Ciao Bella Gelato Company facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Foods & Beverages |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Key people
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Carlos Canals (CEO) |
| Products | Premium Gelato Premium Sorbetto |
Ciao Bella Gelato Company makes delicious frozen desserts like gelato and sorbet. Gelato is a rich, creamy Italian ice cream. Sorbet is a frozen treat made from fruit, without milk.
The company, often called "Ciao Bella," started in 1983. It began in a small kitchen in New York City's Little Italy. The founders used traditional recipes from Torino, Italy. In 2018, another company called High Road Craft Ice Cream bought Ciao Bella.
Contents
The Story of Ciao Bella
How It Started
Ciao Bella began in the summer of 1983. Cousins Jon F. Snyder and Laura Grady were on a trip to Italy. They loved Italian ice creams. They had grown up working in their grandparents' ice cream shop in New York.
When he was 19, Jon Snyder really wanted to bring gelato to New York City. In May 1984, he left school. He raised $25,000 from his family and friends. With help from Laura and her sister Christine, he opened a small shop. It was located at 451 Broome Street in the SoHo area of Manhattan.
Growing the Business
The cousins focused on selling their gelato to restaurants. This is called a "wholesale business." They visited many New York restaurants with samples of their gelato. They wanted to build a business that would last all year.
Within five years, they had many famous chefs as customers. These included Charlie Palmer from the River Café. Other customers were the 21 Club, the Russian Tea Room, and Balducci's.
New Owners and Expansion
By 1989, the business was doing well. Jon Snyder decided it was time to move on. He put an advertisement in NY Times to sell the company. Frederick William ("F.W.") Pearce thought it was a great idea to buy it. He borrowed $90,000 from his mother. This money bought the shop, a special freezer, a truck, and recipes for 60 flavors.
At first, Pearce did most of the work himself. He mixed flavors and delivered the products. He had only a few part-time helpers. By 1993, he had increased sales to $1 million. That same year, he met a banker named Charlie Apt. Apt became his partner, helping to expand the business even more.
Charlie Apt was very good at selling. He called many restaurants and added colors and logos to the gelato containers. Because of his efforts, sales doubled to $2 million in just one year.
In 2001, Jon Snyder, who had left Ciao Bella, started a new gelato business. It was called 'il laboratorio del gelato' and focused on serving restaurants in New York City.
Continued Growth
By 2005, Ciao Bella was a $10 million company. It had 75 employees. That year, they opened five new stores. These included one in Berkeley. They already had three stores in New York and San Francisco.
In 2008, Ciao Bella received a large investment of $10–20 million. This money came from two companies, Encore Consumer Capital and Sherbrooke Capital Management. Sherbrooke Capital Management then owned half of Ciao Bella.
In 2010, Ciao Bella moved its gelato production to Eugene, Oregon. This helped them make more gelato. In 2013, the company celebrated 30 years with a free gelato party in New York. Today, Ciao Bella Gelato is made in Ludington, Michigan. It focuses on making 16-ounce pints for grocery stores.
Awards and Achievements
Ciao Bella has won many awards for its delicious products. Many of these awards came from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). In 2002, Zagat named Ciao Bella the "Best Ice Cream in New York."
