The new service delivers real-time updates regarding the ice cream being served in-store to the company's Web site, Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail.
Izzy’s Ice Cream today announced the launch of a service that will notify customers when their favorite ice cream flavors are available in its parlor in St. Paul.
Using the new service called Izzy’s Flavor Up!, customers can know which flavors are available or get updates about when flavors are being added or removed from the dipping cabinet. The updates—which are refreshed every three minutes—are available on the company's Web site, Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail subscriptions.
The ice cream parlor uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to track its flavors. RFID is a technology for tracking items via tags that are similar to bar codes. Every flavor of Izzy’s Ice Cream is tagged with a unique code that is automatically scanned when placed in, or removed from, the dipping cabinet. This triggers an inventory update, which in turn publishes the current flavors to multiple channels.
The store also has a big-screen television on its wall that displays the flavor statuses, which appear as colored dots representing available flavors. When a flavor runs out, the corresponding dot fades away.
Izzy’s partnered with companies including Rogers-based RFID company AbeTech, Bloomington-based computer hardware provider Phoenix Technology Solutions, and Web developer Nerdery Interactive Labs, which is also based in Bloomington, for technology assistance.
“Before today, our customers had no way of knowing if their favorite flavors were going to be available when they walked through the door,” Jeff Sommers, owner of Izzy’s, said in a statement. “This system solves that problem and makes it easier for our customers to enjoy their favorite flavors.”
Izzy’s is among the first to utilize the RFID technology in a retail setting, according to the company.
Izzy’s Ice Cream Café is located on Marshall Avenue in St. Paul. The parlor, which opened in summer of 2000, serves more than 90 flavors of handmade ice cream.
—Nataleeya Baruwa
(edit@tcbmag.com)