Acai, Soft Serve, Ice Cream & Frozen Yoghurt Machines

Commercial acai, frozen yoghurt and ice cream machines are the frozen-dessert workhorses Australian cafés, dessert bars and takeaways use to turn high-margin treats into reliable daily revenue. This collection brings together batch ice cream churns, gelato and ice cream display freezers, plus the soft serve, frozen yoghurt and acai gear operators search for most — so whether you're scooping gelato, swirling fro-yo or building acai bowls, you can compare the right machine for your venue in one place. If you're weighing up your options, start with our wider commercial ice cream machines range, or jump straight to the gelato & ice cream display freezers if presentation at the counter is your priority.

Who these machines are for

Frozen dessert is one of the easiest add-ons to a hospitality menu, and the format you choose shapes the kit you need. A café adding a small batch of house-made gelato has very different needs to a dedicated acai bar pushing dozens of bowls through a lunch rush, or a takeaway running back-to-back soft serve cones. Get the machine right and you protect both your margins and your service speed; get it wrong and you'll be apologising for melt and downtime. The guide below walks you through the sub-types so you can match the machine to how you actually trade.

What's in this collection

Acai & soft serve machines

Acai bowls and soft serve sit in the same family: both rely on a chilled, churned product served fresh to order. Acai is one of the fastest-growing dessert categories in Australia, and a dedicated acai or soft serve machine lets you serve a smooth, scoopable bowl or swirl consistently through peak trade. If you're building an acai program, the key questions are throughput (bowls per hour), how many flavours you want on tap, and whether you're serving over a counter or self-serve. For a primer on the numbers behind the category, see our guide on how a commercial acai machine boosts profit.

Frozen yoghurt machines

A commercial frozen yoghurt machine works much like a soft serve unit but is dialled in for tangier, lower-fat fro-yo — ideal for self-serve fro-yo bars, health-focused cafés and shopping-centre kiosks. Single, twin and triple-flavour configurations let you offer variety without a second machine. Output, hopper size and recovery time (how fast it re-chills between serves) are the specs that decide whether you keep up on a busy weekend.

Batch ice cream machines

Batch (or "vertical") machines churn a fixed quantity of premium gelato or ice cream at a time, giving you full control over texture and ingredients. They suit gelaterias, restaurants and cafés making small-batch, house-made product to scoop from a display. You trade the continuous output of soft serve for craft quality and recipe flexibility.

Gelato & ice cream display freezers

Once you've made your gelato, a display freezer sells it. Benchtop and floor-standing display units hold scooping-temperature product at the front of house, where it does the selling for you. Glass-fronted display freezers are essential for any venue scooping to order — they protect quality and turn your product into the centrepiece of the counter.

How to choose

Match output to your busiest hour

Size the machine to your peak, not your average. Estimate servings during your busiest hour, then choose a unit whose stated output (litres or serves per hour) comfortably clears it with headroom. Undersizing is the most common and most expensive mistake — a machine that can't keep up costs you sales and reputation when the queue builds.

Counter vs floor, self-serve vs served

Benchtop and counter-top machines suit cafés and kiosks short on floor space; floor-standing units deliver higher output for dedicated dessert venues. Decide too whether customers serve themselves (fro-yo bars love this for labour savings) or whether staff serve over a counter — it changes the machine layout, the number of flavour taps and where the unit sits.

Power, plumbing and recovery

Check the electrical supply (10A vs 15A vs three-phase), whether the model is air-cooled or water-cooled, and the recovery time between serves. These specs decide whether the machine handles back-to-back service or stalls when you need it most.

Not sure which format suits you? Our guide to the best soft serve machines in Australia compares gravity vs pump-fed systems, output ratings and running costs across the leading commercial models.

Venue fit

For a café or bakery dipping a toe into frozen dessert, a compact batch machine plus a benchtop display freezer covers house-made gelato without dominating the kitchen. A dedicated dessert bar or acai shop should prioritise throughput — higher-output soft serve, fro-yo or acai machines with multiple flavours. Takeaways and food trucks want compact, fast-recovery units that survive a rush in a tight footprint. And any venue scooping to order should pair production with a strong display so the product sells itself.

Popular models: two reliable starting points are the Musso L1 Mini batch ice cream machine — a compact vertical churn for café-scale, house-made gelato and ice cream — and the Bonvue benchtop gelato display, a glass-fronted countertop freezer that holds and shows off scooping-temperature product at the front of house.

Planning to add self-serve fro-yo to the mix? Our guide to choosing the right frozen yoghurt machine walks through sizing and flavour configuration, and you can round out the dessert counter with cake & dessert display fridges.

Frequently asked questions

What is a commercial acai machine?

A commercial acai machine is a chilled, motorised unit that churns acai (and similar frozen fruit blends) into a smooth, scoopable consistency for serving acai bowls to order. It works on the same principle as a soft serve machine, holding product at serving temperature so cafés and acai bars can push consistent bowls through peak trade.

How much does a commercial acai machine cost in Australia?

Pricing varies with output, flavour count and build. Entry-level benchtop units sit at the lower end, while high-throughput floor-standing multi-flavour machines cost more. Browse current pricing on each product page in this collection, or call our Australian-based team on 1300 111 901 for help matching a machine to your volume.

Can one machine make both frozen yoghurt and soft serve ice cream?

Yes — most commercial soft serve machines also run frozen yoghurt mix, so a single unit can switch between fro-yo and soft serve depending on the mix you load. If you plan to serve both regularly, choose a twin or triple-hopper model so you can offer multiple products at once without swapping mixes mid-service.

What's the difference between a batch ice cream machine and a soft serve machine?

A batch machine churns a fixed quantity of premium gelato or ice cream at a time for you to freeze and scoop from a display, giving full control over texture and recipe. A soft serve machine produces a continuous, softer product served straight from the tap. Batch suits craft, house-made gelato; soft serve suits high-volume, serve-to-order venues.

How do I size a commercial frozen yoghurt machine for my venue?

Estimate the number of servings you'll sell in your busiest hour, then choose a machine whose stated serves-per-hour comfortably exceeds that figure. Also factor in recovery time (how fast it re-chills between serves) and hopper size, which together decide whether the unit keeps pace on a busy weekend rather than just an average day.

Do I need a separate display freezer for gelato?

If you make batch gelato or ice cream, yes — a glass-fronted display freezer holds product at scooping temperature at the front of house and merchandises it to customers. Benchtop units suit tight counters; floor-standing models hold more flavours for dedicated gelaterias. Soft serve and acai served straight from the machine don't need a display.

Can these machines run on a standard power point?

Many benchtop ice cream, fro-yo and acai machines run on a standard 10A power point, but higher-output and floor-standing units often need 15A or three-phase supply. Always check the electrical requirements on the product page before you buy, and confirm your site's supply matches.

Do you deliver ice cream and acai machines Australia-wide?

Yes — Commercial Kitchen Store ships nationwide from our base in Granville, NSW. For lead times, freight to your area or help choosing the right machine, call our Australian-based support team on 1300 111 901.