Soft serve ice cream machine rental, minus the machine headaches.
Real whole-milk soft serve, made fresh on site. We run the machine. You keep the party.
Lands in your inbox in under 2 minutes
The reality of renting a soft serve machine.
You came to rent a soft serve machine.
Here’s the behind-the-scenes truth:
Renters are wary of letting their delicate slushy, margarita, and soft serve machines ride off in somebody else’s vehicle.
The alternative is delivery.
But by the time someone delivers a heavy machine (and we mean heavy), sets it up, remains on stand by, then hauls it back for sanitation and cleaning, they have basically catered your event.
So we skip the rental and cater it for you.
With real whole-milk soft serve made fresh on site. Vanilla or chocolate, your pick. You get the swirl, we run the machine.
Frozen machine speeds.
The machine can pour for 1 guest every 2-3 minutes, don’t expect to send the whole party to the dessert line in one go. The machine is best as an option throughout the event.
Real whole-milk soft serve, not powder and water.
There’s a secret hiding behind a lot of our favorite nostalgic pastime treats: industrial seed oils, artificial flavors, petroleum-derived preservatives, and too much sugar. (We know, we make cotton candy…) That’s why we started The Jolly Sheep! Take all the naughty treats we know and love and give them a quality ingredient makeover — for less of the guilty and more of the pleasure. Most soft serve starts as a shelf-stable powder mixed with water. We start with a refrigerator.
Their soft serve…
Ingredients:
Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids, Coconut Oil, Sodium Caseinate (a milk derivative), Salt, Guar Gum, Potassium and Sodium Phosphate, Mono and Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Xanthan Gum, Artificial Flavor, Artificial Color (Yellow 5 and 6).
“Just add water!” 😲
Our soft serve!
Whole milk & cream
For dairy you can taste
Real vanilla & chocolate
“Wow you can see the flecks of vanilla!”
No artificial dyes
The color is the cream
Made for each event
Made fresh to order for your event and refrigerated.
Included with every booking
DEDICATED ATTENDANT
Our trained and caring in-house staff takes care of your soft serve machine rental with load-in, service, and load-out.
Load-in and load-out included in base quotes. 1-2 hour arrival before service start; departure at service end.
CUSTOM LOOKS
Choose your umbrella (white, black stripe, or blue stripe) and countertop accent. The cart matches your event aesthetic.
See more about customizing your cart + bars and other catering platforms →
FLAVORS & SERVICE
• Choose 1 flavor: vanilla or chocolate
• Minimum 2-hour service window, up to 50 guests per hour.
• Custom label cups included
• Ask us about available toppings
TRAVEL & BOOKING
No travel fee within 30 miles of Norwalk, CA.
Taxes are built into the quote. No surprise line items.
Fully refundable 50% deposit on events secures your booking on our calendar.
Get a booking estimate in under 2 minutes! We’ll follow up within 24 hours for exact pricing for your event.
See our 12 other specialty catering services for an all-in-one event booking!
Site Requirements
POWER
A single soft serve machine requires a full 15A/20A circuit — machines draw up to 1000W of power.
Any additional items added to the same circuit, such as high-powered DJ equipment, extensive lighting, bouncers, or additional catering machines will trip the breaker. We’d hate to see all the lights go off when the soft serve machine starts up!
We provide extensions to set up as far as 100 feet away from the nearest outlet.
Don’t forget to ask us about generator rentals!
SPACE, CLEARANCE, LOAD IN/OUT
See the image to the right for reference.
Setup area: With umbrella we recommend at least an 8 x 8 ft. area, with at least 5 ft. distance from any rear walls.
Height: The umbrella requires 10 ft. of vertical clearance.
Width: Measure your spaces to ensure we can reach your intended service area. Our carts vary in size and need from 30 to 36” width to pass.
Stairs/Hard to reach areas: We may need to charge a service fee for additional labor if the cart needs to be carried up long flights of stairs. Best discussed during the booking process.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No, and that saves you the hard part. The machine is easy. The warm-up, texture, sanitizing, and haul-away are the work. We cater it fully so you get perfect soft serve with zero labor on your side.
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Vanilla and chocolate, both on a real whole-milk base made fresh. One machine runs one flavor per event, so you pick the flavor when you book. More flavors are coming as we grow this service.
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The machine pours about one guest every two to three minutes, with another four ready to serve back to back every ten minutes, then a short recovery for the next round. So plan on soft serve as a treat people drift back to throughout your event, not a way to send the whole party to the dessert line in one go. Tell us your headcount, timing, and venue and we will plan the pacing, or add a service window.
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Not right now. Our soft serve is a real whole-milk and cream base. A dairy-free option is something we are working on for the future.
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A dedicated 15A/20A circuit, roughly 1,000W, running continuously through service. Any additional items added to the same circuit, such as high-powered DJ equipment, extensive lighting, bouncers, or additional catering machines will trip the breaker. We have 100 ft power cords that can reach other circuits on site. No power at the venue? Ask about generator rentals.
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Not at the same event yet. We run a single machine, so it serves one flavor per booking, vanilla or chocolate, and you pick when you reserve. Switching flavors mid-event means emptying, cleaning, and re-freezing the machine, which takes too long to do during service. As this service grows we plan to add a second machine for two flavors at once.
More questions? See our full catering FAQ →
Ready to book?
Or reach us directly:
hello@thejollysheep.com · 213-204-3189
Trusted by Brands and SoCal Families
"I have worked with The Jolly Sheep several times now and each time they have been truly wonderful to work with!! They have the sweetest team and have the cutest setup! You will 100% love your experience with them!"
— Christina C. · Lifestyle Manager
"I manage tenant events for a high-rise office building, and I've had the pleasure of working with The Jolly Sheep on multiple activations, including hot cocoa, shaved ice, and churros…"
— Jessica W · Tenant Events Manager
"We've partnered with them for cotton candy, popcorn, and shaved ice — reliable, punctual, and they deliver exactly what they promise. 10/10."
— Tierney F · Experiential Marketing, FIGS
ADD CUSTOMIZED COTTON CANDY & POPCORN FAVORS
Share take-home cotton candy or popcorn favors with your guests or order a bundle of favors if you’re skipping the catering. Ask us about bundled catering pricing.