Ice cream business plan template for the Philippines

Executive summary

[Brand name] Ice Cream will make small-batch ice cream in [flavours, for example ube, keso, mango and tsokolate] at a kitchen in [barangay, city]. It will sell in two ways: scoops and cones from a stall at [location], and [size] pint tubs to [number] sari-sari stores, cafés and pasalubong shops in [area].

The owner, [name], needs ₱____ to start: batch freezer or ice cream machine ₱____, chest freezers ₱____, stall ₱____, packaging ₱____, FDA and local permits ₱____, ingredients ₱____ and a reserve of ₱____. Funding: owner ₱____, loan ₱____.

Which kind of ice cream business is this?

Decide first, because the permits differ. There are three common setups, and this sample combines the first two:

If you sell from a roving cart, note that the food establishment rules limit ambulant vendors to bottled drinks, biscuits, confectionery and other pre-packed food. Ask your health office how it treats scooped sorbetes from a roving cart before you build the plan around one.^[5]

• Fixed stall selling scoops you make yourself. Needs the local sanitary permit and health certificates.
• Packed pints sold through other stores. Brings in the FDA License to Operate and product registration, because you are now making processed food for distribution.
• Roving sorbetes cart. Subject to the ambulant vendor rule below.

Customers and competitors

Answer each prompt with what you saw and counted:

Example fill-in. "At [stall location], [number] people passed between 3pm and 6pm on [dates]. The nearest dessert sellers are [seller 1] (scoop ₱____) and [seller 2] (soft-serve ₱____). We showed sample pints to [number] store owners; [number] agreed to take [number] tubs on consignment. Our flavours use [local ingredient] from [supplier], which none of the nearby sellers offer."

• Who buys dessert near your stall, and at what time of day?
• What do the nearest ice cream sellers charge per scoop, cone or tub?
• Which stores would stock your pints, and do they have freezer space?
• What terms do stores want: outright purchase or consignment?
• How does demand change in the rainy months? Ask sellers who have been there a year.

Making, storing and selling

Production. Batches of [litres] on [days]. Base mixed and pasteurised at [temperature and method you will follow], aged, churned, then hardened in the freezer before sale. Each batch labelled with flavour and date.

Cold chain. Freezers at [temperature]. A backup plan for brownouts: [generator / insulated boxes and ice / arrangement with a neighbour]. Delivery in insulated boxes, maximum [minutes] on the road.

People. Owner makes the ice cream; [number] staff run the stall; deliveries by [owner / helper / courier]. Everyone who handles the product holds a health certificate.

Permits and registration costs

General steps are in the registration guide. DTI charges ₱200 to ₱2,000 for a business name, depending on scope, plus ₱30 documentary stamp tax. BIR has charged no registration fee since 22 January 2024.^[1,2]

Every food establishment open to the public needs a sanitary permit from the city or municipal health office, with the fee set by local ordinance, and every employee needs a health certificate.^[5,6]

For packed pints sold through stores, FDA's rules require a License to Operate before manufacturing, and registration of each processed food product before it is sold. FDA Advisory 2025-0032 says fees for all applications filed from 12 January 2025 follow AO 2024-0016. Ask FDA for the License to Operate and product registration fees that apply to you, and which product category your ice cream falls under.^[3,4]

Financial plan

The figures already filled in are the published DTI and BIR amounts. Get your FDA fees from FDA, since they follow AO 2024-0016.^[1,2,4]

Sales. Stall: scoops per day [number] × ₱____. Pints: stores [number] × tubs per week [number] × wholesale price ₱____. Cost per litre of base (milk, cream, sugar, flavouring) ₱____; cost per tub including packaging ₱____.

Break-even. Monthly fixed costs ₱____ ÷ average margin per litre ₱____ = [number] litres per month.

• Start-up: ice cream machine ₱____, chest freezers ₱____, stall ₱____
• Start-up: DTI ₱500 + ₱30; BIR ₱0
• Start-up: FDA License to Operate ₱____ (ask FDA; AO 2024-0016 schedule)
• Start-up: FDA product registration ₱____ per product × [number] products
• Start-up: sanitary permit, health certificates, barangay and mayor's permit ₱____ (assessed locally)
• Monthly: ingredients ₱____, packaging ₱____, electricity ₱____ (freezers run all day), stall rent ₱____, staff ₱____, delivery ₱____

Risks and responses

Ice cream has risks most food businesses do not: it melts, and it sells less when it rains.

• Brownouts. Backup power or ice, and a written rule on when melted stock is discarded.
• Rainy season slowdown. Push pints and party tubs for birthdays and fiestas; cut batch sizes.
• Store freezers are full. Offer small freezer loans only after the store has sold [number] tubs.
• Product registration delays. Start selling scoops at the stall while FDA papers for pints are in process.

Ice cream business permits and fees

Questions people ask

Do I need an FDA license to sell ice cream?

If you make packed ice cream for distribution or sale through other stores, FDA requires a License to Operate and registration of each product. A stall selling scoops you make is handled through the local sanitary permit.

How much is the FDA License to Operate for a small maker?

FDA sets it. FDA Advisory 2025-0032 says applications filed from 12 January 2025 pay under AO 2024-0016, so ask FDA for the current amount.

Can I sell sorbetes from a roving cart?

The sanitation rules limit ambulant vendors to bottled drinks, biscuits, confectionery and pre-packed foods. Ask your city health office how it classifies scooped ice cream.