Sweets

Gelato day, the flavour of the year is Melody with pistachio and orange. And the business is close to 5 billion

On 24 March, thousands of ice cream parlours across Europe will open with events, tastings, on 25 March celebrations at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry. Healthy segment, but shortage of professionals

by Maria Teresa Manuelli

24 March 2026

Il gusto Melody è il gusto dell’annow: una base cremosa con variegatura e granella di pistacchio e una salsa all’arancia, firmata dal maestro gelatiere Juanma Guerrero della gelateria Sicilia Gelati di Torre del Mar, in Spagna

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Ice Day: the 24 March celebration
Rise in costs, ice cream makers nowhere to be found...
Rise in costs, ice cream makers nowhere to be found...
... but the market is not suffering
Company moves

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

24 March marks the fourteenth European Artisanal Gelato Day, the only one ever dedicated to a foodstuff by the European Parliament. A distinction that tells of the economic and cultural weight of this sector. Worldwide, the market in fact closed 2025 with an overall growth of 8.5% in sales, reaching 16.5 billion euro, according to data presented at Sigep World 2026.

Ice Day: the 24 March celebration

The 2026 edition of the European Ice Cream Day is built around the theme 'Ice Cream that makes Europe sing', an explicit reference to the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Vienna from 12 to 16 May. The Taste of the Year is called "Melody": a creamy base with a pistachio variegation and grains and an orange sauce, signed by master gelato maker Juanma Guerrero of the Sicilia Gelati ice-cream parlour in Torre del Mar, Spain, which won the competition organised by Artglace during Sigep World in Rimini last January. The flavour will be offered in participating gelato parlours both in its original version and reinterpreted with local ingredients.

On 24 March, the official day of the Day, thousands of ice cream parlours across Europe will open with events, tastings and reinterpretations of the Taste of the Year. On 25 March the celebrations then move to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, where ice cream makers will offer 'Melody' inside the Ministry itself. In Vienna, the Ponto ice cream parlour will set up a pop-up museum dedicated to the history of ice cream in Austria. The initiatives will continue in April with Milano Gelato Week (14-19 April) and in May again in Vienna, during the Stefflkirtag in Stephansplatz, on the occasion of Eurovision. On an institutional level, at Gelatissimo in Stuttgart last February, the General Assembly of Artglace sanctioned Hungary's entry into the European Confederation of Artisan Gelato Makers, further expanding the network of member countries.

Costs going up, ice cream makers nowhere to be found...

The day is being celebrated in a sector that, despite growing sales, faces significant structural pressures. This is clearly stated by Vincenzo Pennestrì, master gelato maker and president of the Associazione Gelatieri Italiani: 'In the last three years the production cost of artisan gelato has risen by up to 40%, driven by the increase in raw materials such as cocoa, sugar and milk, as well as energy costs. The consumer sees a higher price, but producing ice cream now costs much more: the increase at the counter is not a gain, but a necessity'.

Added to this is a cstructural labour shortage estimated at between 15 thousand and 20 thousand employees - between ice cream makers and service personnel - with direct repercussions on production capacity. An employment emergency that the sector is trying to tackle through training: the Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Gruppo Prodotti per Gelato di Unione Italiana Food and Acomag, has launched a project to introduce training courses dedicated to artisan gelato in Italian hotel schools and, from 2026, in professional schools in seven foreign countries. The first courses are planned for September.

... but the market is not suffering

Supporting the economic result is above allexpansion in non-EU markets, which record growth rates of 10%. In Europe, the dynamic remains positive - with the United Kingdom and Spain among the liveliest countries - while Italy consolidates its leadership, confirming itself as the world's leading market for artisan gelato. The Italian supply chain as a whole reaches an estimated value of 4.9 billion euros, of which more than 3.1 billion can be attributed to the turnover of ice cream parlours alone, an increase of 3.5% compared to 2024. Volumes are growing by 0.5%, the average price by 3%. Per capita consumption is around 2 kg per year, with an average expenditure of EUR 48 per person. The active units - including ice cream parlours, pastry shops, bars and restaurants offering artisan ice cream - exceed 39 thousand, substantially stable compared to previous years.

On the export front, data from the Economic Observatory of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Maeci) indicate a significant acceleration towards Asia: in the first half of 2025 Italian ice cream exports to that continent grew by 72%, from 20 to 34.4 million euros. Globally, Italia is confirmed as the fourth exporting country - after Germany, France and Belgium - with a total value of 372 million euro, up 19% from 313 million in 2024.

Business moves

Meanwhile, companies in the supply chain are moving on several fronts. Casa Optima, a leading Italia group with brands such as Mec3, Giuso, Pernigotti Maestri Gelatieri Italiani and Modecor, is focusing this year on flavours inspired by global trends - from Dubai Caramel Chocolate to Açaí Bowl and Kulfi - and on collaborations with iconic brands such as Guinness and Cointreau for beer and liqueur ice cream. Pernigotti Maestri Gelatieri Italiani enhances tradition with new references such as Profumo delle Alpi and Abbraccio Siciliano, while Modecor develops decoration solutions such as Trasferelli and DecorSticker.

Rubicone Products - founded in 1959 in the province of Cesena and today part of theNexture Group, with 570 products exported to 84 countries - presented new lines to intercept market trends: toppings with sponge cake inclusion, flavoured toppings that harden with cold, and ready-to-use bases, including one with green mango for Asian markets and one with salted caramel and salt flakes.

Tonitto 1939, a Ligurian company specialising in sorbets and ice creams with no added sugar, participated for the third consecutive year at Foodex in Tokyo aiming to consolidate its presence in South Korea and to launch its first continuous sales in Japan within the next twelve months.

Fabbri 1905 is pushing ahead with its 'Fabbri Gelato System', a mobile solution for taking artisan gelato out of traditional outlets, and has expanded its Simplé range with new variants including intensely roasted pistachio, calamansi and yuzu. On a social level, the Bolognese company is promoting with Soroptimist International the project "SI Sostiene in carcere", which in 2026 will include ten stops in Italian penitentiary institutes to train women prisoners as artisan gelato makers: starting in February in Cagliari, the calendar continues until November with stops in Trento, Venezia Giudecca, Como, Pesaro, Perugia, Bologna, Cosenza, Caserta and Palermo.

On the distribution front, Cattel - a Veneto-based distributor specialising in the Horeca channel - sees Gelato Day as an opportunity to reaffirm a proposal that goes beyond seasonality: the group's assortment includes ice creams in professional format, vegan and lactose-free references, single-portion sorbets and premium desserts, designed to cover uses ranging from the end of the meal to banqueting.