• The story of the PreGel company begins over 50 years ago. The family business based on tradition, commitment and passion has become one of the main innovators in the gelato industry. Today, the founder Luciano Rabboni he continues to lead PreGel with his sons, always looking for innovative solutions for the industry.
• With a team of over 700 employees in Italy and abroad, over 65.000 square meters of production space in Italy and a 60.000 square meter factory in America as well as over 20 gelato and pastry schools, the company PreGel is a global reference point in the production of ice cream semi-finished products.
1. How did the idea of creating ice cream flavors come about many years ago?
It was a necessity. My aunt had a small ice cream cone factory and had asked me to help her create new flavors. At the time, I was an assistant professor of Food Technology at the University of Parma and had started an academic career. I chose to leave this path to help my aunt.
In the beginning it was very difficult, I had no experience in the industry or even business knowledge, I had no equipment or other means. Little by little, day by day, I gained experience and I admit that my disadvantage turned out to be a great advantage in the end because it stimulated my creativity in inventing what was not yet on the market.
This gave birth to new, innovative products compared to the conventional ones made at the time by other companies in the field.
2. The ice cream market was revolutionized by PreGel thanks to innovative products such as Gran Stracciatella Reale, the classic Zabajone Vittoria paste and Yoggi®. What was the inspiration behind these creations and how did they influence the industry?
I started from a small garage in 1967. I was the first and only worker in the company. I was creating the products and then selling them, and this helped me a lot because I could interact directly with the ice cream maker, listen to him and satisfy his demands with products perfectly adapted to the market.
In 1967, there were very few ice cream flavors such as nougat, hazelnut, chocolate, lemon; these flavors were invented by ice cream makers from northern Italy, from the Cadore area, who later emigrated to Germany. They used egg as a binder to get just these few simple flavors.
It was a simple way to make ice cream and only with the arrival of semi-finished products and ice cream ingredients did a great development take place in the gelateria, and this to meet the customer, more and more curious to taste the new flavor of the season.
For example, I remember that one year, at the Longarone fair, I presented the orange flavor for the first time. It was an incredible success!
And then came Stracciatella… during a fair, an importer asked me to make him a new product. By chance, I had at my booth, only fifteen square meters, a product that I had developed with a chocolate paste. I prepared a white base and poured over this the special chocolate paste that I had frozen. I expected the composition to strengthen, but instead, as soon as I started the car, it broke, crumbled. And so stracciatella was born.
As you can imagine, there was a boom in requests!
Concentrated fruit pasta
Besides the stracciatella, I remember the product that helped PreGel to enter the gelato stores were concentrated fruit pastas. Back then, ice cream was made using only fresh fruit. Fresh fruit is great, but when you add sugar and water to it, it loses some of its flavor power. We advised ice cream manufacturers to try adding fifteen grams per liter of our product, and so we began distributing our fruit pastes as fortifiers.
The pinnacle of PreGel's success was definitely yogurt. I remember one Sunday afternoon I was alone in the laboratory and put some ingredients together: I was amazed because a unique flavor was born. Yogurt ice cream was a big hit, initially in Germany and then around the world. Then, over time, we obviously developed many other products.
I believe that the success of Italian gelateria around the world is due to all the Italian ice cream manufacturers and companies who, by working hard, have created new flavors. The new flavors boosted the demand for ice cream as there was also a lot of consumer curiosity.
Of course, ice cream has also changed over time. Gelaterias in Italy and Germany were a meeting point on Sunday afternoons or even on weekdays. Towards evening, all the young people were in the gelateria. There weren't as many bars as there are today.
3. I read that your motto is "Simplicity, determination and creativity". How have these values guided the company over the years?
I think, regardless of me, success requires simplicity and getting straight to the point. Another value, important in general in life, I think is fairness in the workplace and trying to give your customer something that is done with seriousness and transparency.
4. PreGel has been recognized as one of the best companies in Italy for three consecutive years. What factors do you think contributed to this success?
Maybe a bit of luck, but there's also a lot of hard work and determination behind it.
5. In 2019 you received the distinction of Cavaliere del Lavoro from President Mattarella. How has this recognition affected the company?
It was a nice recognition of the work done over the past 55 years in the industry. I was very pleased, but it didn't hurt the company.
6. With over 20 gelato and pastry schools, PreGel is strongly committed to training future professionals. What is the importance of training talent in the field of ice cream manufacturing?
When you open a school, you transfer the experience of the past into the hands of a young person, a person eager to learn.
In gelato schools you learn a profession and how to run a business. Ice cream can give the gelato maker great personal satisfaction, especially when customers recognize the quality and the gelato parlor becomes a meeting place where you can spend a few quiet hours.
I remember many years ago you didn't know where to go "parking lots" bike around the gelato shop because of the large number of young people who frequented it. It was a real meeting point. I remember the ladies who would meet and sit elegantly in front of a bowl of ice cream in the morning to spend a few hours in the company of a friend.
7. PreGel has a significant presence both in Italy and abroad. How do you manage the complexity of such a company?
It takes a lot of luck and good collaborators all over the world. Every country is different, so you need to find collaborators who are rooted in the country where they work.
There are always problems, but the secret is to be able to overcome them; everything then becomes natural.
8. How do you see the future of the ice cream industry?
I always ask the ice cream maker: “Do you want to earn more or do you want to save more? "
And he usually answers: "I want to earn more".
My answer is always this: "If you want to make more money, you have to sell more ice cream. To sell more ice cream you have to make the best product, you don't have to try to save on raw materials. Because in order to survive, the gelateria must always be full of customers, and customers will only come to you if you make the best ice cream in your area."
To make the best ice cream possible, you need to select the best ingredients.
9. You have created a world. If you are looking down from a satellite, how do you see this road from 1967 to now?
I remember the past, but I am focused on the present. The way is very simple: always work with honesty.
Interview conducted by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
Read on White Art and: Ice cream – the refreshing pleasure of a dessert with a fascinating history
