Love at first bite
It was ‘love at first bite’ for Nathan Meyer when he tasted his first cone of delicious gelato while on a business trip to Italy. What started as a simple idea has now turned into a successful business.
It was ‘love at first bite’ for Nathan Meyer when he tasted his first cone of delicious gelato while on a business trip to Italy. “I just wanted to bring gelato back and share it with New Zealand” says Nathan. “I loved everything about it, from the taste and texture to the colour and presentation”
Once back in Wellington Nathan began to research gelato in earnest and after a bit of trial and error created a product using the best of local and imported ingredients. “Once it was ready I built a gelato cart or "carrello" and started selling my gelato at various events around Wellington” says Nathan.
Carrello del Gelato debuted at Wellington’s Italian Festival in 2004 and was an instant hit. It went from strength-to-strength as restaurants asked for supply and customers wanted to buy gelato to take home. Nathan soon found himself producing five litre catering tubs, followed by one-litre retail tubs, and beginning to experiment with different flavours.
In 2011, Carrello moved into single-serve tubs, and entered the New Zealand ice cream awards for the first time winning gold for its Mango Sorbetto. Nathan’s gelato credentials have been well and truly proven this year by an impressive three Silver awards; for his Black Sesame Gelato, Chocolate Gelato and his Wildberry Sorbet.
With the success of Carello del Gelato in Wellington, Nathan hopes to continue the rollout to stockists around the country and is currently in discussions to get his gelato into an airline and plans to export “While we are not currently exporting we have been selected for the NZTE path to market program and plan to start export next year” says Nathan.
His advice to others thinking of starting a business is simple, “you need to do your homework, always underestimate your sales, and ensure you have enough capital. Grow Wellington have been great, they give lots of advice and contacts and make us aware of things such as the New Zealand Food Innovation Network” says Nathan. “They provide great guidance and have a great network of contacts and events to attend”.
Nathan has also been part of the Visa Wellington On a Plate (VWOAP) festival “I Love VWOAP! It’s a great way for Wellington restaurants and suppliers to showcase what's on offer throughout the region. It creates great competition between those involved to come up with some really interesting events” says Nathan.
What started as a simple idea while on a business trip has turned into a successful business. Carrello is stocked by an ever growing number of wholesale and retail outlets throughout New Zealand, with the brand and Nathan going from strength to strength. Buon Appetito!