Italian ice cream brand Snowflake Luxury Gelato is set to open its third site in London by the summer, with two more stores likely to be added next year.
Snowflake founder Asad Khan told M&C Report the company is close to acquiring its third site in central London and would look to have it open by May.
The company, which has some angel investors, is trading well at its original site in Bayswater and its Soho site, which opened in October last year.
Khan said: “We’ve seen 10% growth at our Bayswater site and our Wardour Street site is tracking to forecast.
“We’re seeing the market developing now as people start to appreciate that gelato is different to ice cream. People are having it more often in the colder months now too – we serve coffee in our stores but 70% of our sales even in winter are gelato.”
As a result of the boost in winter and evening sales – with people coming into Snowflake after dinner for dessert – Khan said the company is looking for larger premises where it can offer more seating.
Its current sites can seat around 30 people but for its next site 40-50 covers is the goal.
In March Snowflake will become “the first gelateria in the UK” to launch a range of 100% organic gelato to complement its existing offer.
Khan said: “We already use organic milk and cream in all of our gelato and people come to us because of that, but we want to lead the market and offer a 100% organic range for those who really do try to have a diet that’s as organic as possible.”
The company is also looking at a franchise model to open sites overseas next year, with Dubai and Qatar likely locations.
