Cold Stone Creamery provides three ice cream sizes. To start with, there is the 5 oz “Like It” size. This is then followed by the 8 oz “Love It” size. Finally, we have the 12 oz “Gotta Have It”. There is also a smaller size of 3 oz, intended for the children (Duff, 2006, par. 4). Besides ice cream, Cold Stone also offers iced coffee drinks, malts, shakes, and smoothies. It is important to note that natural ingredients are used to produce the ice cream, which is manufactured in-house (ColdStone Creamery, 2009, par. 2). Accordingly, it is also the intention of the potential franchisee to follow in the footsteps of the parent company.
The franchisee shall also endeavor to introduce a line of products made of pies, ice cream cupcakes, and ice cream cakes, with the intention of appealing to the youth as a target market. It is also the intention of the franchisee to manufacture frozen desserts that are customized to the specifications of the customers, in effect ensuring that the company has a competitive advantage relative to the other ice cream manufacturers. Furthermore, it is also important to note that the different flavors of ice cream on offer by the franchisee shall be the same ones that the parent company manufactures. These flavors include banana, chocolate, vanilla, and Butterscotch (Duff, 2006, par. 2).
Plans of how to manufacture the product(s)
The proposed ingredients for the manufacture of ice cream by the potential franchisee to Cold Stone Creamery include cream, corn syrup, condensed skim milk, stabilizers (for example, Carageenan and Guar Gum), emulsifiers (for example, Di-glycerides Polysorbate 80), and a colorant (for example, annatto yellow). In this case, the condensed skim milk shall contribute the “serum solids” (also known as ‘non-fat milk solids’) to the final ice cream product. The function of this particular ingredient is that it helps the final product to retain a desirable texture, especially after the process of whipping air into the ice-cream mix, in order to increase its volume. This process is usually referred to as “overrun”. This is the increase in the volume of the final product relative to the ice-cream mix, following the process of incorporating air into the mix. Accordingly, it will be the intention of this franchisee to Cold Stone Creamery to adopt the overrun that the company has stipulated.
The use shall also be made of corn syrup to replace sugar. The use of corn syrup is necessary since it is able to depress the freezing point of the ice cream, with the result that
the ice cream is able to be frozen to lower temperatures than would have been the case had sugar been used. On the other hand, the stabilizers ensure that even after the final product is in transit, it is able to withstand variations in temperature. It is important to put in mind the fact that ice cream is an emulsion made up of a solid phase and a liquid phase. In order to hold together such an emulsion, emulsifiers are usually utilized. The emulsifier is made up of a phase that has an affinity for the liquid phase of the ice cream, and another phase that has an affinity for the solids phase of the ice cream. This way, the emulsion remains held together. The colorant is also used to give the final ice cream product an appealing look (Burton, 2009, p. 2). Accordingly, the utilization of these ingredients shall be in line with the stipulations that have been issued by Cold Stone Creamery, as applicable in the various franchises that the ice cream maker holds.
The actual manufacturing process shall entail a number of steps. To start with, all the liquid ingredients shall be placed together and adequately mixed. Then, these shall be added to the cream and skimmed milk and subjected to a blending process, using a blender. The purpose of this processing step is to ensure that the solid ingredients for the ice cream are adequately and uniformly dispersed in the liquid ingredients.
Following a successful blending of the ingredients, the process of pasteurization shall then be adopted. In this case, it is the intention of the new franchisee to adopt a steam pasteurization process whereby steam shall be utilized to heat up the ice cream mix to the desired temperature regimes. A heat exchanger shall be employed so that the flow of the ice cream mix is counterclockwise to that of the steam. This way, the franchise hopes to benefit from the steam economy, with the incoming steam encountering cold ice cream mix, and the exiting steam that is already stripped of its heat encounters an ice-cream mix that is warm, thereby cooling it.
After pasteurization, the ice cream shall then be homogenized. This is whereby a homogenizer is used to reduce the fat globules in the ice cream mix, in effect dispersing them uniformly throughout the ice cream mix. This is for purposes of ensuring that the final product is uniform in texture, and does not cause a feeling of sandiness in the mouth at the time of consumption. After homogenization, the resulting mix is usually smooth in terms of texture. Besides, it is also palatable and is able to retain more air during the crucial stage of overrun. Furthermore, a homogenized ice cream mix has been shown to be more resistant when it comes to melting. Once the mix has been homogenized, it shall then be allowed to age for a period of between 6 and 24 hours.
The idea is to give fat globules in the mix enough time to crystallize and cool down. Also, the polysaccharides and the proteins that are to be found in the mix have time to take in more liquid and become hydrated. This is useful in enhancing the texture and body of the final product. The aging process shall be accomplished at refrigerated conditions, at temperatures that do not exceed 5 C. Once the mix has aged to the desired level, it will then be subjected to the next process of freezing.
However, before the freezing process of the ice cream mix, additional ingredients such as fruit purees, flavors and colorants shall be incorporated into the mix, at special flavor tanks. It is important to note that both the freezing as well as the hardening process shall take place in a special freezer. To accomplish the two steps, a pump shall be used to dispense the mix into this freezer. Usually, the freezing and hardening step will not take longer than 30 seconds to realize the final product. It is within this machine that the incorporation of air will also take place, to accomplish an overrun for the final product. Upon exiting the freezer, the product shall then be packaged into the desirable containers, then labeled and stored into refrigerated conditions, awaiting dispatch.
References
Burton, S. (2009). Chemistry in a cone.
ColdStone Creamery (2007). The Cold Stone Creamery Story. Web.
Duff, M. (2006). Target, Cold Creamery sign in-store deal. Web.