With sales of over 9.5 billion euros in Europe alone, artisanal gelato kept its fans happy in 2020, both off-, but more especially on-line. Deliveroo called it “a food delivery revelation” and figures in the latest report from the “Gelato-Delivery” monitoring body are confirmation of this. Sales shot up between September and November, by +312%, and the number of ice-cream shops that started providing home deliveries in 2020 saw an increase of 60% on 2019. By the end of the year, online orders had increased by 113%, confirming its fundamental role for independent artisanal gelato concerns. Little has changed, meanwhile, on the flavours front, with traditional ones still the most popular. The most widely ordered flavours remain the big classics: pistachio, stracciatella and hazelnut, followed by chocolate and yoghurt. And the moment of the week when most gelato deliveries take place is Sunday evening.

“Home deliveries really took off in Italy in 2020,” says Gianni Babbi, marketing manager of Babbi. Just a few months prior to this, an idea of this kind would have been rejected by those operating in the sector. Now this method of getting the product to the customer is increasingly the basis around which concerns are building their business. At the same time, consumers have become more discerning and more attentive to waste.”

The big new idea from Babbi is the development of its new online shop, “an activity initially aimed at BtoC that will soon develop also to cover professional activities including BtoB. It is a big, new idea that has led to changes in all company functions: from logistics and dispatch to other commercial and back office aspects. Everyone is looking ahead to these new horizons and new targets, with a more wide-ranging approach to the market,” Babbi says.

As for trends in 2021 “I don’t think we should be thinking about those yet, because we still haven’t really laid claim to the 2020 season. Over the past 12 months, this marvellous product did not receive that wonderful warm welcome by people full of confidence and hope for the future and that of our children and our children’s children. In a scenario of this kind we can find something new inside ourselves: a change towards profound values, ones which enable us to enjoy the truly important things in life, so that we can look forward to the future with the right spirit, with our hearts,” Babbi says, finally.

Pregel has also gone for takeaway and delivery services in a big way with the launch of its Happygelato.com platform, created to support artisanal gelato and assist clients as they switch to the digital gelateria through online sales. The platform helps gelato concerns decide exactly what they want to offer consumers, promoting their products through a virtual shop window, while Happy Gelato’s customer service creates the profile of the gelateria and updates it in real time. The end customer can then locate the nearest one to them, choose their gelato and its flavours, then click and collect or have it delivered to their door.

“The PreGel project includes an innovative business opportunity for gelato concerns through a digitalisation service that involves just a few simple steps,” the company explains. “A high level of customer service is the mainstay of the project, as it enables the gelato concern to look to the future with a comprehensive support service.”