Shaved Ice Supplies

In any concession business, the main supplies that you have to order are the ingredients in the food that you are serving and any materials necessary for serving your food. The shaved ice business is no different as the principal shaved ice supplies are ice and flavored syrups. You will also need to keep a stock of spoons, food containers and other paper goods, but there isn't any specialized knowledge needed to stock these supplies or to decide which brands to purchase.

Ice, however, does necessitate a little bit of industry-specific knowledge. If you would prefer to freeze your own blocks of ice rather than purchasing from a commercial company, you can do so in regular freezers using ice pails provided by your supplier. Ice pails can be stacked vertically, allowing you to maximize your storage space. Since it takes a few days to freeze a single block of ice, you will need a freezer that can hold roughly four to five times the number of blocks that you use per day.

Preparing Your Ice for Shaving

Did you know that you should warm up, or temper, your ice before you use it to make shaved ice? Ice shavers work best on ice that is between 25 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit, but freezers keep ice at or below 10 degrees. Using ice that has not been tempered results in dry shaved ice which can be difficult to pack, as well as dulling your blades faster.

Your shaved ice is only as good as the shaved ice supplies that you use. Low quality ice or syrups, even when used with the best commercial ice shavers, will not produce products that will please customers. However, high prices do not always imply higher quality, so you should be sure to shop around to find manufacturers and suppliers that offer high quality shaved ice supplies at reasonable prices.