RIMINI, Italy – If an Italian discovered America, now America is discovering an Italian. Italian-made artisan gelato is out to conquer palates in the USA and is catching up on ice cream in leaps and bounds.
Above all asserting its quality and freshness. The frozen dessert par excellence definitely isn’t an unknown commodity in States, but what English speakers call ice cream and counts Americans among its biggest consumers, has nothing to do with fresh artisan gelato.
And Americans are discovering this, much to their enjoyment
On the world gelato market – which can count on over 100,000 gelato parlours round the globe, with a current turnover of 15 billion euros, and an average annual growth of 4% between 2015 and 2018 – the United States is the “hottest” country. The market is constantly growing, with enormous potential which the most organized companies have been cultivating for some time and with the promotional initiatives (in particular Gelato World Tour and Gelato Festival) are increasing consumers’ interest. There are already 1,000 artisan gelato parlours in the USA, a figure that has very wide margins for improvement. From the 410 million dollars in sales in 2009, an increase to over 430 million is estimated in 2017, reaching 473 million dollars in 2020.
Sigep Observatory: The East Coast, Florida and Miami are the top areas for Italian-Made Artisan Gelato
The SIGEP Observatory, which monitors world trends in the Italian artisan confectionery business, reports that among those intending to open an artisan gelato parlour abroad the most attractive destination is precisely the United States. In particular the East Coast. On the Atlantic coast, from north to south, Florida is the most popular American state and, of all the cities, Miami is the one where the greatest interest in the market is reported.
The Top Flavours are Choco-Mint, Tropical Fruits and Sweet-Savoury Combination
If vanilla and chocolate were the most popular flavour in the States up until recently, now they are choco-mint and tropical fruits (in particular mango), which have won over even the most hard-to-please American palates. The sweet-savoury combination, such as salted caramel, is meeting with good success, a trend that from the gelato sector is also influencing the candy sector.
Philadelphia: The Boom of Italian-Made Artisan Gelato
Both the proposal of savoury gelato (symbolic dishes include carbonara with bacon gelato), and counter sales of traditional gelato are both working very well. American palates appreciate the tastiness of quality gelato, they are aware of the difference in flavour compared with and ice cream. In Philadelphia the fact that 30% of the population is of Italian origin also contributes to this, so there was therefore an excellent starting point.
Going Global: At Sigep a focus on the Usa Market
With this premise, there is very eager expectation for appointment with “Going Global” (on Saturday 20th January 2018, in Neri Room 2), the conference promoted by Sistema SIGEP, which for over a decade has been an absolute reference point for trade members intending to open an Italian artisan gelato parlour abroad, with a focus this year on the United States.
The event has the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Speeches are foreseen by important key players, such as Nora Serrani, Deputy Executive Director of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Southeast, and consultancy companies specialized in assistance for setting up business in the United States. Valuable indications will come from Colliers International, the company specialized in commercial real estate research worldwide. The meeting’s agenda will be further enriched by a company report by a business woman who has opened a new gelato parlour at Disney Springs in Orlando.
“Florida is without doubt the spearhead for expansion on the USA market of Italian artisan gelato parlours”, anticipates Nora Serrani, Deputy Executive Director of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Southeast.
“In fact, several successful business experiences started off from here and then spread to the rest of the United States, by means of the development of a franchising network. We are still as the initial stage of this, which began no more than 5-6 years ago. We’ll focus our speech at SIGEP on these best practices. There is great potential for entrepreneurs wanting to undertake the route traced by these trail-blazers.
The USA is the country with the world’s largest consumption of ice-cream with a sales volume of over 14.3 billion dollars in 2015, and in this context there is a considerable margin for growth for Italian artisan gelato, which still represents a minimum slice of this market, approximately 5% according to the data published by Forbes.”
Antonio Verga Falzacappa, Administrator of Sistema Gelato, promoter along with SIGEP of the “Going Global” conference, says, “In recent years, the US market has undergone a great acceleration in the gelato sector – Italian gelato is increasingly popular in America, not only because it is a well-made artisan product, but also thanks to its undisputable evocative strength: eating gelato is increasingly an experience that goes well beyond the actual consumption and recalls the emotions of trips to Italy. So gelato is one of the most powerful tools for promoting Italy. It is no coincidence that venues’ design and décor count on recalling this unique experience.”
Usa Key Player At Sigep 2018 in the Gelato World Cup
Among the international SIGEP 2018 events, Italian Exhibition Group proposes the eagerly awaited appointment with the Gelato World Cup. The selections have been completed in the various countries and the USA, led by team manager Randy Torres, will have its representatives to compete at top world level with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Korea, France, Japan, Morocco, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine. Italy, currently world champion, is not taking part, having been excluded according to the contest’s rules, due to having won the previous edition.
Also worthy of note at SIGEP is The Pastry Queen, Ladies World Pastry Championship (22nd and 23rd January) with 12 countries competing. The US representative will be Laura Lachowecki.
Gelato World Tour and Gelato Festival Ambassadors of Artisan Gelato in the Usa
Two extraordinary events are playing the role of ambassadors of Italian artisan gelato in the world, with particular attention being paid to the USA, where the Gelato World Tour revolutionized Americans’ knowledge of gelato in Austin (2014) and Chicago (2016), whereas in recent months the event was held in Los Angeles and New York. GWT was organized by the Carpigiani Gelato University and SIGEP – Italian Exhibition Group.
Gelato has another great ambassador in the world in the Gelato Festival, which has the aim of highlighting things well-made in Italy. The artisan gelato tour, also promoted by SIGEP – Italian Exhibition Group, Carpigiani, Pregel and ISA, was the key player in three stages in Colorado, California and Arizona. On 22nd January SIGEP will host the presentation of the program of the next world stages of the Gelato Festival.
In 2017, no less than 42 appointments were organized throughout the world to promote Italian artisan gelato. At SIGEP over 160,000 buyers are awaited, 33,000 of whom will be from 180 countries outside Italy.
Focus on Sigep 2018
Dates: 20 – 24 January 2018; Organizers: Italian Exhibition Group SpA; edition: 39th SIGEP; frequency: annual; classification: international; admittance: trade members only; hours: 9:30 am – 6:00 pm, last day 9:30 am – 3:00 pm (3:00 – 5:00 pm only with online tickets);
