RIMINI, Italy – Every operator has eyes on Sigep. After two years of waiting, the Italian Exhibition Group event dedicated to out-of-home dolce foodservice supply chains is about to open its doors at Rimini Expo Centre from 12th to 16th March, inaugurating a new season of business, particularly for artisan gelato. Machinery, ingredients, techniques and master gelato makers will all be playing leading roles at Sigep 2022, universally recognised as a reference point for the entire community.
Entrepreneurs and master gelato makers express their great expectations for the Rimini event.
«Sigep,» explains Federico Tassi, CEO of Carpigiani Group, «has always been the industry´s meeting point where the most important projects start, the most interesting innovations are presented and the greatest exchange takes place between the sector´s artisans and companies. Our participation is therefore unwavering and enthusiastic. We believe in the sector, in what Sigep represents and in what its protagonists can generate by working together, even in complex times like those we are currently experiencing. This is why we wanted to present some new models dedicated to the pastry and soft gelato sector, together with a wide overview of solutions designed for the catering industry. There will also be a strong focus on on-board connectivity and energy savings, the latter being a topic of great interest to gelato makers.»
«We are really looking forward to Sigep, a veritable showcase and launching pad for the gelato supply chain,» says Gianni Babbi, marketing director for Babbi. «It´s an event that means a great deal to us, so much so that we are waiting until March to present the market with some brand-new products to celebrate our first 70 years of business. Our stand will be an authentic meeting place in which the public will find ideas, recipes, innovations and an enormous tribute to our roots.» A square, just like in a small village, named after the founder Attilio: Babbi will therefore be celebrating the company´s 70th anniversary at Sigep with a series of ´shops´ dedicated, among other things, to the noble raw material of pistachios, to the iconic ´Waferino Romagna´, which will become a gelato flavour and a pastry ingredient, interspersed with totems from which to download ´Ideari´ with recipes available to everyone.
«For over 40 years,» says Claudio Pica, secretary general of the Italian Gelato Makers´ Association, «Sigep has been the world´s showcase for gelato makers. The March 2022 edition will be a not-to-be-missed appointment to meet up again after two years to physically see new products and discover the latest trends for the world´s best-loved cold dessert. We at the Italian Gelato Makers´ Association can´t wait to be there. We will be bringing numerous initiatives, including the competition ´Best Gelato Maker of the Year´.»
«There is no other trade show in the world,» Giancarlo Timballo, President of the Gelato World Cup confirms, «as big and important for the gelato sector as Sigep. A gelato maker is a craftsman who needs continuous training and Sigep offers an opportunity for growth and sharing by exchanging ideas with other colleagues, generating new professional relationships with other gelato makers or pastry chefs, discovering new proposals from companies or the inspiration for creating something new, not only in terms of nutrition but also playful and decorative. Compared to cooks or pastry chefs, we gelato makers do not have specific professional schools. This is another reason why Sigep is an important opportunity for professional growth.»
Sigep 2022 therefore acts as a real «school for gelato makers» in a panorama that is making artisan gelato evolve towards new and increasingly «inclusive» market sensitivities. New products, technological solutions for environmental and energy sustainability in machinery will all be on show, together with a programme of competitions, practical demonstrations and events regarding the economic and business scenarios that are now essential for competing on the markets.