What to Expect at the Museum of Ice Cream’s Miami Location
The Museum of Ice Cream is gearing up for its latest expansion.
The experiential retail concept founded by global lifestyle company Figure8 in 2016 is opening its next permanent location in Miami, located at the city’s Miami Worldcenter. The location is opening in early 2024.
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The permanent location comes after the Museum of Ice Cream hosted a pop-up in Miami in 2017. According to the museum’s cofounder and chief executive officer, Maryellis Bunn, the company has been working on opening a permanent Miami store since the pop-up closed.
“When we started this company almost eight years ago, there was nothing in this industry and now we’re seeing experiential really take the forefront across the globe,” she said. “It’s been amazing to not only be one of the founders carving what [experiential retail] looks like, but what we’re seeing in the post-pandemic environment is such a desire and a demand from a consumer, particularly as we get back to a normalized world again, to not only go out and experience the world again, but really be able to connect back with individuals and all of our various concepts and locations help to facilitate that desire.”
The permanent Miami location will be 14,000 square feet and span two floors. This is the first time the company has utilized artificial intelligence for its immersive experiences, such as for the museum’s “Cream Liner,” which is a ‘70s-inspired airplane that offers an audio-visual experience.
Other immersive experiences include a retro-inspired diner, a room of “mysterious refrigerator doors” and a sensory tasting room developed with fragrance company International Flavors & Fragrances, which helped create ice cream flavors inspired by Miami. The museum is also offering its popular sprinkle pool.
“We have so many incredible superfans, so as we get closer and closer to our opening date next year, we’re really bringing them into the fold and allowing them to be not just visitors, but active members within our walls,” Bunn said about leveraging the experience of the Miami pop-up for the permanent location. “And then taking a lot of the feedback and data that we received from our team there and really using that to inform decisions as we build something.”
Experiential retail has been growing in popularity in the post-pandemic retail climate, especially retailers looking to artificial intelligence to enhance customers’ in-store experiences. According to a study by Klarna released last month, 81 percent of Gen Z and Millennial surveyors expect to see augmented reality or artificial intelligence to enhance their in-store experience, while 65 percent stated personalized experiences are vital to their purchase intent.
After operating pop-ups across the country when it launched, the Museum of Ice Cream has transitioned to opening permanent locations over the last few years, including locations in New York, Austin, Chicago and Singapore.
Bunn stated the company will be announcing other permanent locations, both domestically and globally, in the next few months as well as a new retail concept with Figure8.
“[The goal is] really being able to create a respite and a place in which individuals’ imagination and ability come together with the people they come with as well as strangers to create memories,” Bunn said on her goals for the Miami location. “If we can have everyone who walks through the door be a little bit more curious and a little bit curious with someone else they perhaps don’t know, we would measure that to be a very successful new unit.”
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