Packaged ice cream invests in sustainability, from raw materials to packaging

The report also highlights the economic importance of the sector: in 2024, Italian production exceeded 198,000 tonnes, worth approximately EUR 2 billion, while approximately 3 billion portions were sold in the period January-September 2025.

Exports also showed significant signs, with almost 95 thousand tonnes exported, mainly to European markets, the USA and the UK.

On the product innovation front, 'formulations involving the partial or total substitution of cow's milk with vegetable beverages, such as almond, soya, oat, coconut or pea, are being experimented with,' the analysts write.

There is also an increasing focus on the valorisation of local ingredients and tastes linked to territories as a further lever to reduce environmental impact and strengthen the link with Italian agricultural supply chains.

Overall, the data emerging from the analysis outline a sector in full evolution: the initiatives launched are numerous and, in several areas, already well structured and describe a dynamic supply chain, aware of the challenges to be faced and oriented towards transforming environmental commitments into measurable, verifiable and comparable practices over time.

A key role in this transition, the report points out, will be played by consumers: "Among the goals for the near future is to increase their active involvement through more detailed labelling, using also digital tools such as informative QR codes and targeted in-store initiatives".

'Today, quality is no longer measured only by taste,' comments Igi president Michelangelo Giampietro, 'it is measured by data, transparency and the ability to innovate production processes. If at one time our mission was limited to care for organoleptic characteristics and food safety, today the value of a packaged gelato is also measured through its footprint on the planet and the value generated for the community. This Report is not an achievement,' he emphasises, 'but a compass, a transparent balance sheet, based on aggregated data that testifies to the evolution of our companies'.