Some of the gelatos I had during my trips to Italy
Our Story
Having graduated and trained as a pharmacist in the UK, the idea of running a Food & Beverage (F&B) business has never crossed my mind until…
An unhappy Ice-cream
Back in early 2021, after being locked down for months and life was getting a little dull, I brought my wife out to a supposedly gelato and dessert shop in Penang to satisfy her sweet tooth cravings.
We were really excited and looking forward to a good ice-cream, but we ended up leaving very disappointed. The flavour, the taste and the structure were completely off. It was nothing like what we had in Italy!
Memories of Italy
We were both massive fans of Gelato. It’s always one of our first stops when we travel to Italy when we were working and studying in the UK. Over 20 servings, all over Italy, from the historical Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice to the beautiful Amalfi Coast!
Penang must have better ice creams!
Penang undoubtedly has some of the best foods in the world. But surely we have some good ice-creams too…
This thought has led me to bring my wife to try out several other ice-cream shops but we were not too impressed either. Some were too sweet, while the others did not have the texture we were looking for.
This has started to ignite the idea of having a proper gelato shop.
Conflicting thoughts
But with a healthcare background, I was not really comfortable due to the negative impression we have of ice-cream which is normally high in sugar and fats, until I discovered that Gelato typically has less sugar and fats than the normal American ice-cream, approximately half the amount of fats!
Diving into the gelato world
From getting a homemade ice-cream maker, trying out gelato recipes found online and finally, learning directly from the true masters in Italy.
After a couple of experiments, I have finally been able to make the “gelato” that we were looking for! It was not perfect, without professional equipment, but it was a good start.
Can I do more? Can we do better?
What if I could offer this as the healthier ice-cream option to the people in Penang, would that help people to be more healthy? Would I also be able to contribute to people’s mental health by offering true, delightful artisanal Italian Gelato?
Maybe yes. (with savings being emptied to bring in the equipment from Italy)
The story continues…
the birth of ciao gelato
“Ciao” is one very unique word! In Italian, it can be used for both “Hello” & “Bye”!
We hope this a proper “Hello” to true, healthy, artisanal Italian Gelato.
For every good “Bye”, comes another “Hello”!
We believe we have a regular role to play in a happy and healthy lifestyle!
We do not seek to be just another ice-cream shop. We wish to do more, through our gelato.
Our Vision
A happier and healthier world with our presence
Our Mission
To share happiness through our healthy, artisanal Italian Gelato and our acts of kindness.
Our Values
Care
We genuinely care about each action that we take and each interaction that we have, to maximise the positive impact we have on society while limiting our impact on the environment.
Integrity
We act responsibly, take personal accountability and stay true to doing the right thing, at all times.
Growth
We always look for opportunities to grow each day and to do a little better than the day before, in our journey of continuous improvement.
Altruism
We always seek to benefit others before ourselves. We enjoy “Giving” and we believe in the power of “Giving”.
Obsessed w Quality
We are committed to sustainably deliver the highest value possible to our customers, by producing quality products using quality equipment and ingredients.