SOUTHWICK, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) -With hot summer weather usually comes a craving for a cold treat. But with supply chain issues and inflation’s impact including local ice cream shops, you definitely want to make sure you don’t forget your wallet.
Between the uptick in prices for supplies and the delays in shipping, the owner at MooLicious in Southwick said this has resulted in more planning and price raising. Meantime, some customers said they find themselves getting less ice cream this summer.
“We’re here we’ve been here a long time and we grew in Southwick, so hopefully we’re here to stay,” explained owner Joe Deedy.
MooLicious in Southwick has been serving ice cream and smiles for years. But, like other businesses, they are facing the financial challenges that come with inflation and supply chain struggles.
“You have to get it in early pray you get it in and then hoard it all because the supply chain is just so diluted you just don’t know when you’re gonna get stuff,” said Deedy.
Deedy told Western Mass News that to keep their doors open, they had to raise all their prices by 50 cents.
“Unfortunately, it’s a treat ice cream, as a treat, it’s a luxury, it’s not stable, you need every day. See if you’re careful on your numbers because you don’t want to scare people away, but in the same breath you just can’t lose thousands of dollars a month and expect someone to stay in business,” he said.
Deedy shared some of the price changes to supplies, which he told us vary from a 50 to 100 percent uptick.
An order of peanuts that was once $500 is now $1,200. A 25-pound case of sprinkles that was once $42 is now $120. An order of cherries has seen an uptick of $25.
Despite these challenges, Deedy said that portions have stayed the same.
“People like the size of a product and if you start going backward and never seems to work,” he explained.
However, customers told Western Mass News that price changes have changed their usual summer plans.
“Prior to the pandemic, I always got an ice cream two days a week once likely. Right now I have really gotten ice cream because of how bad the prices have gone up it’s not good,” Emily Ventulette of West Springfield explained.
The silver lining in all this? Deedy said he and the MooLicious team are geared up and ready to take on the Big E this year and Butternut for ski season.
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