The Artisan Ice Cream Market in Italy

ice cream is a food preparation made from milk, sugar and various flavorings, brought to a solid, paste-like state by freezing and simultaneous shaking.

Artisanal ice cream is characterized by the use of fresh raw materials. Compared with industrial ice cream, it may have the following differences:

the product is usually fresh and produced by the same retailer

lower amount of fat (6-10% in the handmade one 8-12% in the industrial one)

lower amount of air (a parameter known as overrun: max 35% in artisanal, min 70% in industrial)

Artisanal ice cream is made by processing basic raw materials, namely milk, sugar, eggs and water, to which a whole series of other ingredients are added to create the various ice cream faults, which can vary from the most classic and traditional to the most sophisticated, with more special ingredients or combinations.From a technical point of view, artisanal ice cream is a food preparation obtained by using raw materials that are brought to a semi-solid/creamy state by rapid freezing and simultaneous stirring. The technology used is called "discontinuous freezing" and allows air to be incorporated naturally, that is, without forced injection.

Traditions related to artisanal ice cream can be found in countries such as India with the typical Kulfi or in Turkey, with the Dondurma, but certainly, the best known, is the Italian artisanal ice cream born in the 15th century in Naples, and later exported all over the world. Europe is the largest market for artisanal ice cream, and Italy, in particular, has the lead in both production and consumption. Italy is the only country in the world where artisanal and industrial ice cream cover about the same market share.

During 2020, due to the pandemic, the market slumped by -35%, recovered during 2021 with a +25% compared to the previous year, almost completely recovering the ground lost previously, as revealed by the Sigep Observatory´s estimates: the positive trend mainly affected summer 2021, with consumption mainly driven by domestic tourism from the most important countries, such as Italy, Germany, Spain, and peaks due to high temperatures that supported consumption in Central and Southern Italy.