THE musical whimsy of Greensleeves floating down neighbourhood streets and the ice cream treat it heralded evoke happy memories for many Australians, for whom Mr Whippy was a childhood rite of passage.
Yet while times have changed since Mr Whippy first served ice creams to a market where many homes went without adequate refrigeration, ice cream vans remain a good investment, according to a Perth businessman.
Paul Robinson bought one of Perth’s travelling ice cream businesses, The Ice Cream Man, three months ago and has plans to expand.
Of the three vans he owns, one is currently on the road and run by Mr Robinson’s brother, Mike. A second van will soon join the ranks in time for the peak summer season, while a third, vintage-style Mr Whippy van was recently purchased, though getting it up to scratch will be a labour of love.
Mr Robinson eventually wants four vans.
The main reason he bought the business was to use the vans to support Christian fundraising efforts, but there is a small part of him that attributes the purchase to his ‘inner child’.
“Looking at this as a business, you would say it is too capital intensive, it’s not worth it. But I’ve never had a real toy in my life so this is it,” Mr Robinson told WA Business News.
With a pest control business and a second-hand car yard, Mr Robinson has experience in running small businesses; but perhaps what best qualifies him to run The Ice Cream Man is his love of ice cream – he eats it four times a day.
“Nobody has ever got rich out of ice cream vans; it is not a good major income, it is more a secondary income for someone who is retired or someone who wants some weekend work,” he said.
Mr Robinson expects to turn his first profit when he trades over the coming summer, since 80 per cent of business comes during this period.
Demand is high from civic events such as fairs and private events like birthday parties, while visits to local parks attract business if the sun is out and kids are playing.
But what Mr Robinson wants to do is grow The Ice Cream Man by building the number of corporate clients and corporate events.
That way, he will attract mid-week bookings and have a steady flow of business across the week, rather than having the majority of his business clogged up on weekends, which is typical for ice cream vans.
“We are trying to do things better, and lift the game a bit on ice cream vans,” he said.
