A spoon holds one taste. A cup holds a decision. The difference sounds small and it changes what you are able to offer, because the moment a sample sits in its own container it can be carried, compared side by side, lidded, pre-made, or sold.
Start with the flight
Three ounce paper cups are the smallest size on the wall, sized for tasting samples and mini portions. Three or four of them on a tray is a flight, and a flight is a different product from a sample.
A sample is free and resolves an indecisive customer. A flight is something you can charge for, because the customer is buying the comparison rather than the ice cream. Shops that make their own product tend to find this obvious and shops that do not tend to overlook it, but either can run it.
Pre-portioning changes the queue
Both flat and dome lids exist at this size, and the flat one is the interesting one for sampling. A flat lid lets filled cups stack, which means you can portion samples before service instead of during it.
Made ahead and held in the freezer, a sample becomes something handed over in two seconds rather than scooped while eleven people wait. On a Saturday that is the difference between sampling being a service you offer and a service you quietly stop offering because there is no time. The profile choice works exactly as described in dome or flat lids.
The cup goes home with them
A sample cup can be printed, and this is the most underrated version of the idea. Custom printing runs down to the 3 oz size, which means even a free sample leaves the counter carrying your name.
Think about who receives a sample. It is disproportionately people who have not bought from you before, which makes it exactly the wrong item to hand over unbranded. The lead times are real and covered in how custom printed cups work, so this is a decision to make a month ahead rather than on the day.
Where else the small cup earns its place
Kids' portions, where a full scoop is more than a small child will finish and the waste is yours either way. Add-on tastes alongside a paid order, which cost you very little and make the order feel considered. And event service, where a tray of small portions circulates far better than a queue for full servings.
It runs in five solid colors, every colorway the same cup body at the same case price, so using a distinct color for samples is free and makes them instantly identifiable on a busy counter.
Ordering it
A thousand to a case, and the lowest case price in the range. For most shops this is not a size that needs careful forecasting, which is part of why it is worth having on the shelf even if you have not decided yet what you will do with it.
The rest of the ladder, and the reasoning behind which sizes to carry at all, sits in the ice cream cup range.