How many flavors do you carry at any given time?

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TWH
Posts: 97
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2012 2:22 pm

Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:07 am

This is a general question to all. Typically how many flavors do you carry at any given event and how much of each do you usually bring with you? I have been carrying 32 or more but am downsizing to 12 or so. I have 48 slots for quart bottles on my truck so now is the time to rearrange things.
DerekinCanada
Posts: 90
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2014 1:17 pm

Tue Sep 05, 2017 7:40 am

We're a bit different - small, weekend events-only tent and table business. We have no trailer, so the entire operation is designed to fit into a compact SUV. We also sell freshly-squeezed lemonade at most events.
We carry only eight flavors of shaved ice, with the syrups in quart containers housed in a home-built self-serve dispenser. We bring cups for 500 shaved ice, but our maximum sales on one day have only been about 450. We bring enough lemonade cups and lids for 400. We return home each night to restock, so we never need to bring more than a day's supply of anything.
We find eight flavors to be more than enough at a busy event. Any more, and our customers take too long to decide, and the lineup builds at the self-serve dispenser. Customers at an event do not expect to have the same number of flavors that they would at a permanent stand. We try to have some "adult" flavors (pina colada), some kid flavors (cotton candy) some favorites (blue raspberry) and a mix of colors for appearance.
We start with the 8 one quart containers of mixed syrup full (8 quarts), and bring two 1.25 gallon (10 quart) containers of sugar water (we mix 5 lbs of sugar and enough water to fill the container) and refill the quart containers with sugar water and an ounce of concentrate as they empty. We have spigots on our 1.25 gallon sugar water containers, and the mixed syrup bottle lids protrude through the top of the self-serve dispenser, so we can refill quickly without having to remove the quart bottles from the dispenser. We normally carry six extra 5 lb bags of sugar, enough to make six extra 1.25 gallon (30 quart) refills of sugar water. This gives us a total capacity of 48 quarts of syrup. We also use the same sugar water to sweeten the lemonade so this will impact our shaved ice syrup capacity. We bring enough syrup concentrate (kept in 12 small measured bottles, a bottle for each flavour, and a second bottle of the 4 most popular flavors) to make 60 quarts of syrup. We do not bring any pre-mixed syrup, except for the initial eight quarts, so we don't have to worry about not having enough of one flavor - they're mixed as they are emptied.
For really big events, we bring along our quart bottles of concentrate, and hit up the nearest store during breaks for extra bags of sugar. We can also pick up foam cups of some size if needed, so we should never ever run out of ingredients.
We bring a 1.25 gallon container of water (used for faster lemonade topup), plus a 7 gallon container, and a 5 gallon folding container (full or empty depending on event size). We refill at the nearest source of potable water at the venue.
nattie03

Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:40 pm

Just joined the forum as I am adding shaved ice to my offerings. I appreciate the very detailed breakdown of our setup. I didn't realize you don't have to boil the sugar, do you just shake it and it completely dissolves in water?
Craig

Wed Jan 10, 2018 5:25 pm

I just started with shaved ice last summer, and only had 12 flavors
It still took them a long time to decide sometimes

So I have decided to buy a flavor station from Snowie
It is called a Cube 9 and only holds 9 flavors.
So it looks like I'm reducing to 9. :lol:

9 should be enough, I found that I will need to be as versatile with the colors as possible.
I think I had too many red flavors
Colors seem to make a big difference. Kids did not seem to care what flavor it was, just the color.
Although their favorite flavor was Cotton Candy(red) with Blue Bubble(Blue)

Also the slowest part of the whole process was pouring the syrup on.
It took a while to pour as well as them taking a long time to decide.
We let people choose 3 flavors on a 8 oz flower and only 2 flavors on the small.

Hopefully the flavor station will speed up the process.

One question
Has anyone seen trays for carrying flower cups full( will not fit regular drink trays).
We get a lot of requests.
ShaveIce
Posts: 517
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:53 am
Location: Honolulu,HI
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Tue Jan 16, 2018 11:19 am

We use to sell trays but discontinued it quite fast. Shave ice isn't really meant to be carried around and eaten slowly since ice do melt quick. We found that in the end it just created more trash having a take out tray and a added cost. That being said, I do think Hypothermias Shave Ice still sell take out trays. Give them a look.
www.shaveiceshaveice.com
Forum for Hawaiian shave ice, shave ice supplies, shave ice flavors, and shave ice machines.
BruceSannino

Sun Feb 04, 2018 8:12 am

Nattie03 mentioned heating the water to make simple syrup. That's what I've been doing for many years. I've been wondering if it's necessary. With a strong mixer, a hand drill and paint mixer, would that do the job?
TWH
Posts: 97
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2012 2:22 pm

Sun Feb 04, 2018 10:19 am

BruceSannino wrote:Nattie03 mentioned heating the water to make simple syrup. That's what I've been doing for many years. I've been wondering if it's necessary. With a strong mixer, a hand drill and paint mixer, would that do the job?
I use the drill mount and attachment from Snowie and make several 5 gallon jugs real quickly without boiling.
ShaveIce
Posts: 517
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:53 am
Location: Honolulu,HI
Contact:

Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:58 am

Heating the syrups kills off any bacteria in the sugar or water making your syrup have a longer shelf life. Some people also mentioned a better taste to the syrup.
www.shaveiceshaveice.com
Forum for Hawaiian shave ice, shave ice supplies, shave ice flavors, and shave ice machines.
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