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 is a company that makes delicious frozen desserts. They are famous for their creamy gelatos and refreshing sorbets. People often just call them "Ciao Bella."
The company started in 1983 in a small kitchen in New York City's Little Italy. They used special old recipes from Torino, Italy, to make their treats. In 2018, another ice cream company called High Road Craft Ice Cream bought Ciao Bella.
Contents
How Ciao Bella Started
Ciao Bella began with an exciting idea in the summer of 1983. Cousins Jon F. Snyder and Laura Grady were on vacation in Italy. They loved the unique Italian ice creams they tasted. They had grown up working in their grandparents' ice cream shop.
Bringing Gelato to New York
When he was 19, Jon Snyder became determined to bring Italian gelato to New York City. In May 1984, he left school and gathered $25,000 from his family and friends. With help from Laura and her sister Christine, he opened a small shop. This first shop was at 451 Broome Street in the SoHo area of Manhattan.
Their main goal was to sell their products to other businesses. They visited many restaurants in New York, offering them samples of their gelato. They wanted to build a strong business that would last all year.
Growing the Business
Within five years, they had many famous chefs as customers. These chefs included Charlie Palmer and restaurants like the River Café. Other well-known places like the 21 Club and the Russian Tea Room also bought their gelato.
By 1989, the business was doing very well. Jon Snyder decided it was time to move on. He put an advertisement in NY Times to sell the company.
New Owners and Expansion
A person named F.W. Pearce thought buying Ciao Bella was a great idea. He borrowed $90,000 from his mother to buy the shop. This money also covered a special freezer, a pickup truck, and all the recipes for 60 flavors.
At first, Pearce did almost everything himself. He mixed flavors and delivered the products with just 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, and together they planned to make the company even bigger.
Thanks to Charlie Apt's great sales skills, sales doubled to $2 million within another year. He called many restaurants and added colorful logos to the plain white gelato containers.
Continued Growth
By 2005, Ciao Bella was a $10 million company with 75 employees. That year, they opened five new stores. These included a store in Berkeley, adding to their three existing stores in New York and San Francisco.
In 2008, Ciao Bella received a large investment of $10–20 million. This money helped them grow even more.
In 2010, Ciao Bella moved its gelato making to Eugene, Oregon. This allowed them to make much more gelato. In 2013, they celebrated 30 years with a free gelato party in New York. Today, Ciao Bella Gelato is made in Ludington, Michigan. They focus on making gelato in 16oz 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 also named Ciao Bella the "Best Ice Cream in New York."
