New Forest Ice Cream boosts sales with bespoke menu service

New Forest Ice Cream has launched a bespoke menu service which allows customers to create personalised table top menus featuring all their favourite ice cream desserts.

Customers can pick and mix from 53 ice cream and sorbet presentations.

The menus are available in a variety of formats and sizes, from contemporary through to more traditional designs to complement all interiors. There is also space to add in a coffee or liqueur menu too to complete the dessert offering.

One of the first customers to benefit from this service is Colin Stoneley from the Merry Harriers Pub, Hambledon, Surrey who said: "Working with New Forest Ice Cream, we were able to choose a good mix of ice cream flavours, with something to suit all tastes. We chose the images that we wanted and also picked from a variety of menu designs, selecting something that we felt would fit in with the style of the pub. When the menu arrived, we were thrilled."

"New Forest Ice Cream was prepared to spend time with us, training the staff in presentation techniques and serving suggestions. They also emphasised how important it was that we should think of our waiting staff as our dessert ambassadors. We made sure they were fully briefed on each of the desserts on the menu so if a customer asked they can at least describe the dessert in some detail. It sounds obvious but this is an area which is often forgotten about, especially when part time or casual labour is involved.

"The interesting thing is that we are still selling roughly the same amount of traditional desserts as we did before. But now we are also selling a similar volume of ice creams as well. Two thirds of customers who order a main course now have a dessert as well."

The Merry Harriers has been running the New Forest Ice Cream menu alongside the existing traditional dessert menu since July this year. Despite it being one of the wettest summers for years, the pub has seen a 138% increase in total dessert sales.
Weblink: www.newforesticecream.com

Words: Clare Riley

« Back to previous page