On 24th March we will be celebrating the 10th European Artisanal Gelato Day

Final preparations are under way for European Artisanal Gelato Day, the only day that the European Parliament has ever dedicated to a foodstuff, which on Thursday 24 th March will be celebrating its tenth anniversary.

With a turnover of 8.7 billion euros, more than 65,000 points of sale and 300,000 staff in Europe alone, artisanal gelato has always served as a trait d’union across the European continent, and this year it is even more of a symbol of the unity and closeness of all European citizens.

And on Gelato Day, a unique opportunity to contribute to the promotion of this product, to promote craftsmanship and to develop the gastronomic tradition of the sector, master gelato makers are getting ready to inaugurate the 2022 artisanal gelato season by staging a series of events and initiatives and making quantities of Dolce Sinfonia, the 2022 Flavour of the Year, containing chocolate, hazelnuts, fresh ricotta and figs in rum syrup, as set out in the official recipe by Silvia Chirico of the Tenuta Chirico gelateria in Ascea.

EVENTS IN ITALY

The first events are already getting under way over the next few days: on March 24th at 11.00, Paolo Garna, former general manager of MIG in Longarone, Matteo Andreola, Business Unit Manager Carpigiani Foodservice Professional & Pastry, and Manuel Marzari, Pastry Chef, will talk about Gelato in Catering to bring their own experience and in addition will prepare the Flavour of the Year 2022.

But there is more to Gelato Day than just cones and cups: in keeping with tradition, it is also a valuable opportunity to do some good. In Bergamo, gelato makers will be uniting in the Gelato for Ukraine campaign, donating part of the proceeds from the 24 th March to raising funds, that will then be donated to the Bergamo Community Foundation, in association with the diocesan Caritas and the Eco di Bergamo daily newspaper, to help the Ukrainian refugees arriving in our area.

And to reveal all the secrets of “Dolce Sinfonia”, on 24 March Gelato University organizes two live streams: at 11.30, in Italian, with the gelato maker Marco Venturino of the gelateria I Giardini di Marzo in Varazze (Savona), and at 15.00, in English, with the teacher Stefano Tarquinio.

Confartigianato, on the other hand, in addition to the talk dedicated to the Taste of the Year during SIGEP, will involve the gelato makers of all its regional and provincial federations to tell, as well as make enthusiastic flavours, with all the craftsmanship, knowledge and excellence behind an excellent artisanal gelato.

Good, but also nutritious, gelato is one of the few desserts that can be considered to all intents and purposes a balanced food. And Gusto 17 in Milan will take the opportunity of Gelato Day to present, alongside the greedy Taste of the Year, three new gelato sticks in which refined sugars have been replaced by Giorgio Poeta’s Acacia honey: sustainable, with fewer calories and more vitamins and antioxidants.

Not only that: Gusto 17 continues to support Make-A-Wish Italia Onlus, allocating part of the proceeds from each order of personalized ice cream pastry to the non-profit organization that grants the wishes of seriously ill children and teenagers.

Silvia Chirico, who created the official recipe for Dolce Sinfonia, is also joining this campaign: for every Flavour of the Year gelato purchased from 19 th to 25 th March, the Chirico Estate in Ascea will give away an invitation to the Concert for Peace to be held on 26 th March, at 7 pm, at the Parmenide Auditorium in Ascea.

In Cariati (Calabria), on 24 th March, at 10:30 am, the Antica Gelateria Fortino will take its characteristic gelato van to the entrance of Cariati’s Vittorio Cosentino Hospital (which is also a Covid-19 centre) to offer all healthcare workers a free hand-made Dolce Sinfonia gelato.

The Alfonso Gatto state high school in Agropoli (near Naples) will also be celebrating artisanal gelato during the Festa dello Sport, an event that brings together all the students under the banner of sport, rules and fair play organised by the Campania Gelato Makers Association.

And to make sure you don’t miss any of the events planned, take a look at the list of gelato parlours taking part.

FREE HOME DELIVERY WTH DELIVEROO

And that is not all, either. The partnership with Deliveroo, the leading online food delivery platform, has been renewed for the second year running. Deliveroo will be promoting an information campaign dedicated to Gelato Day throughout the week and on 24 th March will be offering free delivery of orders from participating gelato parlours: Sweety Gelato from Roma and Terra Gelato, Gelateria Concordia, Premiata Cremeria Rossi, Oasi del Gelato, Artico Gelateria – Isola di Milano.

EVENTS IN EUROPE

Elsewhere in Europe and beyond, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Slovenia, Spain, and even as far away as Argentina and Japan, will be joining together on Gelato Day to celebrate one of the most popular products of all time. In Vienna, spring was inaugurated yesterday, 21 st March, with a tribute to the Flavour of the Year, which will be repeated on 24 th March, while Holland has joined the A gelato for Ukraine campaign – indeed, alongside the Flavour of the Year Dolce Sinfonia, gelato parlour windows across the Netherlands will feature apple-pie gelato: together, they will be helping to raise funds to send a signal of fellowship and solidarity with the Ukrainian people affected by the conflict.

FUTURE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

And the celebrations of artisanal gelato will carry on in the coming months. At the beginning of May, for example, Antica Gelateria Fortino will hold a gelato day in Cariati’s primary and secondary schools, offering all pupils and teachers the Flavour of the Year. From 22 May to 31 August 2022, Bar Gelateria del Viale and Caffetteria del Viale in Fiano Romano will be giving their customers the chance to win some great prizes, including a week’s holiday for five people.

Meanwhile, in St Mark’s Square in Venice, the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of European Artisanal Gelato Day will continue in September with the Veneto Gelato Association and the participation of no fewer than 30 gelato parlours across the Veneto region.

Also in September, the second phase of the Artglace video contest will be coming to a close, calling on Europe’s gelato-makers to express all their creativity and skill using chocolate, hazelnuts, fresh ricotta and figs in a rum syrup – the ingredients in the official recipe for Dolce Sinfonia – by making a short 90-second video showing how to prepare Flavour of the Year, which will be taking centre stage at the tenth anniversary Gelato Day.

AFTER CLOSING 2021 WITH AN IMPRESSIVE RECOVERY, IN WHICH EUROPEAN SALES GREW TO €8.7 BILLION (+25%), THE ARTISANAL GELATO SUPPLY CHAIN IS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW YEAR, GETTING READY TO OFFICIALLY KICK OFF A NEW SEASON OF CONES AND TUBS TO MARK THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF GELATO DAY ON 24^th MARCH.

One of the world’s foodstuffs with the highest number of different flavours, Italian consumption of artisanal gelato in 2021 amounted to around 2.8 kilos per person. The embodiment of craft skills and creativity, artisanal gelato is enjoyed far and wide all over the planet by people of all ages. In addition, it also represents excellence in terms of quality and food safety, and, it is no coincidence that it is the only foodstuff to which the European Parliament has ever dedicated a day – European Artisanal Gelato Day, which will be celebrating its tenth anniversary on 24^thMarch. The perfect opportunity to pay tribute to a supply chain which has achieved a turnover of €8.7 billion, employing over 300,000 staff at more than 65,000 points of sale in Europe alone.

GELATO IN FIGURES IN ITALY AND THE REST OF EUROPE. Despite the setback caused by the pandemic (turnover fell 35% in 2020), the supply chain bounced back in 2021 with a 25% upturn, almost completely regaining lost ground, as revealed by estimates from the SIGEP Monitoring Centre. Indeed, the positive trend was felt most in the summer of 2021, with consumption driven mainly by domestic tourism in the major countries, such as Italy, Germany and Spain, and peaks due to the high temperatures that sustained consumption in Central and Southern Italy. There is expected to be a further upturn in tourist numbers in 2022, fuelling optimism among European craft gelato makers, who have shared the tricks of the trade built up over the years, combining tradition with innovation, creativity with technical expertise, and quality ingredients with state-of-the-art equipment.
Artisanal gelato is now a global product, in which Europe has for years taken on the lead role. Even though gelato parlors can be found in 76 countries around the world, Europe is well ahead of the pack, in terms both of numbers of outlets (around 65,000) and of consumption of artisanal gelato. Though led by Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland, figures are rising in other nations, such as Austria, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Italy stands out in terms of turnover (€2.8 billion in 2019, €1.85 billion in 2020 and €2.3 billion in 2021) and numbers of artisanal gelato outlets (36,000 gelato parlours, patisseries and bars serving gelato), with the highest concentration of gelaterias being in Lombardy (11.2%), followed by Tuscany (9.3%) and by Sicily and Emilia-Romagna on 8.4%.
Italian leadership also involves the sector of gelato ingredients and semi-finished products, which, according to the SIGEP Study Centre, is made up of 65 companies generating total turnover of €1.8 billion (800 millions of which is made up of semi-finished products for gelato). Not to mention the gelato industry’s huge impact on the agri-food sector, purchasing about 220,000 tons of milk, 64,000 tons of sugars, 50,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit and other raw materials, often made up of top-quality smaller-scale Italian agricultural products such as pistachios from Bronte on the slopes of Mount Etna (where 1,500 tons, almost half of Bronte’s annual production, are purchased to be turned into pistachio gelato), or hazelnuts from Piedmont (where ingredients producers buy up around 1,800 tons of shelled Piedmontese hazelnuts every year), almonds from Sicily or lemons from Sorrento. 
Not to be forgotten is the sector of machines and equipment for artisanal gelato, in which Italy is once again in the forefront, exporting over 70% of production: according to ACOMAG – National Association of Ice Cream Machine, Furnishings, and Equipment Manufacturers, thanks to the strong restart in 2021 the sector was close to the results of the pre-pandemic, with a turnover of 500 million euros and 1,300 employees in Italy alone.

DELIVEROO. As the habit of buying food online has become established, artisanal gelato is also enjoying increasing success when it comes to home deliveries. By 2020, the European food delivery market had already climbed to a total of 13.8 billion US dollars^[1]. And Deliveroo, the leading online food delivery platform, has confirmed, for the second year running, its support for European Artisanal Gelato Day, taking part through its partner gelato parlours and running an information campaign about this much-loved product. According to data published by Deliveroo, the main Italian cities for gelato orders per head of population are Ferrara, Parma and Gorizia, followed by Domodossola, Terni, Carpi, Modena, Sanremo, Pisa and Pavia. So what flavours do Italians order? In the last quarter of 2021, salted caramel (up 112%), fior di latte (+95%), croccante della nonna – a caramel cream with crunchy almonds – (+85%), tiramisu, liquorice, biscuit, stracciatella Grand Cru, Nutella, white chocolate and Bacio all showed positive trends.

COUNTDOWN TO THE 10^th EUROPEAN ARTISANAL GELATO DAY As we await the great celebrations marking the 10^th European Artisanal Gelato Day on 24^th March, which will officially kick off the 2022 season, craft gelato and its makers will be starring at the 43^rd edition of SIGEP, the Italian Exhibition Group’s International Hand-crafted Gelato, Pastry, Chocolate, Bakery and Coffee Fair, to be held at the Rimini Exhibition Centre from 12^th to 16^thMarch. On this occasion, Artglace will be turning the spotlight on the tenth edition of Gelato Day and awarding a prize to Silvia Chirico, owner of the Tenuta Chirico gelato parlour in Ascea (near Salerno), who created the official recipe for Dolce Sinfonia, 2022’s Flavour of the Year, as well as toTaila Semeraro from Gelateria Ciccio in the main square in Ostuni, in Puglia, Luca Coccè from Gelateria Peccati di Gola in Gallarate, Lombardy and Andrea Lunardon from Gelateria Temptations in Soave, near Verona, in other words the three gelato-makers who won the 2021 video contest, where last year gelato artisans from all over Europe were invited to make a short video opening up their workshops and revealing the secrets of how to make Mantecado, 2021’s Flavour of the Year. 

The video contest was such a success that Artglace decided to run it again in 2022, calling on Europe’s gelato-makers to express all their creativity and skill using chocolate, hazelnuts, fresh ricotta and figs in a rum syrup – the ingredients in the official recipe for Dolce Sinfonia – by making a short 90-second video showing how to prepare Flavour of the Year, which will be taking centre stage at the tenth anniversary Gelato Day (full rules available at www.gelato-day.com).

Gelato parlours throughout Italy and Europe have been invited to take part in the contest to decide the recipe for 2022’s Flavour of the Year Dolce Sinfonia (Sweet Symphony) and to take part in the 2022 edition of Gelato Day by signing up at www.gelato-day.com and posting all of the events planned for the 24^th March 2022.

All of the updates you might need about the tenth edition of Gelato Day can be found on the www.gelato-day.comwebsite and on the official Gelato Day pages on Facebook (@24MarzoEuropeanGelatoDay), Instagram (@Gelato_Day) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/GelatoDay). 

^[1] Europe Online Food Delivery Market & User, Country, Company Analysis & Forecast – Report 2021

DOPO AVER CHIUSO IL 2021 CON UNA INTERESSANTE RIPRESA, CHE HA RIPORTATO IL FATTURATO IN EUROPA A QUOTA 8,7 MILIARDI DI EURO (+25%), LA FILIERA DEL GELATO ARTIGIANALE GUARDA CON OTTIMISMO AL NUOVO ANNO E SI PREPARA A DARE UFFICIALMENTE IL VIA AD UNA NUOVA STAGIONE DI CONI E COPPETTE IN OCCASIONE DEL DECENNALE DEL GELATO DAY IL PROSSIMO 24 MARZO.

Tra i prodotti gastronomici con più gusti al mondo, di cui si stima ogni italiano consumi circa 2,8 chili all’anno, il gelato artigianale è l’emblema della maestria e della creatività degli artigiani ed è apprezzato in lungo e in largo in tutto il pianeta da persone di ogni età. Non solo: rappresenta anche un’eccellenza in termini di qualità e sicurezza alimentare, e, non a caso, è l’unico alimento cui il Parlamento Europeo abbia mai dedicato una Giornata – la Giornata Europea del Gelato Artigianale, che il prossimo 24 marzo festeggerà il decimo anniversario: un’occasione per omaggiare una filiera in grado di sostenere un giro d’affari da 8,7 miliardi di euro, oltre 65.000 punti vendita e 300.000 addetti solo in Europa.

I NUMERI DEL GELATO IN ITALIA E IN EUROPA. Nonostante la battuta d’arresto causata dallo scoppio della pandemia (-35% del fatturato nel 2020), la filiera ha già registrato nel 2021 un +25%, recuperando quasi del tutto il terreno perso in precedenza, come rivelano le stime dell’Osservatorio Sigep: il trend positivo ha interessato soprattutto l’estate 2021, con i consumi trainati principalmente dal turismo nazionale dei paesi più importanti, quali Italia, Germania, Spagna, e punte dovute alle alte temperature che hanno sostenuto i consumi nel Centro e Sud Italia. E nel 2022 si prevede una ulteriore ripresa dei flussi turistici che alimenta l’ottimismo degli artigiani europei del gelato artigianale, vero e proprio trait d’union del Vecchio Continente, capace di coniugare la tradizione con l’innovazione, la creatività con la tecnica, gli ingredienti di qualità con le attrezzature di ultima generazione.
Il gelato artigianale conta infatti su una geografia molto ampia in cui l’Europa è assoluta protagonista. Se le gelaterie sono presenti in 76 paesi al mondo, il Vecchio Continente è in prima fila sia per presenza di gelaterie (circa 65 mila) sia per consumi artigianali – in primis in Italia, Germania, Spagna e Polonia, ma importante è la presenza anche in altri paesi, dall’Austria alla Francia, dal Belgio all’Olanda. L’Italia, in particolare, si distingue per fatturato (2,8 miliardi di euro nel 2019, 1,85 miliardi nel 2020 e 2,3 miliardi nel 2021) e numero di punti vendita di gelato artigianale (39 mila tra gelaterie, pasticcerie e bar con gelato), con la maggiore concentrazione di gelaterie in Lombardia (11,2%), seguita da Toscana (9,3%) e Sicilia ed Emilia-Romagna (8,4%). La leadership italiana nel mondo riguarda anche il settore degli ingredienti e dei semilavorati per gelato, in cui, secondo l’Osservatorio Sigep, operano 65 imprese che generano un fatturato complessivo di 1,8 miliardi di euro, di cui 800 milioni di semilavorati per gelato. Senza contare il significativo impatto sulla filiera dei prodotti agroalimentari: circa 220 mila tonnellate di latte, 64 mila tonnellate di zuccheri e 50 mila tonnellate tra frutta fresca e secca e altre materie prime, spesso riguardanti piccole eccellenze agricole italiane, come il pistacchio di Bronte (ogni anno ne vengono acquistate circa 1.500 tonnellate, quasi la metà della produzione totale di Bronte, per fare il gelato al pistacchio) o la nocciola Piemontese (le aziende di ingredienti acquistano, trasformano e rivendono circa 1.800 tonnellate di nocciole Piemontesi sgusciate l’anno), la mandorla siciliana o i limoni di Sorrento.

DELIVEROO. Ormai consolidata l’abitudine di comprare cibo online, il gelato artigianale vede numeri in crescita anche quando si parla di delivery. Già nel 2020 il mercato europeo del food delivery è arrivato complessivamente a 13,8 miliardi di dollari. E proprio Deliveroo, tra le prime cinque app di consegna di cibo più installate in tutta Europa, ha confermato, per il secondo anno consecutivo, il suo sostegno alla Giornata Europea del Gelato Artigianale con legelaterie partner attive nel suo circuito e una campagna promozionale e d’informazione dedicata a questo amatissimo prodotto. In Italia, secondo i dati condivisi da Deliveroo, le principali città per ordini di gelato sono Ferrara, Parma, Gorizia, seguite da Domodossola, Terni, Carpi, Modena, Sanremo, Pisa e Pavia. Ma che gusti ordinano gli italiani? Nell’ultimo trimestre del 2021, registrano un trend positivo il caramello salato (+112%), il fior di latte (+95%), il croccante della nonna (+85%), e ancora: tiramisù, liquirizia, biscotto, stracciatella Grand Cru, infine Nutella, cioccolato bianco e Bacio.

COUNTDOWN ALLA 10° GIORNATA EUROPEA DEL GELATO ARTGIANALE. In attesa di celebrare la decima edizione del Gelato Day del 24 marzo, che darà ufficialmente il via alla stagione 2022, il gelato artigianale e i suoi professionisti saranno tra i protagonisti della 43° edizione di SIGEP, il Salone Internazionale di Gelateria, Pasticceria, Panificazione Artigianali e Caffè di Italian Exhibition Group in programma dal 12 al 16 marzo alla Fiera di Rimini. In questa occasione, Artglace accenderà i riflettori sulla decima edizione del Gelato Day e premierà Silvia Chirico, la titolare della Tenuta Chirico ad Ascea (Salerno) che ha firmato la ricetta ufficiale di “Dolce Sinfonia”, il Gusto dell’Anno 2022, nonché Taila Semeraro della gelateria Ciccio in Piazza di Ostuni (BR), Luca Coccè della gelateria Peccati di Gola di Gallarate (VA) ed Andrea Lunardon della gelateria Temptations di Soave (VR), ovvero i tre gelatieri vincitori del videoconcorso 2021, con cui lo scorso anno gli artigiani del gelato di tutta Europa sono stati invitati a realizzare brevi video aprendo le porte dei loro laboratori e svelando i segreti della preparazione del Gusto dell’Anno 2021, il Mantecado. 

Un videocontest che ha riscosso un grande successo, tanto che Artglace ha deciso di riproporlo anche per il 2022, chiamando i gelatieri europei a destreggiarsi con creatività e maestria tra cioccolato, nocciole, ricotta fresca e fichi sciroppati al rhum – gli ingredienti della ricetta ufficiale di “Dolce Sinfonia” – realizzando un breve video di 90 secondi in cui mostrare la preparazione del Gusto che sarà assoluto protagonista del decennale del Gelato Day (regolamento completo disponibile sul sito www.gelato-day.com).

Tutte le gelaterie d’Italia e d’Europa sono invitate a partecipare al concorso per stabilire la ricetta del Gusto dell’Anno 2022 “Dolce Sinfonia” e a aderire all’edizione 2022 del Gelato Day registrandosi sul sito www.gelato-day.com e segnalando tutte le iniziative in programma per il 24 marzo 2022.

Tutti gli aggiornamenti sulla decima edizione del Gelato Day sono disponibili sul sito www.gelato-day.com e sullepagine ufficiali del Gelato Day su Facebook (@24MarzoEuropeanGelatoDay), Instagram (@Gelato_Day) e YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/GelatoDay). 

THE STAR OF GELATO DAY 2022 WILL BE A CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT GELATO MADE WITH FRESH RICOTTA CHEESE AND DRIED FIGS IN A RUM SYRUP: A DELICIOUS AND ORIGINAL RECIPE, WHICH WILL BE SERVED IN GELATO PARLOURS ACROSS EUROPE ON 24 MARCH 2022.

Even as the shadow of the pandemic imposes new restrictions all across Europe, the masters of artisan gelato are refusing to give up. With tenacity and creativity, they are still getting ready for the tenth edition of European Artisan Gelato Day, which will be taking place throughout Europe on 24 March, celebrating this internationally acclaimed product, its craftsmanship and its gastronomic tradition.

In partnership with Longarone Fiere Dolomiti and IEG – Italian Exhibition Group, Artglace launched a competition between European gelato makers, in order to come up with the recipe for Dolce Sinfonia (Sweet Symphony) the official flavour at the 10th edition of Gelato Day. The competition was originally set to take place over two rounds: a pre-selection during the 61st edition of MIG at Longarone Fiere Dolomiti and a second round during the 43rd edition of SIGEP, originally scheduled for the end of January. Following the postponement of SIGEP to March 2022, in accordance with the Competition Rules «Should it not be possible to carry out one of the two scheduled rounds, due to restrictions caused by Covid-19, the winner of the award will be the gelato maker with the highest number of votes in the only round held», Artglace was forced to bring forward the closing date of the competition, cancelling the second round scheduled for SIGEP in Rimini.

In the first round, the highest score was awarded to Silvia Chirico, owner of Tenuta Chirico in Ascea (near Salerno), who thus becomes the author of the official recipe for the flavour that will be available in gelato parlours all over Europe on 24 March. In a perfect blend of tradition and careful selection of ingredients, Silvia won over the jury with her version of Dolce Sinfonia, a chocolate and hazelnut-based gelato enriched with two typical local products, i.e. ricotta and figs. The white base is set aside to age, and under Chirico’s touch chocolate sauce, hazelnut paste, fresh ricotta and dried figs in a rum syrup are added, creating a gelato with a truly unique flavour.

The Flavour of the Year will be featured in all of the gelato parlours across Italy and Europe signing up for the 2022 edition of Gelato Day. Sweet Symphony will be the centrepiece of all of the events taking place on 24 March to celebrate artisan gelato, the only food to which the European Parliament has ever given its own day: an expression of quality, authenticity and territoriality, as well as the driving force behind an entire, broad-based supply chain, from raw materials to specific gelato ingredients, from gelato machines to display cases.

All of the updates you might need about the tenth edition of Gelato Day can be found on the www.gelato-day.com website and on the  official Gelato Day pages on Facebook (@24MarzoEuropeanGelatoDay), Instagram (@Gelato_Day) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/GelatoDay).

Gelato parlours throughout Italy and Europe have been invited to take part in the 2022 edition of Gelato Day by signing up at www.gelato-day.com and posting all of the events planned for the 24th of March 2022.