SIGEP MARKS THE START OF THE COUNTDOWN TO THE 11TH EDITION OF EUROPEAN ARTISANAL GELATO DAY, WHICH EVERY YEAR ON 24TH MARCH CELEBRATES ONE OF THE ALL-TIME FAVOURITE PRODUCTS, AS WELL AS ONE OF THE FASTEST-GROWING BUSINESS SECTORS, DRIVING SUPPLY CHAINS OF EXCELLENCE IN ITALY AND THROUGHOUT EUROPE.
The countdown to the 11th European Artisanal Gelato Day will begin at the 44th edition of SIGEP-The Dolce World Expo, the Italian Exhibition Group’s International Exhibition of Gelato, Confectionery, Artisan Bakery and Coffee, to be held at the Rimini Exhibition Centre from 21 to 25 January. This is, indeed, the only Day that the European Parliament has ever dedicated to a foodstuff, celebrated on 24 March every year throughout Europe (and beyond) with events, meetings and initiatives aimed at promoting this globally-popular product and its key supply chain. And this love for hand-made gelato is apparently everlasting.
THE FIGURES FROM EUROPE
After the months of the pandemic, 2022 saw record sales of artisanal gelato in Europe, with turnover reaching almost €10 billion, up 13% on the previous year (€9.83 billion in 2022 vs. 8.7 in 2021). Although this growth is undoubtedly also due to inflation, it is mainly due to a particularly favourable climate and the resumption of tourist flows, which in some areas led to peaks of over +20% in sales performance. And even though the rise in energy and raw material costs is piling pressure on the profitability of artisan businesses, the number of gelato parlours remains stable in Europe, which is the world leader in hand-made gelato. Indeed, Europe is at the forefront both in terms of numbers of gelato parlours (over 65,000 outlets and 300,000 employees), headed by Germany (9,000), Spain (2,200), Poland (2,000), United Kingdom (1,100) and Austria (900), followed by Greece (680) and France (450), and in terms of artisanal gelato consumption, with Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland leading the way. A healthy contribution also comes from countries such as Austria – protagonist at the 2023 edition of Gelato Day with Flavour of the Year, Apfelstrudel – as well as France, Belgium and Holland.
THE FIGURES FROM ITALY
Even more significant are the growth trends in Italy, where the hand-made gelato supply chain generates a total turnover of €3.8 billion and employs more than 100,000 staff. In 2022, sales of hand-made gelato in gelato parlours, pastry shops and gelato bars reached €2.7 billion, an increase of 16% over 2021 (€2.3 billion in 2021 and €1.85 billion in 2020). The number of gelato parlours across the country is also increasing (+139 outlets), with Lombardy, Sicily and Campania topping the list of regions with the highest number of artisan gelato workshops. There was also a 5% increase in purchases of agricultural products, from milk (230,000 tonnes, no less!) to sugar, from fresh fruit to dried fruit, such as Bronte pistachios and Piedmont hazelnuts, two of the most popular and best-selling flavours (1,650 and 1,900 tonnes, respectively). And that is not all, either: once again, Italy maintained its position as world leader in the ingredients and semi-finished products sector (65 businesses involved with a turnover of 1 billion euros) and its leading role in the machinery, showcases and equipment sector (with a turnover of around €700 million, of which 70% was exported).
GELATO DAY 2023 AT SIGEP
In order to support and leverage the hand-made gelato sector as well as its whole supply chain, Gelato Day will be making an appearance at SIGEP, one of the most important events for the trade. Pride of place will be going both to Apfelstrudel, Austria’s choice for the 2023 Flavour of the Year, and to the winners of the video contest in which master gelato makers from across Europe competed to create a recipe for the 2022 Flavour of the Year, Sweet Symphony. After the announcement at MIG – Mostra Internazionale del Gelato in Longarone last November, the winners will be honoured at SIGEP: Silvia Chirico from Tenuta Chirico (Ascea, near Salerno), Kairet Denis from Place Docteur Jacques, Anthée (Onhaye, Belgium), Maria Chiara Sanna from L’arte del gelato (Anzio, near Rome).
And that is not all. During SIGEP, two important new partnerships will be announced that will make the 11th edition of the European Artisanal Gelato Day even livelier: the first will be with Red Shrimp, involving Italy’s finest gelato parlours, and the second will be with Gelato a Primavera (Italian for “springtime gelato”), the long-standing event held by the Italian Gelato Makers’ Association (or Italian Association of Gelato Makers).
All of the updates you might need about the eleventh 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 2023 edition of Gelato Day by signing up at www.gelato-day.com and posting all of the events planned for the 24th of March 2023.