PUNTOITALY N°1 -January - June 2012

29 THE ITALIAN MAGAZINE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS IN GELATO, CONFECTIONERY AND TRENDY FOOD-AND-DRINK to set up their business in Singapore. Andrea Morelli on the other hand, born in 1973, a programming accountant and consultant from Bologna, aims to open his gelato shop in Florida. Simone Panetta, born in 1976, general manager in the refreshments and entertainment sector in Sondrio, has set his heart on Australia. Silvia Perin, born in 1974, after a degree in economics and commerce and an experience as pastry cook in Sydney, wants to return to Australia, now as an expert gelato maker. Valerio Savioli, born in 1984, an entrepreneur from Riccione (Rimini Province) aims to succeed in business in Singapore. Oscar Venturelli, born in 1968, a representative at Vignola (Modena Province), is taking the culture of gelato to Poland. Beatrice Venturi, born in 1976, from Genoa, with a Master’s in healthcare management and experience in inter- national marketing/ business development, is another Pioneer bound for Singapore. The selection was based on numerous criteria, including the fit between the business plan and the entrepreneurial idea, the points scored in the final test at the end of each stage, assessment of conduct in the kitchen, and motiva- tional assessment. The scholarships include work experience in an Italian gelato outlet; meetings with Carpigiani branch-managers and dis- tributors in the field during the first exploratory journey, to get to know the local market; business coaching, with meetings both in Italy before opening the business and by tele- phone/video conferencing after opening; a master tutoring programme with a Master gelatier from the Carpigiani Gelato University during start-up; and gelato coaching, in which a Master gelatier from the University will mentor the scholarship holders during the twelve months after start-up. The scholar- ship also covers 50% of funding towards the purchase of new Carpigiani gelato machines and a recovery plan for the re- purchase of the machines within 24 months of opening a gelato outlet if the business closes down. • The first Gelato Pioneers were selected a few months ago at the Carpigiani Gelato University at Anzola in Emilia (Bologna Province, Italy): twelve professionals prepared to change their lives to serve the cause of Italian gelato, thanks to scholarships instituted by Carpigiani. The project, which will be repeated in 2012, targets strongly motivated Italians ready to leave everything behind in order to open a gelato outlet abroad, in the country of their dreams. The scholarships were awarded at the conclusion of a com- plete 30-day training course at the Carpigiani Gelato Univer- sity. The Gelato Pioneers also had to meet the requirements of the motivational assessment that was carried out with the col- laboration of the consultancy company Praxi. Only if these conditions were satisfied would they be ready to cross our borders in order to spread throughout the world the good- ness of true batch churned gelato. PROFILING THE PIONEERS Selection of the winners was by no means easy. The final score saw the first 11 projects ranked extremely closely to- gether, and for this reason it was decided to award one more scholarship than originally envisaged. Here then are the first Gelato Pioneers, and their chosen des- tinations. Roberto Benedetti, born in 1974, a technical de- signer from Lucca, wants to open an artisan gelato outlet in Australia. Laura De Angelis, born in 1977, an education con- sultant in Milan, has New Zealand in her sights. Dario Fiorino, also born in 1977, the manager of a pharmaceutical store in Varese, has chosen Brazil as his preferred destination. Marcia Maria Garbin, born in 1982, a Brazilian-Italian pastry cook from San Paolo, aspires to return to Brazil, her native country. Vin- cenzo Maresca and Angelo Toscano (joint project) born in 1967 and 1976 respectively, the former an industrial elec- tronics engineer from Brugherio (in the Brianza district of Monza Province), the latter a steel salesman from Lodi, want