baskin Robbins, Ice Cream Route, DQ, Frozen Custard Business, Cold Stone Cre ... & Food related local and online business opportunities - if you are looking to sell a Ice Cream or related Food business opportunity, list it here to sell your business Commission FREE!