Economy - published on 23 March 2023
Source: Venicepromex and Longarone Fiere
There were 35 artisanal ice cream sector excellence protagonists from Veneto at the X European Artisanal Ice Cream Day, which took place this morning at Hotel Ca ‘Sagredo, in campo Santa Sofia 4198/99 30121-Venezia.
Of these, 20 were recognized for their role as standard-bearers of the regional artisanal ice cream tradition, while another 15 received a mention for the excellence of their products. It was a day of celebration that rewarded the best ice cream makers in the region, focusing on comparison, tasting, and reflections on how to continue to ensure a flourishing future for artisanal ice cream, based on the protection of tradition and quality.
It was an opportunity to discuss the evolution of this excellent Italian product, new technologies, “bio” and “vegan” lines, traditional and nutraceutical ice cream, and the challenges of science against Alzheimer’s applied to ice cream.
An event that now has its fixed place in the European Union calendar: the European Artisanal Ice Cream Day was born in 2008 from an idea of Longarone Fiere Dolomiti and its ice cream makers, on the occasion of the 49th edition of MIG, the International Ice Cream Show, which is an unmissable appointment for industry operators. An idea that obtained continental recognition with the ratification, on July 5, 2012, by the European Parliament, which for the first and only time chose to dedicate a day to a food.
On the other hand, the numbers of the sector justify the EU’s attention to the Gelato phenomenon: it is a turnover of 2022 that in Europe has touched almost 10 billion (+13%) and in Italy has reached 2.7 billion euros (+16% on 2021) in the 39 thousand sales points among ice cream parlors, pastry shops, and bars that employ 77 thousand people (almost 300 thousand throughout the continent). And Veneto, with its 1,305 laboratories, is the fifth region in the country in terms of artisanal production after Lombardy (2,120 business locations), Sicily (1,610), Campania (1,564), Lazio (1,453) and ahead of Emilia Romagna (1,235).
Far from being just an abstract exercise, the European Artisanal Ice Cream Day allowed participants to concretely taste some innovative proposals such as Apfelstrudel, the flavor of the year 2023.
And among tastings of innovative products and flavors known to many generations of consumers, experts and protagonists of the global food & beverage scene brought their ideas and proposals for a sector that has always been able to associate a good dose of innovative capacity with tradition.
After the institutional greetings of Michele Dal Farra, President of Longarone Fiere, and Mario Pozza, President of Venicepromex, the “Ice Cream of the Future” was discussed between trends and business models, with contributions from the astronaut chef and Health Chef Scientific Committee member of Venicepromex Stefano Polato, vegan ice-chef and research and development officer in collaboration with the University of Palermo Maurizio Valguarnera, Alessandro Piccinini, responsible for the historic International Ice Cream Show MIG of Longarone and Monica Morao, dietitian and Health Chef Scientific Committee member.
Moderating the guests’ interventions was journalist Gaia Padovan.
We are meeting again today in Venice on the occasion of the European Artisan Gelato Day,’says Mario Pozza, President of Venicepromex, after our participation in the 62nd edition of the MIG in Longarone, where last November, together with the Veneto Region, the Veneto Chamber system and Venicepromex, we brought 60 buyers and journalists to the fair with the aim of creating a moment of confrontation between all the professionals in the category. Today is an opportunity to reiterate the importance of working as a team together with the ice cream industry operators, in the knowledge that our country once again this year confirms its world leadership both in the ingredients and semi-finished products sector (65 companies involved and a turnover of 1.8 billion euros) and in the machinery, display cases and equipment sector with a turnover of around 700 million euros and exports accounting for 70% of production.
We are proud to have conceived and achieved the European Artisan Gelato Day. Today begins the path that will lead us to the International Ice Cream Exhibition in Longarone with a definitely renewed format, with an international scope and that will speak to the companies and ice cream makers of the future in a fair dedicated exclusively to ice cream. This is the best way to honour those who have written this extraordinary story since 1959, explains Michele Dal Farra, President of Longarone Fiere.
