Continuous innovation, the excellence of the ingredients, strong technological investments and an inexhaustible passion for their work have transformed a small Piedmont workshop into one of Italy’s most famous brands.
The processing of cocoa-based products and pastes obtained from dried fruit is a fundamental part of the history of Pernigotti, which was founded in Novi Ligure in 1860 and entered the artisanal gelato market in 1936 with the brand Pernigotti Maestri Gelatieri Italiani.
One of the leading companies in the world of top-quality gelato, able to provide every customer with unbeatable quality and expertise, thanks to the constant search for the best raw materials and the choice of state-of the-art production systems.
Between the 1950’s and 1970’s, the company established itself in the sector thanks to the development of a product range with an expansive selection of tastes, shapes and flavours. The year 1998 was a turning point date as the business was distinguished for its specialization in the gianduja chocolate segment with its various products such as Gianduiotto, Cremino and Nocciolati.
In 2003, a major innovation was introduced with the creation of a range of pure dark chocolate references. The Single-origin dark chocolate Santo Domingo is a product with an exceptional performance, containing only cocoa butter fat and instead of dehydrated chocolate or cocoa powder the superb innovation of including real chocolate in the recipe. Since then, development has never ceased, reaching a complete line of semi-finished products that have their origin in cocoa.
The year 2019 marks the entry into Casa Optima, an Italian group that owns eight of the most popular and appreciated brands in the artisanal gelato, high-quality pastries and mixed beverages market. From this moment on, the company’s business was enhanced accelerating its expansion, both in terms of portfolio development with the launch of new products, and in terms of technological innovation and corporate sustainability.
The range of chocolates under the brand “Pernigotti Maestri Gelatieri Italiani”is wide and is the result of an important development carried out based on the needs of the gelato makers. The main product for which the brand “Maestri Gelatieri Italiani” continues to be highly appreciated as a symbol par excellence of chocolate is definitely “Bitter Cocoa Pernigotti Maestri Gelatieri Italiani”. A cocoa with aromatic hints of vanilla and an unmistakable consistency and flavour, preferred by professionals for its solubility and final performance on gelato.
Among the brand’s best-selling flagship products are the MORETTINE, a line of spreadable creams that has revolutionized the traditional variegation and taste standards of artisanal gelato and that offers surprising practicality and versatility as they can be used as a variegate, to create the famous cremino or to make the gelato richer and creamier.
To make fruit proposals of the highest level, GELAGEL FRUTTA was created, the premium line of fruit purees for artisanal gelato that preserves all the freshness and organoleptic properties of the fruit, present in a high percentage.
Counted among the inventors of the famous Gianduiotto praline, the brand produces Gianduja with only hazelnuts and cocoa, ingredients for which the Pernigotti Master Gelato chefs are absolute experts.
The strong ties with tradition and territory are the basis of the excellence of the hazelnut proposal: the famous IGP Piedmont Hazelnut of the Langhe and other types of hazelnut pastes have undergone various degrees of roasting to meet the customers requirements. A product so iconic that in 2020 it was chosen as a symbol to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the brand.
At Pernigotti Maestri Gelatieri Italiani, we look at the past as a source of inspiration and take its secrets to transform them into modern gelato making, creating a world in which ancient gestures and innovation become the key to achieving unrivaled product characteristics.
This is why it has always been and will always be an unmistakable brand that represents Italian gelato throughout the world, thanks to the expertise of those who every day, work alongside customers with care and responsibility.