ItB次元官网网址檚 been a scorching summer across much of Canada, but that is cold comfort for ice cream truck operators like Meedo Falou, who says inflation and high fuel costs are melting away his profits.

On a sweltering Thursday morning, the owner of in Coquitlam, B.C., pores over a computer spreadsheet and talks to drivers about their routes.

Some flavours are in short supply, and Falou is focused on efficiency for his fleet of 10 trucks.

The problem is not just high gas prices, said Falou. B次元官网网址淢aintenance went up. Truck parts went up. The mechanical parts went up,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview.

B次元官网网址淚ce cream went up over 60 per cent. We had to jack the price up by a dollar. We couldnB次元官网网址檛 do more because of the consumers. We just want them to be able to afford ice cream.B次元官网网址�

Steve Christensen, executive director of the North American Ice Cream Association, said vendors are facing a range of challenges.

B次元官网网址淕as prices are up,B次元官网网址� said Christensen, speaking from Missouri. B次元官网网址淪o, a lot of everything B次元官网网址� cones, cups, different things B次元官网网址� anything that needs to be delivered by truck has gone up in price as well.B次元官网网址�

Ice cream prices usually go up three to five per cent a year, Christensen said.

But he said this year, prices are up 10 to 15 per cent, although that might not be across the entire menu.

Falou said he has tried to keep prices in check.

B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 make in this business a profit on just one piece,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou make a profit on volumes too. I want (people) to be able to afford to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck. I donB次元官网网址檛 want to give that bad image that the ice cream truck is so expensive, you know.B次元官网网址�

Falou is hoping to B次元官网网址渕ake just a little bitB次元官网网址� without having to dip into his savings as he did during the past two years of the pandemic.

ItB次元官网网址檚 been a tough year, said Falou, who shuts Rainbow Ice Cream from the end of September to April each year.

B次元官网网址淲e were hit by bad weather in the spring. It was the wettest weather in June. So that affects our sales big time. And definitely the profit is a lot less than the previous years.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 not just local weather. Global climate events affect the ice cream business too, Christensen said.

For example, Madagascar provides about 70 per cent of the worldB次元官网网址檚 vanilla, and when thereB次元官网网址檚 a storm there, or a short flowering season, it affects the global market.

B次元官网网址淲hich again, you know, affects ice cream,B次元官网网址� he said.

Christensen said old-school ice cream truck vendors are also having to deal with new challenges such as delivery apps and rivals in so-called B次元官网网址済host kitchensB次元官网网址� who lack a storefront but sell ice cream online.

B次元官网网址淭he overhead (for a ghost kitchen) is very inexpensive. TheyB次元官网网址檙e using social media to promote their ice cream, theyB次元官网网址檙e selling it online and people are coming to pick it up from the kitchen or from a location.B次元官网网址�

Falou started out driving an ice cream truck in the 1990s, which he called the B次元官网网址済olden daysB次元官网网址� of the business. He said he made a lot more money then.

To overcome the obstacles of apps, weather, gas prices and inflation, Falou said heB次元官网网址檚 hoping there will be a comeback in corporate events and other scheduled bookings, which were cut back during the pandemic but are now returning.

B次元官网网址淲e did suffer,B次元官网网址� he said, shaking his head. B次元官网网址淲e rely a lot on corporate events, birthday parties, parades and weddings and all that. So this year, theyB次元官网网址檙e starting to come back. Some of them, not all of them. So hopefully next year weB次元官网网址檒l get them all back.B次元官网网址�

But gone are the days when an ice cream truck could drum up business by simply driving around and playing a happy tune, said Christensen.

B次元官网网址淚ce cream truck owners need to seek out catering opportunities, food truck events, go to office blocks and hospitals and say, B次元官网网址楬ey, we can put on a corporate event for you,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淭hey need to hustle now a little more than probably they ever had before.B次元官网网址�

Christensen recalled his first exposure to the ice cream business, listening as a child for the traditional jingle of the truck in his home country of Australia.

B次元官网网址淎nd little Steve Christensen goes and gets some money from MumB次元官网网址檚 dresser and goes out and buys the cone with a Flake in it,B次元官网网址� he said with a laugh.

B次元官网网址淚 would like to think that people still love those experiences. So, the process of supporting your local ice cream van, I think, is very important because it keeps those memories alive for kids these days.B次元官网网址�

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

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