AFTER CLOSING 2021 WITH AN INTERESTING RECOVERY, WHICH BROUGHT TURNOVER IN EUROPE BACK TO €8.7 BILLION (+25%), THE ARTISANAL ICE CREAM SUPPLY CHAIN LOOKS FORWARD TO THE NEW YEAR WITH OPTIMISM AND PREPARES TO OFFICIALLY KICK OFF A NEW SEASON OF CONES AND CUPS ON THE OCCASION OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF GELATO DAY ON MARCH 24TH.
Among the gastronomic products with the most flavors in the world, of which it is estimated that each Italian consumes about 2.8 kilos per year, the Ice cream It is the epitome of the craftsmanship and creativity of artisans and is enjoyed far and wide all over the planet by people of all ages. Not only that: it also represents Excellence in terms of quality and food safety, and, not surprisingly, it is the only food to which the European Parliament has ever dedicated a Day – the European Day of Artisanal Gelato, that the next 24 March will celebrate the Tenth Anniversary: an opportunity to pay homage to a supply chain capable of supporting a €8.7 billion in turnoverbeyond 65,000 points of sale and 300,000 employees only in Europe.
THE NUMBERS OF ICE CREAM IN ITALY AND EUROPE. Despite the setback caused by the outbreak of the pandemic (-35% of turnover in 2020), the supply chain has already recorded in 2021 +25%, almost completely recovering the ground previously lost, as revealed by the estimates of the Sigep Observatory: the positive trend mainly affected the summer of 2021, with the Driven consumption mainly from domestic tourism of the most important countries, such as Italy, Germany, Spain, and peaks due to the high temperatures that have supported consumption in Central and Southern Italy. And in 2022, a Further recovery of tourist flows that fuels the optimism of European artisanal ice cream artisans, real trait d'union of the Old Continent, capable of combining tradition with innovation, creativity with technique, quality ingredients with the latest generation equipment.
In fact, artisanal ice cream has a very wide geography in which theEurope it is Absolute protagonist. If ice cream parlors are present in 76 countries around the world, the Old Continent is in the front row both in terms of the presence of ice cream parlors (about 65 thousand) and in terms of artisanal consumption – first and foremost in Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland, but it is also important to have a presence in other countries, from Austria to France, from Belgium to Holland. Italy, in particular, is distinguished by turnover.€2.8 billion in 2019, €1.85 billion in 2020 and €2.3 billion in 2021) and the number of artisanal ice cream outlets (39 thousand ice cream parlors, pastry shops and ice cream bars), with the highest concentration of ice cream parlours in Lombardy (11.2%), followed by Tuscany (9.3%) and Sicily and Emilia-Romagna (8.4%). Italy's leadership in the world also concerns the Ingredients and semi-finished products for ice cream, in which, according to the Sigep Observatory, there are 65 companies that generate a total turnover of €1.8 billion, of which 800 million are semi-finished products for ice cream. Not to mention the significant impact on the Agri-food products supply chain:approximately 220,000 tons of milk, 64,000 tons of sugars and 50,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit and other raw materials, often involving Small Italian Agricultural Excellences, such as the Bronte pistachio (every year about 1,500 tons are purchased, almost half of Bronte's total production, to make pistachio ice cream) or the Piedmontese hazelnut (the ingredient companies buy, process and resell about 1,800 tons of shelled Piedmontese hazelnuts per year), the Sicilian almond or the Sorrento lemons.
DELIVEROO. The habit of buying food online is now well established, the Artisanal Gelato sees growing numbers even when it comes to delivery. Already in 2020, the European food delivery market reached a total of $13.8 billion. And that's right Deliveroo, one of the top five most installed food delivery apps across Europe, has confirmed, for the second year in a row, its support for the European Day of Artisanal Gelato with legelaterie partners active in its circuit and a promotional and information campaign dedicated to this beloved product. In Italy, according to data shared by Deliveroo, Top Cities for Ice Cream Orders are Ferrara, Parma, Gorizia, followed by Domodossola, Terni, Carpi, Modena, Sanremo, Pisa and Pavia. But What flavors do Italians order? In the last quarter of 2021, Salted caramel is a positive trend (+112%), fior di latte (+95%), Grandma's Crisp (+85%), and again: tiramisu, licorice, biscuit, Grand Cru stracciatella, and finally Nutella, white chocolate and Bacio.
COUNTDOWN TO THE 10TH EUROPEAN DAY OF ARTISANAL GELATO. Looking forward to celebrating thetenth edition of Gelato Day on 24 March, which will officially kick off the 2022 season, artisanal ice cream and its professionals will be among the protagonists of the43rd edition of SIGEP, the International Exhibition of Artisan Gelato, Pastry, Bakery and Coffee of Italian Exhibition Group scheduledfrom 12 to 16 March at the Rimini Fair. On this occasion, Artglace will turn the spotlight on the tenth edition of Gelato Day and will awardSilvia Chirico, the owner of Tenuta Chirico in Ascea (Salerno) who signed the official recipe for"Dolce Sinfonia", the Taste of the Year 2022, as well as Taila Semeraro of the Ciccio ice cream parlor in Piazza di Ostuni (BR), Luca Coccè of the Peccati di Gola ice cream parlor in Gallarate (VA) and Andrea Lunardon of the Temptations ice cream parlor in Soave (VR), or theThree gelato makers winners of the 2021 video competition, with which last year ice cream artisans from all over Europe were invited to make short videos opening the doors of their laboratories and revealing the secrets of the preparation of the Flavor of the Year 2021, the Mantecado.
A video contest that was a great success, so much so that Artglace has decided to propose it again for 2022, calling on European ice cream makers to juggle with creativity and mastery chocolate, hazelnuts, fresh ricotta and figs in rum syrup – The ingredients of the official recipe of"Sweet Symphony" – creating a short 90-second video in which to show the preparation of the Taste that will be the absolute protagonist of the tenth anniversary of Gelato Day (complete rules available on the websitewww.gelato-day.com).
All ice cream parlors in Italy and Europe are invited to participate in the competition to establish the recipe for the Taste of the Year 2022 "Dolce Sinfonia" and to join the 2022 edition of Gelato Day by registering on the websitewww.gelato-day.com and reporting all the initiatives scheduled for March 24, 2022.
All updates on the tenth edition of Gelato Day are available on thesitewww.gelato-day.com and on theGelato Day's official pages on Facebook (@24MarzoEuropeanGelatoDay),Instagram(@Gelato_Day) andYouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/GelatoDay).