Gelato world tour at the turning point
21.01.2014
More than 340.000 people attended the first three stages of the “coolest” competition in the world, and the next stage in Dubai (February 13th-15th) is ready to surprise everybody!
Rimini, January 19th 2014 – Great participation at the press conference of the Gelato World Tour at Sigep. The international artisan gelato competition, organized by Carpigiani Gelato University and Sigep-Rimini Fiera (main sponsor IFI and MEC3), is at a turning point. During its first edition (2013-2014), the Gelato World Tour is transforming into Gelato Capitals eight cities in the five continents. Big success for the first three stages (Rome, Valencia and Melbourne) that have already conquered 340,000 people. More than 17,000 kg of gelato were produced, using 11,400 liters of milk, 2,200 Kg of sugar and other 4,200 Kg of Mec3 ingredients. The gelato was shown in 10 IFI displays and served in 245,000 cups and 160,000 mini cones. To today, the committee of the Gelato World Tour has given13,700 € to charity and had more than 800 between articles and reportages made by the most important media of each country.
Strong are the expectations for the next stage, that will be on the 13th-15th in Dubai, in the shadow of Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper on the planet. Visitors could follow sweet workshop to learn how to make gelato, could explore the ancient story of this healthy food that finds its origins 14,000 years ago and could choose between a variety of flavors made right in front of their eyes. The event is free entry and it will see the 16 renown gelato artisans of the Middle East competing each other with their best flavor. It will be the “coolest” event ever! This stage will have other co-organizers: EMAAR, one of the biggest international estate agents, Desita, franchising consultancy company, and Franchise Middle East, franchising consultancy company. Exclusive media partner of this stage will be Sahara Communication. ICCA (The International Centre of Culinary Art of Dubai) will collaborate with Carpigiani Gelato University, doing some basic courses in its headquarter in Dubai.
Gelato has a strong tradition in Italy, with 37,000 artisan shops – and even an entire Gelato Museum in Bologna – dedicated to this healthy food. But the origins of this delicacy are right in the Middle East. In fact, the Shrb, a sugar syrup, was invented there during the Middle Ages and it’s considered as the forefather of the sorbet, the fruit based gelato.
Though the home of gelato today is undoubtedly Italy, the dessert has more than 100,000 artisan shops around the world that serve millions of cups each day. The Gelato World Tour represents an opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs in the Middle East to join a market rapidly making inroads into the global frozen dessert industry, which is worth tens of billions of US dollars worldwide.
Mana Al Suwaidi, Chairman and CEO of Franchise Middle East, said: “We are extremely excited to be welcoming the Gelato World Tour to Dubai and look forward to introducing the people of the Emirates to this indulgent, yet still healthy delicacy. We believe that there are excellent franchising opportunities that come with this premier product and hope to see many new Gelato related ventures taking flight in the near future”.
Achille Sassoli, Event Manager of Carpigiani and Gelato World Tour, said: “Gelato is more than a typical dessert. Though its luxurious creaminess may intuitively suggest otherwise, gelato is made in a way that means it is significantly lower in calories and sugar than other ice creams. It is high in proteins, calcium and vitamin B2, while containing around half the fat of typical industrial ice creams – and is often accompanied by a selection of fresh fruit. We are delighted to bring a selection of the best gelato artisans to Dubai, and invite you to join us in our quest to find the world’s best gelato flavour”.
After Dubai, it will be the time of Austin (April 11th-13th, in Republic Square), Shanghai/Singapore (June 27th-29th) and Berlin (August 22nd-24th, in Alexanderplatz)… and then the Gran Finale in Rimini, on September 5th-7th.
