The countdown to the twelfth edition of the European Day of Artisanal Gelato, that the 24 March Every year it celebrates one of the most popular products of all time, capable of driving a fast-growing turnover and supporting Italian supply chains of excellence even in the Old Continent. At Sigep the presentation of the next edition, the competition “Signature Ice Cream” and the awarding of the most creative gelato makers in Europe.
The 45th edition of SIGEP-The Dolce World Expo, the International Exhibition of Artisan Gelato, Pastry, Bakery and Coffee of Italian Exhibition Group, scheduled from 20 to 24 January at the Rimini exhibition centre, will be an opportunity to kick off the countdown to the twelfth edition of the European Day of Artisanal Gelato, which is celebrated throughout the Old Continent (and beyond) on 24 March annually. Established by the European Parliament in 2012, the Gelato Day It is an important opportunity to celebrate and enhance artisanal ice cream, a product loved all over the world and which represents an important economic supply chain, confirming that the love for artisanal ice cream knows no crisis.
EUROPEAN SCENARIO. The Ice cream It is a product that is widespread all over the world, but in Europe it is the absolute protagonist. The Old Continent is a leader in both Number of ice cream parlors – as many as 65 thousand, which take approximately 300 thousand employees – both for Consumption, with Italy (39,000 points of sale, of which over 9,300 ice cream parlours, 12,000 pastry shops and about 18,000 bars offering artisanal ice cream), Germany (9,000 points of sale including 3,300 pure ice cream parlours), Spain (2,200), Poland (2,000), Belgium (1,200), but the presence in other countries, such as England, Austria, Greece and France, is also important. And if last year the number of ice cream parlors and sales volumes recorded a slight increase (for both +1% compared to 2022), 2023 will however be remembered for theHistoric surge in turnover (as much as +11%) who for the first time, has exceeded the €10 billion mark, with last year's turnover reaching Record €10.9 billion, up sharply from $9.83 billion in 2022 and $8.7 billion in 2021. The growth in turnover is mainly linked to the increase in prices (+10% in Europe) due to increases in the costs of agricultural raw materials such as milk, sugar, eggs, cocoa and fruit in general, while the growth in the number of ice cream parlours, tourist flows and the length of the season had a marginal positive impact.
THE CONTEXT IN ITALY1. Italy is also recording the same positive trend: the turnover of 2023 sees a 11% increase, close to €3 billion including ice cream parlours, pastry shops and bars with ice cream (they were €2.7 billion in 2022, €2.3 billion in 2021 and €1.85 billion in 2020). Despite the contraction in the purchasing power of Italians, the Per capita expenditure for artisanal ice cream it has risen to about 43 euros, to which is added the expense of the Foreign Tourism (about 2.5 euros per person), which is also growing in our country: +4% in the summer season, +13% during the year, with a particular increase in presences starting from August. A positive sign also for volumes which, despite inflation and unfavourable weather conditions, have remained stable (+1% compared to 2022), boding well for the future of the entire chain, which as a whole (ice cream parlours, ingredients, machines, equipment, display cases) more than €4 billion and employs more than 100,000 people.
GELATO DAY AT SIGEP. Precisely to support and enhance artisanal gelato and its entire important supply chain, Gelato Day will land at SIGEP, one of the most important moments of meeting between operators in the sector. Let's get started Saturday 20 January, at 4:30 pm, at the Gelato Lab (pav. A7), where themeeting "Gelato Day and Gelato in Spring 2024", curated by Artglace and Italian Association of Gelato Makers. To present the renewed twinning between these two events that want to celebrate and promote the excellence of artisanal ice cream will be spoken: the Hon. Mirco Carloni, President of the XIII Agriculture Commission of the Chamber of Deputies; Domenico Belmonte, President of Artglace; Claudio Pica, Secretary General A.I.G.; Marco Cavedagni, Chairman of Acomag; Carlotta Fabbri, Chairman of the UIF Ice Cream Products Group; Ferdinando Buonocore, Chairman of the Campania Gelato Makers Committee; Vincenzo Pennestrì, President of the Italian Association of Gelato Makers; Valentina Sorgente, Exhibition Manager of Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group.
The absolute protagonist will then be the "Gaufre de Liège"the Flavour of the Year 2024 Chosen by Belgium, in the new competition “Signature Ice Cream” promoted by Artglace, G.A. (National Committee for the Defense and Diffusion of Artisanal and Own Produced Gelato) and A.I.G. (Italian Association of Gelato Makers): Monday 22 January, from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., at the Artglace stand (n. 186, Pav. A7), European gelato makers will compete creatively by interpreting the official recipe of the Taste of the Year 2024 (participation in the competition is free, the complete rules are available on the Gelato Day website). The winners will be announced Tuesday 23 January, from 2.00 p.m., at the Gelato Lab (pav. A7), where the Awards ceremony of the third edition of the video contest which put master ice cream makers from all over Europe to the test as they grappled with the "Apfelstrudel" Flavour of the Year 2023. Announced last November during the MIG – International Gelato Exhibition in Longarone, they win a place on the podium: on the first step, the artisanal and natural ice cream parlor "Burrocacao" of Imola of the twins Elisa and Giulia Manara, on the second step ex-aequo the Gelateria Perlecò of Alassio, Tenuta Chirico of Ascea (Salerno) and the Gelateria Mil Sabores of Pontenure (Piacenza), while L'Arte del Gelato in Anzio Colonia (RM) and La Sorbettiera in Florence close in third place, tied.
"Despite the challenges encountered during 2023, our master gelato makers have shown extraordinary resilience and an unstoppable passion in the pursuit of excellence, achieving a historic result: as much as 10 billion euros in turnover, tangible proof of their extraordinary dedication. Thanks to them, we face the countdown to the new edition of the European Artisanal Gelato Day with optimism. – Comment Domenico Belmonte, president of Artglace – We invite all European gelato makers to join us in this edition, with Belgium as the protagonist, to promote and celebrate together the unique quality of artisanal ice cream."
All updates on the twelfth edition of Gelato Day are available on the site www.gelato-day.com and on the Gelato Day's official pages on Facebook (@24MarzoEuropeanGelatoDay), Instagram (@Gelato_Day) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/GelatoDay).
All ice cream parlors in Italy and Europe are invited to join the 2024 edition of Gelato Day by registering on the website www.gelato-day.com and reporting all the initiatives scheduled for March 24, 2024.