A pioneering company have developed a new mobile app that they expect will fundamentally alter the way that Ice Cream SME’s operate. It will give customers access to previously unavailable information, allowing them to track the movements of ice cream vans so they can be alerted of their arrival in good time. It’s a development that is anticipated to shatter tired-old traditions and open up a completely unheard of level of communication between vendors and their customers.
In an age where we can order takeaways at the simple press of a button, fly across the globe in a matter of hours and order pizza delivery by drone— how can it still be, that the only possible means of getting hold of fresh Mr Whippy ice-cream involves chasing a van down the street to the sound of Greensleeves or Nelly-the-Elephant.
We’ve all been there, after hearing music playing somewhere off in the distance, you face a brutal race against the clock to find your shoes and catch the van before it disappears down the street. The truth is that more often than not, we return home empty-handed to the vast disappointment of our children or younger siblings. The more often that disappointment occurs, the more likely those customers are to buy their ice cream from supermarket chains rather than small businesses.
The tragic truth for ice-cream vendors is that consumers aren’t patient in the way they once were — they don’t see the point in waiting around and hoping a vendor might show up at some point soon when they’ve become used to rapid and reliable service in essentially every other industry. They’ll much sooner head to a supermarket freezer section or drive over to McDonalds for a McFlurry than risk the awkward battle to find an ice-cream van in time. In the last ten years the number of ice cream vans on our streets have declined by half as costs to produce Mr Whippy increased by as much as 70%, the simple truth is that things cannot go on as they are — our ice cream vendors have to accept it’s time to move on from those old-age traditions, or face a continued decline in sales.
In response, Cheeky Grin have developed an answer that is sure to FINALLY drag the industry forward into the twenty-first century. It’s an app that will create a direct dialogue between customers and vendors, think Uber but for ice cream vans — allowing drivers to inform 30 people at a time where to meet four minutes before the vendor arrives.
Even customers who live in high rise flats or a fair distance from where a van typically stops, can organise with drivers and even view menus ahead of time. The Cheeky Grin App will capture all the sales without any of the stress and rush — giving everyone a chance to enjoy fresh ice cream wherever, whenever they want.
If you’re an ice cream vendor interested in signing up to pilot for the Cheeky Grin App, contact Mr. Wilson on 07570020694 or at gingerorourke@hotmail.com.
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