Pop Up Shops and Vending Machines with David Draper

In this episode we chat to the ever-effervescent David Draper from Dreamy's Ice Cream. David shares his ice cream story and his growth plans which have included pop us locations and a recently launched ice cream vending machine.

Keep an eye out for a future episode was we chat about his electrically converted ice cream vans.

You can find more information about Dreamys at:

• https://www.dreamysicecream.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/dreamysicecream
• https://www.instagram.com/dreamys.icecream
• https://www.tiktok.com/@dreamysicecream

For information about the North American Ice Cream Assoc, and how you can open and grow your ice cream business with a community that will support you, go to https://icecreamassociation.org/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

G'day folks, this is the Ice Cream Podcast, the official podcast of the North American Ice Cream Association, where we are all about ice cream people, helping ice cream people. David Draper, Dreamy's Ice Cream, is today's guest. How are you, mate? Good, good, good. How are you? I'm wonderfully well. I remember our I I don't know whether this was our first interaction, but I remember from for me, I remember our first interaction. My first memorable interaction with you was it was at the end of a awards banquet at which was that? Was that Orlando? Um I think yeah, I think there would have been Orlando, yeah. Maybe Orlando. And basically, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit here, but maybe basically you grabbed me by my lapels of my suit and shook me like back and forth and said, when are we gonna do more about soft serve people? That's how I remember it. I don't know whether it was as aggressive as that.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Uh I don't think the grabbing happened, but you know, it could have definitely been a thing. Um but yeah, yeah, that I mean, actually the first time we actually met, if you don't know if you remember, was Pec Food Service. Um remember you grabbed me by the lapels there as well. Well, yeah, so we we knew about the association, we knew about everything, but that was that month before COVID, that was February of 2020. And we'd just gotten a year under our belts and we knew about the association. And when I talked to you, you know, I was like, I'm sold, you know. So yeah. So yeah, you've definitely opened up and you know, we've definitely done more soft serve, so it's been awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Mate, um, yeah, it has. And can I just kind of say the quintessential, the reason why we go out to some of these regional shows is to kind of talk to people about benefits of the association, and you're the kind of poster child for hey, we'd love to have you involved. You're now on the board, you serve in the membership committee, very, very involved uh in the association. And for for you and all of our board members, we we greatly appreciate the the volunteer work that you do within the association. Um I had to ask you, Dave, before we went to air. Uh now, what's the name of your business again? Because for a long time you were Dreamy Whip. Yeah, we were. You're known as the Dreamy Whip guy.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah, so we were Dreamy Whip, and we still are. Um we have a DBA of Dreamy's ice cream now. Um it whip is still at heart to us. Um, it's just we have broadened our horizons quite a bit, and because of that, we we felt a shift in the branding. So after five years of being in business, um, we felt it was necessary to rebrand us just to you know strategically set us up for what we're planning for the future.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Fabulous. So um and you may know, Dave, from walking around convention with a blow-up cow suit on, inflatable cow suit, which I don't mind saying you the original blow-up cow guy. I know there's a few people that have kind of tagged onto your coattails, herbs to being one of them. Yeah. But but you're the original inflatable blow-up cow guy as well. I think Savannah was I remember walking around the corner from um what's the ice cream shop? Uh Leopold's, and you jumped out of a dark alleyway in your inflatable cow suit.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yeah, I remember that. The board meeting when I unveiled that board. Yeah, I remember that. So um, yeah, yeah. So just trying to bring that fun to it, right? You know, so people have a lot of fun with it. You know, we're in the fun industry. Why not roll with it?

SPEAKER_01 3:39

Mate, tell us a little bit about your your business, your current business. Maybe a little bit about your history, how you got into it, and then um what your current business looks like.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, so we started in 2019 um as a trailer, actually. Um, because at the time I thought it was absolutely crazy to open a store to sell you know two and three dollar ice cream cones. Um, you know, the financial commitment was gonna be huge. So um my wife had the idea. Um, obviously I couldn't have done this without her, so she was a huge part of this. Um, I again had one and nothing to do with the food world because you know, every time you you buy something or every time you sell something, you gotta replace it. It was just I knew it was gonna be a lot of work, um, but I didn't know the fun that was gonna come with it. So we started in 2019. Um, we put a trailer out there on the road. Um, I was still a nurse. Um my wife still worked her day job, and then at the end of 2019, we decided to go all in. Um so since 2019, we've opened now two stores, we've got four mobiles, we had two satellites down to one satellite, we've we've uh launched a vending machine. Every year I can honestly say that you know, with our team and everything, we have either done something, you know, advancement, growth, um, we're always trying to take it to the next step. Um, you know, I you know, we uh you were monumental in that reading your book and just you know listening to shops that have been doing this for 20 and 30 years and you know, hearing that like the only way to you know stay up with it is to keep up with it. And you gotta revolve with the times, you gotta put a fresh coat of paint, is what you would say on the walls. And uh it's been a lot of fun. I can honestly say that despite you know, it's very difficult what we do, um, especially you know going through COVID and you know the economy and all that, um, I still the reasons why I got into it was not the money, and the reasons to this day is still not the money, it's purely the fun, the joy uh that we bring to people, and that's why we continue to do what we do. Um, you know, and without my team and the you know the infrastructure we have in place, um, but yeah, yeah, we're always you know taking it to the next step. So uh um and the the association has just been monumental to that, and that's why you know a couple years ago I I said I wanted to you know play, you know, be able to step up and play a role because without the association and the members and the people that I've met along the way, I can honestly say I wouldn't be a business. And I I I've said that and I know that that's true. Um so that's why I feel you know, despite I don't think I'm I know it all or anything like that. I'm just you know I'm just a guy that learned from other people and you know as a big sponge. And so now anytime I can, I'm willing to share. And um yeah.