The Exhibitor (1950)

EP-6 EXTRA PROFITS How Ice Cream Fits Into The Drive-In Picture By J. H. Meehan, Director, Sales and Advertising, Philadelphia Dairy Products Company, Inc. Americans love new things. They’ll “try anything once,” and if they find that they’re getting a whirl for their money, they’ll stick with the novelty after it’s no longer new. That’s the way it’s been with ice cream, and that’s why ice cream is figuring large in the profits of drive-ins today. The idea of the drive-in is relatively new, but is catching on fast all over the country. Ice cream, on the other hand, has been a universally accepted and tremendously popular refreshment-food for many years. With both feet firmly planted inside the door, so to speak, ice cream is a “natural” for sales and profits in this new and ex¬ panding market. At Philadelphia Dairy, one can see what is happening. Aristocrat Ice Cream is going out to drive-ins in steadily in¬ creasing volume. People are buying the ice cream sandwiches by the thousands, and pre-packaged sundaes are doing a whale of a business. The sandwich, of course, is an old and proved idea, but the pre-packaged sundae for sales at drive ins is something new and different which has struck the fancy of patrons. In this respect, the drive-in market has a big advantage over that of the indoor operator, many of whom do not handle ice cream at all. That difference is, in effect, due to the pleasantly unique con¬ ditions patrons meet at the drive-ins. Sitting in a car in a field somewhere watching a picture and enjoying an ice cream sundae at the same time is an experience so new to most people, and therefore so attractive, that they will try it again, and again, until they’ve developed a very pleasant habit and a continuing source of profit for everyone concerned. The pre-packaged sundae itself, pleasing as it is to the patron’s imagination and sense of taste, is actually something a great deal more. It illustrates live-wire thinking among ice cream producers m the bid for new business through new values and new ways to meet the chal¬ lenge of new markets. Philadelphia Dairy will show what it can do, and other producers are, also. This can be demonstrated at the plant and all along the line until the ice cream sandwich or sundae is in consumer’s hands. Modern methods of ice cream production and the facilities for distribution and vending are all designed to place the product before the customer in good order. That sales are substantial now, and a rich source of profit, is easily shown by a single reference to one of our own cus¬ tomers. This concessionnaire is one of the largest in the country in all fields of vending. His drive-in division’s business alone is done in more than 100 theatres, and he reports that ice cream sandwiches and pre-packaged sundaes represent from 20 to 25 per cent of total sales of refresh¬ ments in those theatres. That is solid volume, and represents healthy profits for him because the ice cream mark-up is so advantageous. It becomes apparent from this, I think, that any exhibitor oT concessionnaire who overlooks ice cream as a source of profit in drive-ins is doing himself a disservice. Similarly, the management offering too wide a variety of choice in sundaes, for instance, is not getting the most out of the business. Experience proves that the drive-in patron will buy more readily and more quickly when only one or two flavors are available. This saves much time and handling. The customer I speak of above, for example, has been able to serve more people in less time. It should not be forgotten that the drive-in operator, the concessionnaire, and the ice cream producer must work to¬ gether and share a mutual responsibility if they are to realize the fullest potential in ice cream profits. Wtj Haunch in famous Necco mint patties Specially designed for vending machines, these twins are right up your alley. They’re wrapped the way you want ’em, packed the way you want ’em — and chock full of the fresh mint taste your customers love. Chock full of sales appeal, too. Order your supply now. Wgrro TWIN MINT Patties New England Confectionery Company Cambridge 39, Mass. 2 individual patties — twice the enjoyment! EXHIBITOR July 5, 1950