It鈥檚 been a scorching summer across much of Canada, but that is cold comfort for ice cream truck operators like Meedo Falou, who says inflation and high fuel costs are melting away his profits.

On a sweltering Thursday morning, the owner of in Coquitlam, B.C., pores over a computer spreadsheet and talks to drivers about their routes.

Some flavours are in short supply, and Falou is focused on efficiency for his fleet of 10 trucks.

The problem is not just high gas prices, said Falou. 鈥淢aintenance went up. Truck parts went up. The mechanical parts went up,鈥� he said in an interview.

鈥淚ce cream went up over 60 per cent. We had to jack the price up by a dollar. We couldn鈥檛 do more because of the consumers. We just want them to be able to afford ice cream.鈥�

Steve Christensen, executive director of the North American Ice Cream Association, said vendors are facing a range of challenges.

鈥淕as prices are up,鈥� said Christensen, speaking from Missouri. 鈥淪o, a lot of everything 鈥� cones, cups, different things 鈥� anything that needs to be delivered by truck has gone up in price as well.鈥�

Ice cream prices usually go up three to five per cent a year, Christensen said.

But he said this year, prices are up 10 to 15 per cent, although that might not be across the entire menu.

Falou said he has tried to keep prices in check.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 make in this business a profit on just one piece,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou make a profit on volumes too. I want (people) to be able to afford to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck. I don鈥檛 want to give that bad image that the ice cream truck is so expensive, you know.鈥�

Falou is hoping to 鈥渕ake just a little bit鈥� without having to dip into his savings as he did during the past two years of the pandemic.

It鈥檚 been a tough year, said Falou, who shuts Rainbow Ice Cream from the end of September to April each year.

鈥淲e were hit by bad weather in the spring. It was the wettest weather in June. So that affects our sales big time. And definitely the profit is a lot less than the previous years.鈥�

It鈥檚 not just local weather. Global climate events affect the ice cream business too, Christensen said.

For example, Madagascar provides about 70 per cent of the world鈥檚 vanilla, and when there鈥檚 a storm there, or a short flowering season, it affects the global market.

鈥淲hich again, you know, affects ice cream,鈥� he said.

Christensen said old-school ice cream truck vendors are also having to deal with new challenges such as delivery apps and rivals in so-called 鈥済host kitchens鈥� who lack a storefront but sell ice cream online.

鈥淭he overhead (for a ghost kitchen) is very inexpensive. They鈥檙e using social media to promote their ice cream, they鈥檙e selling it online and people are coming to pick it up from the kitchen or from a location.鈥�

Falou started out driving an ice cream truck in the 1990s, which he called the 鈥済olden days鈥� of the business. He said he made a lot more money then.

To overcome the obstacles of apps, weather, gas prices and inflation, Falou said he鈥檚 hoping there will be a comeback in corporate events and other scheduled bookings, which were cut back during the pandemic but are now returning.

鈥淲e did suffer,鈥� he said, shaking his head. 鈥淲e rely a lot on corporate events, birthday parties, parades and weddings and all that. So this year, they鈥檙e starting to come back. Some of them, not all of them. So hopefully next year we鈥檒l get them all back.鈥�

But gone are the days when an ice cream truck could drum up business by simply driving around and playing a happy tune, said Christensen.

鈥淚ce cream truck owners need to seek out catering opportunities, food truck events, go to office blocks and hospitals and say, 鈥楬ey, we can put on a corporate event for you,鈥欌�� he said.

鈥淭hey need to hustle now a little more than probably they ever had before.鈥�

Christensen recalled his first exposure to the ice cream business, listening as a child for the traditional jingle of the truck in his home country of Australia.

鈥淎nd little Steve Christensen goes and gets some money from Mum鈥檚 dresser and goes out and buys the cone with a Flake in it,鈥� he said with a laugh.

鈥淚 would like to think that people still love those experiences. So, the process of supporting your local ice cream van, I think, is very important because it keeps those memories alive for kids these days.鈥�

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

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