la gelateria italiana: Italian business performance rules

This company has revealed to the Ukrainian consumer the secrets of the Italian gelato. Soft colorful ice cream and dessert over the past decade and a half has finally been added to our list of favorites. The company employs only fifty people, but the scale of production and marketing of La Gelateria Italiana is such that its range can be found in all major cities. Thanks to which it was possible - in the material.

The history of La Gelateria Italiana began in 2005. At that time, many Italians were working in Ukraine: in the management of companies, in diplomatic structures, they had their own business. Among them were the founders of the company. They were surprised by the absence of gelato ice cream in the country - pizza and pasta spread in Italy. Having estimated the market capacity, consumer preferences, the partners decided to start a company in our country. For the production of ice cream and confectionery were imported modern Italian lines, arrived masters of the Neapolitan culinary school. Technology transfers were made, suppliers were selected, and the traditional Italian product began to conquer Ukraine. After decades, successful business was sold to Ukrainian owners (the military conflict scared the founders), but La Gelateria remained a company with entirely Italian traditions.

The main activity of the company is the production of traditional gelato, as well as a series of frozen desserts and portioned confectionery. It is complemented by the presence of its own retail network (several cafes in hypermarkets in Kiev) and a network of franchise outlets in the capital and regions. The scale of production is considerable. During the month, the factory produces 50 tons of ice cream and 5 tons of cakes. The maximum potential is even greater.

“The efficiency of our company is made by significant investments in technology. Both in production capacity and in IT solutions, -

Director of the company Irina Isachenkova begins to share her experience. - We have maximum automation of all stages of business. This applies to the factory, back office, logistics, franchise network ... Advanced international quality standards for both production and process management have been implemented: ISO22000-2005, DSTU ISO 22000-2007. Standardization and automation not only streamline activities, but are also important for reputation, network sales, and exports. ”

"Even when developing a standard product, you need to look for specific approaches, quality or services that distinguish it from the same type," - said the interlocutor.

Such features include La Gelateria italiana - a shock freezing of products. Not only ice cream, but also cakes. In Ukraine, only two confectionery companies use this approach. The use of technology has two major advantages. The shelf life of the product is favorable for the manufacturer. And the amount of write-off (read - losses) from partners: cafes, restaurants, franchisors is reduced. "The customer can defrost and use as much production as he needs. For example, if it is Monday and he knows that sales will be low and on Friday - will dismantle everything, he adjusts to demand. Thanks to the technology of shock freezing, the taste and nutritional value of the products are the same as those of fresh products, ”explains Irina. Such culinary products sell better than similar, but short-term storage.

Pareto breeding is an approach that has been effective for decades. In the case of La Gelateria italiana, it also worked and increased the profitability of production.

After years of experimenting with nomenclature, marketers of the company have worked out the perfect range, selected the most marketable and profitable positions and focused on them. The software, installed on its own points and in the franchise, which provides capacious sales analytics, helped in this process. After optimization, there are about 10 items of confectionery out of 40 that were originally in the range. Ice cream - 28 flavors out of 65.

A well-built and multi-vector sales and logistics system allows for the development of production. Production without sales often rests on the ceiling, said the source.

Over the years, she has built relationships with distributors, established wholesale sales in retail chains, hypermarkets, expanded franchisees, exported the product ... La Gelateria desserts are served at Il-Molino, Sushi and restaurants in the Trump Card network. "," World Map ". The cafe is about a hundred only in Kiev. Coverage geography - all cities of Ukraine with a population of more than 100 thousand people. The logistics department, as well as a large number of transport contractors, are working to secure the flow. They bring La Gelateria Italiana ice cream even with refrigerated containers abroad.

Another rule of effectiveness from La Gelateria is targeted marketing, flexibility in approaches, ability to adapt to the situation.

The company did not invest in television or other expensive advertising. At the start of the consumer accustomed to the product in the first place wide representation, the opportunity to try once and fall in love. Now promotion is increasingly moving to digital channels. Website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube ... There are boards, outdoor advertising, but it works well just outside the capital. However, the most effective tool for increasing sales is tasting and selling points at points of sale.

“At first, we focused on HoReCa, on consumption in institutions. We have opened many of our points in supermarkets, shopping centers. The first of these was at the Globus on Independence Square. They were looking for partners and opening establishments in different cities. For almost ten years, it has managed to reach all major cities. All Crimea was covered by the network and in the season gave a very good profit, - recalls Irina. - Participated in food, production exhibitions. Not even content related, such as furniture, shoes, leggings. They went to various events, to Kiev Golf Club, to Porsche Ukraine, to other business or club events. That is, they were looking for access to our target audience, people willing to experiment, try something new. ”
The loss of Crimea and parts of the eastern region has hit business hard. As a crisis solution in 2015, the company went to the mass market. Ukrainians have begun to become accustomed to consuming gelato and frozen desserts outside establishments. Three years ago, the company started trading. Confectionery remained "restaurant-cafe".

Representation in large retail chains is a very effective solution that helps the manufacturer to increase the turnover of products at times.

Today, elegant jars with the La Gelateria logo can be purchased at Metro, Varus, Novus, Furshet, Fory, Megamarkets, Velmarty, Ecomarket, and ATB and Tavriya B ». “Working with networks requires a lot of investment, especially at the event stage, especially the first network. At present, it is not a problem for us to enter into a new one - we are already well-known, only the conditions are being discussed, ”the director shares. The decision to go into retail enabled the company to increase its sales by 300%.
Networks are effective, but the company also works with point clients. You can even order the delivery of products from her "shop near home" in the hinterland. "Ukrlogistics" will bring, says Irina. La Gelateria Italiana is open to experiments and alternative channels, such as collaborating with food delivery services. Negotiations are currently underway with Menu.ua (formerly Eda.ua). "But that doesn't mean we want to go everywhere. We look at every point or resource and decide how appropriate it is for our products, whether it will maintain a consistent quality of the product, whether it will damage the brand image, ”- said the source.

The company does not plan to develop its own retail, but the construction of a franchise network is another task for improving business efficiency.

Such a network provides steady product sales and little additional royalties in the absence of investment, operational and staffing efforts. It also helps to increase brand awareness.
La Gelateria plans to go deep into the regions this season. “Big cities are“ rocking ”in terms of the culture of consumption of different products, there is higher competition. Small towns with a population of up to 100,000 are a huge untapped resource. The cost of a jar or serving of our ice cream is available even to residents of small towns. The product is attractive, in many places it will be a novelty and discovery, as it used to be in Kiev, ”Irina predicts. Interestingly, the company even has requests for a franchise plant.

It is the franchise that will help in the implementation of this "expansion". Affordable royalty packages are available to attract new partners. On the strengths of the offer - a wide "assistance". In fact, the future jelly-giver is introduced into the business by the hand. They assist in choosing a location, supply a complete set of equipment, train and supervise staff, help with software ... Well, of course, give special prices for products and merchandise loans, deferral. “We take the new franchisor and install everything from the refrigerator and the signboard to the handle and the napkin. We provide detailed instructions for each action, to which cloth to wipe the glass and from which side to collect ice cream from the tray. We want our franchisee partner to be successful, profitable, to make his business happen, ”- says Irina Isachenkova.
Entrepreneurs can choose from four formats - from a compact point to a full-fledged cafe. La Gelateria plans to launch a new, lightweight franchise format this season: mobile point of sale, carriage with ice cream. It can be a great addition to any café, restaurant, movie theater and other entertainment establishment, just a separate outlet. Promised payback periods - from 6 months to a year, with investments ranging from $ 5,000 for a mobile point to $ 30,000 for the maximum format. For example, far from the "advanced" network point located in Chernivtsi has a profit of about $ 1 thousand / month. and managed to pay off for the season - last summer.

Of course, many potential entrepreneurs who want to join this business are stopped by the seasonal factor. But ice cream only seems to be a seasonal commodity. Of course, in the resort and tourist cities, sales peaks persist in the summer months, although due to the warming climate, tangible growth can begin from late April. But in terms of sales in shopping malls and supermarkets (in jars), the decline is felt literally in November and February. We opened at Globus on December 3, and the biggest cashier was on January 1, ”Irina recalls. Thanks to the stylish appearance of the jars, the beautiful packaging and rich colors of the product, La Gelateria Ice Cream is hosted instead of cakes / cakes, and is a holiday treat. For New Year - great sales. Already mentioned discounts "warm" this cold product in any season.

In addition to deepening into the regions, Irina Isachenkova considers export as an effective channel for expansion of sales.

“The shelf life of our ice cream is 18-24 months, which allows us to work in this direction. Now we are considering Georgia, Moldova, Poland, our brokers are working out a supply chain. If the product is worthy, we do not see any obstacles and restrictions when entering other markets. Among the promising regions are Israel, Turkey, Germany, Baltic countries, Georgia, ”the entrepreneur is confident. Talking about the European market, the question arises: how La Gelateria Italiana will compete there with Italian ice cream from Italy ... According to Irina, the domestic gelato has an advantage: price-quality. The cost of production in Ukraine is still lower - at the expense of cheaper labor, less cost of renting premises, utilities, and ingredients.

Summarizing the conversation, La Gelateria Italiana director Irina Isachenkova added a few strokes to her business performance formula:

“First of all, the center should be a good product. And to make it successful will be systematic in all directions. Presence of development strategy and planned work within it. Maximum automation and timely upgrade of equipment. Well-trained staff and prescribed system of job and operational instructions. Transparent system of incentives for employees and trading partners. A lot of personal motivation of the entrepreneur, passion for his business and desire to be the first! ”

Irina Isachenkova, Director of La Gelateria Italiana
“Our company has been operating at Raiffeisen Bank Aval from the beginning, since 2005. Its founders, the Italians, were looking for a reliable bank with foreign capital. The Austrian seemed to them the most suitable. All these years we have been using settlement accounts in hryvnia and currency, conducting export-import operations. A salary project has been introduced. We regularly use credit products. A revolving credit facility is used to upgrade the equipment. Overdraft goes to the needs of production, purchase of ingredients for products. In general, I will say about the cooperation of the bank: it takes into account the needs of entrepreneurs very widely. The staff is very customer oriented, all of our issues are resolved quickly, promptly and in making decisions about loans. I also like the new design of the offices, they have become very stylish. "