Italian ice cream is a $1.6bn a year industry — now with added ginger
Italy makes 585-million litres of gelato a year and has long been considered the best ice cream in the world, as any Italian will tell you
Rome — Italy’s economy may be struggling as EU rivals recover, but there’s one area where the country is an unrivaled leader: ice cream, as demand from sweet-toothed gelato lovers has made the country Europe’s top producer. Italian ice cream makers whipped up 595-million litres of gelato last year, or 19% of total EU production, according to official statistics. This works out to about 6.8-billion scoops of ice cream. Germany ranked second with 515-million litres. Over 19,000 gelaterias, or ice cream parlours, dot the country, and more are being added every year. The number of shops in the northern city of Milan grew 4.5% in 2016. Though gelaterias are mostly small and family-run, they account for total business of ¤1.4bn ($1.6bn) a year, according to an August report by business association Confcommercio. Almost 69,000 people are employed in the ice cream parlour business across Italy. "We can sell up to 300kg a day on the busiest summer days," said Alberto Manassei, founder of the...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.