We visited the SIGEP Fair in Rimini: the largest gelato, pastry and coffee fair of the world. Imagine a giant international fair of Gelato, Pastry and Coffee. If you triple that image in size, it would probably still be very far away from the madness that is SIGEP. Now, fill this fair of Italian lovers of Gelato, pastries and coffee. And triple the number of Italians. Perhaps we are now getting closer…

We almost gave up on our plans because of how intense it was. It was like eating a pound of triple chocolate gelato (milk, dark and white) with chocolate chips and chocolate syrup in a chocolate cone. An experience a bit too intense. Nevertheless, it was very helpful, since we met some of our suppliers. SIGEP is the main reference in the market for Gelato, and Italy an innovative country with several companies dedicated to the field, providing everything from machines to wafer cones. Having chosen and confirmed our preferred suppliers, all that was left was to eat a lot of wonderful Gelato, which made us even more willing to open a Gelato Shop in Comporta.

During our preparations we had the opportunity to visit the Sigep Fair in Rimini — the largest gelato, pastry and coffee trade fair of the world. Try to imagine a ginormous international fair of gelato, pastry and coffee. Even if you were to triple that image in size, it would probably be far away from the actual madness that is Sigep. Now, if you fill this fair with italian lovers of gelato, pastries and coffee, till there’s no room to move, then triple the number of people… then perhaps we will be getting closer to what the fair feels like…

In a moment of weakness we almost gave up on our plans due to how intense it all was. It was like eating a pound of triple chocolate gelato (milk, white and dark) plus chocolate chips and chocolate syrup, all in a chocolate cone. It was just too intense, almost fanatical. But it was a humbling and beneficial experience since we got the opportunity to meet with some of our potential suppliers. Sigep is, after all, the main reference in the gelato market and Italy is an innovative country, with several dedicated companies providing everything from ice cream machines to wafer cones.

Having chosen and confirmed our preferred suppliers, all that was left to do was to eat lots of wonderful gelato, and that was a confirmation, and we came back home more motivated to open a gelateria in Comporta, Portugal.