Artisanal Vegan Gelato: Take Your First Steps Into The World of Plant-Based Ice Cream

Why Sell Plant-Based Ice Creams At All

There are many reasons why your clientele may be keen on choosing a plant-based ice cream over a dairy-based one. It doesn’t just boil down to keeping up with a fad. As we said in this article about our Elisa ice-cream base, lactose intolerance is an issue experienced by half of the Italian population and by an astounding 70% of the world population; limiting the usage of dairy-based products is therefore a choice that allows to meet a larger share of clients.

In addition to this, there is an increasing segment of clientele that is choosing to follow a diet devoid of animal-based products, namely vegans, who, together with vegetarians, sum up to 8.2% of Italians according to the 2021 Eurispes study (Eurispes is a private institute providing political, economic and social research). Today, though, it is still hard for them to find the plant-based equivalents of some traditional foods; selling them in your parlor will therefore favor you greatly, especially if your parlor is based in a big city or if it serves an international clientele (countries like Germany or France have, for instance, even higher percentages of vegan/vegetarian people than Italy).

Is Vegan Ice Cream Really Good? Does It Make You Fat?

As far as taste is concerned, it is high time we went beyond that out-of-date preconception according to which a non-dairy ice cream can’t be as creamy and tasty as a milk-based one. The technological progress, as well as the research and study of raw materials, enabled industries to identify the ingredients and processes that allow to get the same texture and flavor of traditional ice creams in plant-based ice creams.

Not only did this research benefit creativity, engendering vegan ice-cream flavors galore, but also health, as companies did their best to find ingredients, such as vegetable fibers, that allowed to increase the creaminess and spreadability of ice cream while also reducing fat absorption, decreasing cholesterol and diminishing or even eliminating the need of thickeners and emulsifiers altogether. Industrial ice cream only is to blame for the myth of a fat vegan ice cream, as it employs a high amount of trans fats; nevertheless, this is as true for industrial vegan ice creams as for industrial dairy-based ones.

Gelatitalia Bases For Out-of-This-World Artisanal Vegan Ice Creams

Although some still turn up their noses at the idea of selling vegan gelato in their artisanal ice-cream parlors, vegan ice cream has always been there. Fruit ice cream is indeed typically made with water instead of milk, with the exception of a limited range of flavors such as coconut. As of recently, plant-based ice creams have just upgraded thanks to thorough research on raw ingredients and how to balance them in tasty recipes.

Supporting this trend simply means to first acknowledge the existence of a growing need of customers and, secondly, to test yourself as an ice-cream maker. Dedicating a separate corner of your parlor to plant-based ice creams shows you care about your vegan and lactose intolerant clients too: they will feel welcome and included.

In Gelatitalia’s line, alongside with complete fruit bases, you will also find plant-based options, like Salus Fruit Base, within our range of high-fiber bases and our Tao Line, comprising a variety of bases for artisanal chocolate ice creams with thrilling aromas. Moreover, you can enhance your ice creams with our pastes and toppings choosing from our vegan options which are also completely gluten free and made with quality fresh fruit.

Explore our products and start devising your own line of artisanal vegan gelato!