effect a system of cream grading in which a special price can be paid for good cream. This in itself will have a moral effect upon all of the creamery patrons, and will make it possible to secure a better grade of cream from which a better grade of butter can be made. Once the creamery has established a reputation for the quality of its products the matter of competition from larger concerns fades into insig Fig. 102. The Floor Plan of a combined Butter and Ice Cream Factory. nificance. Where a creamery has established its reputation for the quality of its butter, which should be known by some particular brand, the known good quality of the butter will help sell the ice cream. The ice cream should bear the same brand as the butter, since the public will naturally associate that brand with high quality. The creamery manager must be sure, however, that the ice cream turned out is of good quality, otherwise the good qualities of one product when used to sell another product of inferior quality will eventually work against all the products and the concern itself. New problems to be dealt with. Although the advantages in the manufacture of ice cream in the local creamery are great, it must also be remembered that there will be many new problems to solve. One of these is the competition from the specialized ice cream factory. In many respects the local creamery will have a decided advantage, but the manager must appreciate and use these advantages. Competition in selling. In point of salesmanship, the large specialized ice cream factory will usually have the advantage over the local creamery. There is no reason, however, why the creamery man cannot learn much from his larger competitor and even adopt his best methods of selling. One of the points of advantage possessed by the manager of the local plant lies in his more intimate knowledge of local conditions and demands. If he will take the pains to study these local demands and make use of his personal influence with the consumers, the competition of the larger plant can easily be met. Competition in buying. In the matter of buying, the creamery has a decided advantage, as it is already in touch with a large number of cream producers. It is not such a difficult matter for the creamery to secure an abundant supply of sweet cream at a price only slightly in advance. of the price paid for butter fat for churning. In addition to this, the creamery has an outlet in the form of butter for all the cream which it may buy. Since the price paid for sweet cream is only slightly higher than for regular churning cream, the factory does not sustain a loss, should a small surplus of sweet cream be purchased. Additional equipment. The cost of equipment may be anywhere from $200 to $1,000, depending upon the volume of trade to be taken care of. In the smaller concerns the manufacture of ice cream will prove profitable and advantageous only where the cost of the extra equipment is not great and no extra help is required. To begin with, a ten-gallon tub freezer may be used and will take care of the trade until the business has increased Fig. 103. Showing the complete equipment for a small ice cream factory. sufficiently to warrant the installation of a larger freezer of a more improved type. An ice crusher, probably an extra vat, extra pulleys, and extra belting, and a number of ice cream packers of different sizes will complete the equipment. It is assumed, of course, that the factory already has an ice house or mechanical refrigerating system which can be adapted to the needs of the ice cream business with but little addition or alteration. The following quotation from Circular No. 188 of the Bureau of Animal Industry gives some idea of the profits obtained by the creameries of this country engaged in the manufacture of ice creams. "The average cost of making a gallon of ice cream is reported by them to be about 45 cents, and the same reports show the average wholesale selling price to be about 87 cents, leaving a margin of 42 cents a gallon. "The profits from the manufacture and sale of ice cream are clearly brought out by the following example: 100 pounds of 18 per cent. cream are equal to 12 gallons, which with 66 per cent. overrun (swell) will produce 20 gallons of ice cream, and if sold for 87 cents a gallon will amount to $17.42. Allowing that sugar and flavoring for this amount costs $1.40, there is left $16 for 18 pounds of butter fat used. On this basis, the butter fat sells for 88.8 cents a pound. The same amount of butter fat made into butter with a 21 per cent. overrun would produce 21.78 pounds of butter, and if sold for 31 cents a pound (average price for New York extras, 1910) would amount to $6.75 or 37.5 cents a pound for butter fat. A comparison of these items shows a difference of 51.3 cents a pound in favor of ice cream. "The special equipment necessary for the average creamery to manufacture ice cream consists of freezer, ice crusher, holding cans, and hardening vat, and need not exceed $300 in cost. Such an outlay will often be paid for in one season and a substantial surplus remain from the profits of this branch of the business." |