arkle Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Hi good eveningDoes anybody know if you are allowed to trade with a traditional english ice cream van in france.If you can sell ice cream from a van, do the french sell ice cream from vans or is ice cream only sold from an ice cream shop or supermarket.Also would anybody happen to know if you can openly trade in the streets for free like in england or do you need to purchase a permit / licence via the local maire if for instance a pitch was required for a sea front location or tourist locaton or even a flower show or a fete or even a festival etc.Look forward to your replies.Thank youPaul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert the InfoGipsy Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Paul,I don't think there are many people here with French food retailing experience, especially in ice cream (eating being another matter). However, I know that there are mobile pizza vans and a few travelling chippies in France, so ice cream isn't necessarily a problem. That said, there could be all sorts of hygiene rules but if you have UK experience these would probably not be a problem.I'd suggest that you should start by asking at the mairie in the area you're looking at targeting. They should be able to point you at the appropriate registration authority.By the way, it helps if you say roughly where you are (now or planning to be) plus how much experience of your chosen career and of France you have. Otherwise people start guessing and the thread can wander off into hypothetical discussions.Finally, your market will probably depend on whether you're looking at industrial (Walls / Mr Whippy) or artisanal (made yourself) products. See the current thread about ice cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nectarine Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Arkle - I have no idea of the regulations but can only offer encouragement. If I saw an ice-cream van in the street on a hot sunny day then I would make a beeline to get to it. So I think you have a super idea which could be a real winner. Hope you receive some replies to get your business started ... and hope to hear your ice-cream chimes coming along my street !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Never seen an actual ice cream van in 20 years here but thats not to say it cannot be done. The rules on fitting out vans for any sort of food sales is very very strict here which maybe puts folks off doing such things plus finding an outlet to supply your ice creams. Don't forget too that being self employed is also very expensive so you need to do a lot of homework because your cotisations will possibly outweigh your takings and the cost of carburants currently is eating into everyone's profits. I have to say, there are many times I would have killed for a lovely fresh whippy type cone instead of the boring old Cornettos which you keep indoors anyway. Our local port has a whippy machine outside which we love but they charge €2 for a single which is quite expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Twinkles little girl gets herself into a right state when she she visits the UK and hears the ice cream man coming[:D]. She cannot believe it. Val 2, it is incredible that in your 20 years, you have not seen an ice cream van. It would be a truly unique experience for the french and maybe a very good business.What I would point out though, is that the French have this unbroken rule of no snacking between meals. Therefore maybe parks and fetes would be better than doing the rounds: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorna Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 If it can be done I am sure it would work very well. After all the usual courses including dessert (and our crumble) at the local apéritif dinatoire there was a mad rush from our table - the ice cream had appeared! The French are definitely big fans of ice cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosub Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I have seen Ice cream vans but only on the coast, most towns and villages have shops with machines outside for the sale of Ice cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5-element Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Don't forget that many patisseries and salons de thé sell ice-cream (homemade, artisanal, but also the stuff that comes out of machines like chantilly), even in small places. And you can go to many cafés and order an ice-cream too. In fact, there are some "Palais de la glace" places, with huge terraces, specialising in ice-cream. The trouble with a van is that it would possibily be most successful in places where there are no shops. Which also means that it would be most popular in the most unpopulated areas? That can't be great for business... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 There is a Dutch chap who lives in les Rosiers (49 Maine et Loire) who makes home made ice creams which he sells from his "barrow". His ice creams ar excellent, and I make a beeline forhim when I see him !But as far as I know, he only does it at events where they allow him to sell. The trouble with people running events round here is that they shy away from competition, ie they won't let two hat sellers have stalls in case one does better than the other. We have been banging our heads against this brick wall for years when organising an international carriage driving competition.....It's the sort of question to ask at your local Mairie, or at the Prefecture/sub prefecture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Most large réderies that I go to in the summerr months have one in attendance, I had a double cone chantilly Sunday for €2.50, the guy had a worse French accent than mine.I am not so sure that French parents would give in to their childrens blackmail if the heard the bells ringing in their neighbourhood, its one thing to treat the children on holiday another every time a bell rings.Outside the high schools or lycées would probably do well.There is a baracque à frites that has started trading next to a lycéee proffessional, she does very well from the students and routiers but she does make the most of her unique assets.She wears low cut tops and undersized push up bras to display to the maximum her tattoed poitrine, all her high margin lines are stored under the counter and the van is carefully leveled to ensure that it is at eye level when she bends down. She must be doing alright as she commutes to and from Lille to the van in a brand new BMW Z8 convertible..A1 E26 junction 14 [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkle Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 Good evening Big thank you to everyone it has been a fantastic response.In brief my thinking at the moment is to travel to Eymet in the south west of france, as i understand it has a large british community (incase there is any major unforseeable problems)and at the moment im not sure how the French public will take to the product so i will be giving away freebies to test the market, im told the French like to visualize their food before buying but that may or may not be true.If i may i would like to ask some further questions and pick peoples brains.Are there many British communities in France.Is the French liaison office a good place to help start and register a business, and is the French liaison available in every town.Is Chantilly famous for ice cream , only i am only aware of Chantilly cream ( and it's beautiful horse racing course , love to go back there again someday it's a beautiful setting) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Hello arkle - you might be interested to look at this forum if you are thinking of going to Eymet : http://www.ledroptforum.com/ Last year there was a contributor on there who had a mobile fish and chip van. I think he did ok for a while, but closed down eventually.Good luck anyway [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosub Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Don't forget that if you bring a UK reg vehicle to trade out of, you may have some difficulty in trying to register it in France and getting approval for the equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosub Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote user="Patf"]Hello arkle - you might be interested to look at this forum if you are thinking of going to Eymet : http://www.ledroptforum.com/ Last year there was a contributor on there who had a mobile fish and chip van. I think he did ok for a while, but closed down eventually.Good luck anyway [:)][/quote]In my opinion he failed because his food was c rap he used to come to our village once a week and I tried him quite a few times hoping the next time it would be better. The fish was OK sometimes but the chips were consistently bad, frozen cheapest quality & poorly cooked.[:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Ice ream vans in France eh?Arkle, this sounds to me like a home and hosed WINNER! An odds-on success if you do it well. Fortunes have been made in the ice cream van business. Britsh forum members may be aware of BBC TVs "Dragon's Den" - this programme features a wealthy Scottish entrepreneur who made his first (BIG) pile of cash from ice cream vans.Many people getting into start-small lowish tech businesses like this don't have much of a clue. Just because your competition might be ropey and frequently make a hash of it - and go out of business - doesn't mean you wont be a success; it could even help!The very best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexyboy Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 ArkleDid this business ever get off the ground?Or if Arkle no longer posts, does anyone remember seeing this business? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Off track - certainly some old names here.Dont think you will get a reply from Arkle - only 2 posts from all those years back.Cannot remember which 'celebrity'it was who stated that he always told his children that when the ice cream van rang its bell it meant that it had run out of ice cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Sexyboy sells ice cream to children, that just sounds wrong somehow, better name needed there.PaulT was it John Bishop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexyboy Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 apologies for the name. it looks worse written down.My first option was taken.The French band Air was playing in the background (their song of same name) when I was prompted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprogster Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 sexyboy, if you click on aposters name you can find out when they last signed on the Forum, which inArkle's case was nearly six years ago! I must admit to getting confused whenthese really old threads get resurrected as I don’t tend to check the posting datesat first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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