Ice cream shop menu board: 7 ideas from a shop that runs them.

1. List flavors in A to Z order

People who already know what they want scan for the first letter. Put flavors in A to Z order and a regular finds theirs in a second, even with a line behind them. Do not sort by top sellers or by dairy type. Those lists shift every month, and your regulars get lost.

Here is our Customer Favorites board for shave ice combos. Ten combos, one per line, A to Z, from Big Stick to Tropical Rainbow. The line under the title says “Order any combo by name,” so a customer can just say it. When a combo needs a recipe line, we use a second rule: syrups A to Z, then the ice cream filling, then toppings last. Our rule of thumb is ten lines on a board. More than that and the letters get too small to read from the counter.

2. Show scoop sizes and prices once

Put sizes and prices in one clear grid, not next to every flavor. Our scoop board has two rows and three columns: Keiki Scoop (2.5 oz) and Adult Scoop (4 oz), across 1, 2 or 3 scoops. That is six prices for every flavor we sell. Super-premium ice cream, non-dairy and sorbet share the grid because they cost the same in our shop.

At 1080p, our row labels are 42 pixels tall, column headings 38 pixels, and prices 66 pixels. Nothing on the board is smaller than 26 pixels. The price is the biggest type on purpose, because after the flavor, the price is what people look for next.

3. Group combos and add-ons into blocks

Give each kind of item its own block with its own heading. Our treats board has three: Sundaes (the same 2 by 3 grid, six prices), Hand-Crafted Milkshakes (Small 12 oz, Medium 16 oz, Large 20 oz) and Hand-Packed To Go (Pint and Quart). That is 11 prices in three blocks, and none of them mix.

Add-ons are blocks too. On the scoop board, “Add a Cone” holds three items and “Add Toppings” holds three more, in smaller panels next to the main grid. Our rule of thumb is three blocks per screen. If you have a fourth, give it its own screen on the loop.

4. Use real scoop and sundae video

A real photo or a short video of your own product pulls the eye faster than any graphic. Our treats board puts the prices on the left and a hot fudge sundae on the right, with the line “Small batch. Big aloha.” under it. The picture is the only part that moves. The numbers hold still, so the eye has a calm place to land.

Film what you really scoop, in daylight near your counter, with the phone held steady. Skip stock photos. A customer can tell it is not your product, and it costs you trust. Our boards play in full HD, smoothly, even on TVs that have Fire TV built in.

5. Make a seasonal board

A seasonal board is a fresh picture, not a new sign. Our holiday board has one headline, two real photos, one price line and a way to order. The headline reads “Holiday Calendars Are Here.” The price line reads “8, 12 or 24 flavors · from $35.”

Keep the layout from your regular boards so regulars still know where to look. Change the photos, the headline and one line of price. Put the swap date in your calendar a week early, so the board changes on the day the season does, not three days later.

6. Feature one flavor of the week

Give one flavor a big spot and a real photo. Our Big Stick card takes about two thirds of the screen width, with a “Customer Favorite” tag, the name in the biggest type, and its two syrups under it. In the list on the right, the same item sits in an orange bar so the eye connects the two.

Here is the weekly routine. Pick the flavor on the same day each week. Take one clean photo. Write one line, the name and nothing else. Swap it in and leave the rest of the board alone. It takes a few minutes, and a repeat customer sees something new every week.

7. Keep words short

Our rule of thumb is a board a person can read in 3 to 5 seconds. Count the words on yours. If you cannot say the point in one breath, cut.

Our holiday board is a good test. The headline is four words. The ordering line is three words: “Order yours today!” Then a QR code that opens the order page. A customer in line scans it with a phone and never has to read a paragraph.

All 5 of our TVs run Wow Menu Boards every day. Three have Fire TV built in. Two use Fire TV Sticks. Nobody on our team touches a remote, and updates arrive on their own.

Sweet Aloha opened in August 2021 and combines artisan ice cream with Hawaiian shave ice. It made Yelp's Top 100 US Ice Cream list in 2023 (#19) and Yelp's Top 25 in Florida in 2022 (#2). Read the Yelp list. This is one shop, our own.