Which are the top professional Gelato and Ice Cream Equipment suppliers in the US?
Are you the owner of an ice cream or gelato shop? Or maybe are you wondering about opening one in the near future? Either way, it’s very likely that you may be interested in understanding which is for you the top professional gelato and ice cream equipment suppliers in the US.
Conducting this research is indeed crucial to establishing a profitable and efficient frozen dessert business. As you may already be aware of, choosing the right suppliers is not just about purchasing equipment. It’s instead about selecting a reliable long-term partner.
Also, when evaluating suppliers, there are several critical factors to consider. In a previous blog post, we outlined these considerations in detail, offering insights into what you should think about when selecting your ideal foodservice equipment supplier.
If you haven’t read it yet, we highly recommend checking it out!
But afterwards, another question pops up. Specifically speaking about gelato and ice cream business, which are the best in town?
In this blog post, we will dive into the specifics of professional gelato and ice cream equipment suppliers all across the US.
Of course, please remember that your choices will vary depending on the type of equipment you need. In fact, some suppliers specialize in specific machines, such as gelato makers or display freezers. On the other hand, others might offer a wider range of products but may not excel in every category.
Here are our top recommendations, tailored to the type of gelato equipment you are looking for.
Best Ice Cream and Gelato equipment suppliers in the US for each category
To grant your shop an optimal workflow and output, you’ll need a range of specialized equipment. Also, different parlors may have different needs and goals.
It's then important to note that different suppliers excel in different categories of equipment, thus making it essential to choose wisely based on your specific needs.
However, while all equipment is necessary, the strategic importance of each item can vary. For instance, selecting a high-quality batch freezer is far more critical to your business's success than choosing the perfect scoop or spatula. Therefore, we always recommend prioritizing quality over price, especially for the most crucial pieces of equipment.
With this in mind, let’s explore the best gelato and ice cream equipment suppliers in the US, and discover which suppliers are ideal for each category of equipment!
1) Where to buy soft serve machines? Donperusa / Softserveparts
If you are looking to offer soft serve ice cream in your Shop, you will need soft serve machines.
This kind of equipment is particularly important for businesses looking to expand their menu offerings and attract a broader customer base. Typically they’re restaurants, or seasonal shops in high traffic venues.
These machines need an efficient production capacity, and they also need to be easy to use and energy efficient.
If you’re looking for good suppliers of this equipment category, Donperusa might be a good fit. Leading brand in the refrigeration and compressor’s industry, in the last 15 years in the US they have been focused on soft serving.
Another good option is Softserveparts. Based in Las Vegas, they offer both good soft serving machines and parts to repair.
2) Where to buy daily working routine tools? Webstaurant Store
For an ice cream or gelato shop, there are a number of daily tools you’ll need for your daily workflow.
Among these:
- Gelato Pans and Trays. Stainless steel pans for displaying and serving gelato everyday.
- Scoops and Spatulas. Scoops and spatulas for serving gelato or ice cream. The more is your traffic and the number of flavors you offer, the more you will need.
- Dipping Wells. They keep scoops and utensils clean and sanitary between uses.
- Mixing Bowls and Whisks. They will be very useful for mixing ingredients before they go into production equipment.
- Measuring Tools. Scales, measuring cups, and spoons for accurate ingredient measurements.
- Flavor Extractors. With these tools, you’ll be able to infuse natural flavors into your gelato or ice cream.
These types of tools are essential for streamlining your working processes, but they are not as strategically important as other equipment for your business. Consequently, you don't need to be overly selective when choosing them.
Obviously, there's not a significant difference between one ice cream scoop and another!
For this reason, we recommend a supplier like Webstaurant Store, a large equipment dealer offering a wide variety of options and affordable prices. Since it’s a broad foodservice equipment supplier, we wouldn’t suggest them for your most crucial equipment pieces.
However, they may be an excellent choice for smaller, everyday tools.
3) Where to buy Gelato Machines and Batch Freezers? BRAVO / Modalita
When it comes to batch freezers and gelato machines, the choice begins to become critical. If you’re still deciding on these essential pieces of equipment for your gelato shop, you can’t afford to make this decision lightly.
In fact, as we have already pointed out, while choosing one ice cream scoop over another might not significantly impact your operations, selecting the right batch freezer or gelato machine can be a real game changer.
These machines indeed affect many aspects of your business, from the overall quality and texture of your gelato to the efficiency of your production process.
The quality of your gelato is key, but there are other considerations as well. A top-notch machine will influence the variety of products you can offer, your energy consumption and related costs, the volume of gelato you can produce each hour, and ultimately, the number of customers you can serve.
Your entire business can hinge on this decision.
That’s why we recommend you to pick this piece of equipment from the very best brand available: BRAVO. Their Trittico has just celebrated its 50th birthday, and it’s still unmatched.
At MODALiTA we worked hard to become BRAVO’s partner and this year we won for the 3rd time their award as “Best Partner”.
4) Where to buy Luxury Gelato Carts to sell your products anywhere? Tekné Italia
If you’re wondering about how to expand your frozen dessert business, you definitely may consider bringing your products outside your shop’s walls.
99% of the time, this is a great idea.
Bringing your gelato around helps you raise your shop’s and brand awareness and discover new exciting opportunities. Also, you will have the chance to meet new potential customers, set up catering outdoors, or attend events.
If this is your idea, then you’ll need strategic on wheels equipment such as not-notch gelato carts.
And talking about carts, the solution is pretty straightforward: Tekné Italia is definitely the one and only top class cart supplier you’ll need. While there are several other food cart suppliers, these have always sold cheap tools to bring around cheap-looking products.
Tekné Italia has instead invented a whole new equipment segment: their vintage carts are luxury vehicles to move and properly showcase the very best gelato brands around.
5) Where to buy the best refrigerated visual display case? IFI / Modalita
The last - definitely crucial - category of equipment you need for your gelato or ice cream shop, is visual display cases.
As a matter of fact, once you have chosen a proper gelato machine, found all your needed daily tools, and secured all the necessary ones to upscale your business (like a Gelato Cart to sell outdoors), you’ll need to make the most from your business.
Which means, in other words, that you will need to make your gelato shine among competitors.
That’s when the urge for a top level visual display case comes in.
Refrigerated cabinets and visual display cases are indeed the pieces of equipment responsible for luring customers to your delicacies. A yummy product is not enough if you’re not able to make it catchy!
For this reason, at MODALiTA we have selected the ones that in our opinion are the very best tools for this purpose. We're obviously talking about the Italian leading brand IFI. A brand that has always been able to blend technical innovation with attention to design and aesthetics.
At MODALiTA we are long term partners with IFI: today we are able to provide flawless customer care and advice with any of their products.
That’s why we recommend you to entrust MODALiTA in your research for the perfect display case.
We know! Positioning ourselves among the best professional gelato equipment suppliers in the US may seem very self-referential... However, we’re recommending ourselves for very motivated reasons.
In fact, just as we could have chosen to offer any kind of gelato equipment, we instead decided to focus our business on a select range of products. This way we can provide superior customer care and only offer ultra-selected, game-changing equipment.
AT MODALiTA we believe in quality, not quantity.
And our catalog is 100% built on the highest quality available on the equipment market.
We may serve fewer clients… but at least this way we are sure to serve them in the best possible way.
If you wanna be the next to skyrocket your business with the best professional ice cream equipment around, just reach out for advice or quotes!