Homemade ice cream is one of the most loved products of all time, capable of driving a rapidly growing turnover and supporting the Italian supply chains of excellence also in Europe. Spread all over the world, artisanal ice cream is the absolute protagonist in Europe. The Old Continent is a leader both in terms of the number of ice cream shops – 65 thousand, which employ around 300 thousand workers – and in terms of consumption, with Italy first and foremost (39 thousand points of sale, of which over 9,300 ice cream shops, 12,000 pastry shops and around 18,000 bars offering artisanal ice cream), Germany (9,000 sales points of which 3,300 pure ice cream parlors), Spain (2,200), Poland (2,000), Belgium (1,200), but the presence is also important in other countries, such as England, Austria, Greece and France.
And if the year before the number of ice cream shops and sales volumes recorded a slight increase (for both +1% compared to 2022), 2023 will be remembered for the historic surge in turnover (well +11%) which, for the first time, it surpassed the 10 billion euro mark. In fact, last year’s turnover reached a record figure of 10.9 billion euros, a clear increase compared to the 9.83 billion in 2022 and the 8.7 billion in 2021. The prospects for the current year are also good. The growth in turnover is mainly linked to the increase in prices (+10% in Europe) due to the increases in the costs of agricultural raw materials such as milk, sugar, eggs, cocoa and fruit in general, while the growth in the number of ice cream shops, tourist flows and the length of the season had a marginal positive impact.
Italy also records the same positive trend: the turnover in 2023 saw an increase of 11%, reaching 3 billion euros between ice cream shops, pastry shops and ice cream bars (it was 2.7 billion in 2022, 2.3 billion euros in 2021 and 1.85 billion euros in 2020). Despite the contraction in the purchasing power of Italians, per capita spending on artisanal ice cream has risen to around 43 euros, to which must be added the spending on foreign tourism (around 2.5 euros per person), also growing in our country: +4% in the summer season, +13% during the year, with a particular increase in attendance starting from August. A positive sign also for volumes which, despite inflation and the unfavorable climate trend, remained stable (+1% compared to 2022), giving hope for the future of the entire supply chain, which as a whole (ice cream shops, ingredients, machines, equipment, display cases) is worth over 4 billion euros and employs more than 100,000 people.
“Despite the challenges encountered during 2023, our ice cream masters have demonstrated extraordinary resilience and an unstoppable passion in pursuing excellence, obtaining a historic result: 10 billion euros in turnover, tangible proof of their extraordinary dedication. Thanks to them, we face the countdown to the new edition of the European Artisan Ice Cream Day with optimism – he comments Domenico Belmonte, president of Artglace, the association that brings together the associations of European artisan ice cream makers -. We now invite all European ice cream makers to join us in this edition, with Belgium as the protagonist, to promote and celebrate together the unique quality of artisanal ice cream.”