Despite Gelato's Popularity Overseas, Its Intense, Fresh Taste Still a Well-Kept...

Despite Gelato's Popularity Overseas, Its Intense, Fresh Taste Still a
Well-Kept Secret in United States Says New Survey
Gelato Master Marco Casol Introducing Americans to Italian Delicacy One Taste
at a Time

CONCORD, N.C., May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Italians have indulged in the rich,
intense taste of gelato for centuries, yet one in two Americans haven't even
heard of the creamy frozen dessert, according to a new poll of 1,000 adults
nationwide.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080520/CLTU086LOGO )
Gelato Master Wants to Turn on Americans to Gelato
It's that lack of awareness that brought "Gelato Amante" (Gelato Lover)
Marco Casol to the United States in 2002. In many ways, Marco is the
soft-spoken embodiment of the romance and charm that are quintessential Italy.
He is a native of the region in Northern Italy where gelato was first
invented, and his family has owned and operated gelato shops throughout Europe
for over 100 years. It's his dream to introduce Americans to the fresh taste
and artisanal quality of gelato, and to spark in them a love affair with it
that will ignite a passion equal to his own.
"I was basically born in a gelato pan," said Marco, Gelato Master,
president and CEO of PreGel AMERICA, the specialty dessert ingredient company
that conducted the recent survey. "My earliest memories are of the scents of
vanilla, lemon and coffee in my family's gelato shop, and of the smiles their
tastes would bring to our customers each day."
Like Marco, Americans understand passion. More than three-quarters of
those surveyed said they believe eating certain foods can elicit strong
emotions. In fact, nearly one in five equated eating gelato with kissing a
beautiful woman or handsome man. With beliefs like these, Marco's passion
could be contagious.
"Eating gelato is like taking a delicious little Italian vacation without
ever leaving home," Marco said. "All it takes is one taste and experience to
make someone fall in love with gelato and come back for it over and over
again."
Most Have Never Tasted Gelato
In recent years, gelato has been named by some as a hot trend in the
United States, particularly along the East and West coasts. But despite the
fact that shops offering this little taste of Italy are popping up on more and
more American street corners, fewer than one in three people surveyed have
actually tried it.
Of those polled who have heard of gelato, nearly half don't know the
difference between gelato and other frozen desserts. What's more, two-thirds
don't know it's made with natural ingredients from all around the world. An
equal number of survey respondents are unaware it is lower in fat, and more
than three-quarters are unaware it is lower in calories than other frozen
desserts.
In fact, while most Americans choose to eat it as a snack, many Italians
eat gelato in place of lunch or dinner in addition to as an afternoon or
evening treat -- which, admittedly, is equally due to the social experience as
it is to gelato's nutritional value.
"In Italy, eating gelato is as much about the pleasure of the company
you're in and where you are as it is about enjoying its delicious taste," said
Marco.
We Crave Social Experience as Much as Taste
American survey respondents -- particularly 18- to 24-year-olds and those
with children -- agree. Of those who eat frozen yogurt, ice cream or gelato,
two in three young adults and seven in 10 of those who have at least one child
at home said they'd prefer to enjoy it at a shop where they could be with
friends and family and have fun.
When asked which flavor they would choose if they could only eat one kind
of frozen yogurt, ice cream or gelato for the next month, nearly two-thirds
still stuck to the old favorites -- chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla -- in
that order.
Seven in 10 survey respondents who've had the chance to find their
favorite gelato flavor said they've done it in the United States. An equal
number of those who haven't yet savored its unique, creamy taste said they'd
be most likely to do so by sampling it at a local shop.
And if the American palate's affinity for Italian wine, food and specialty
coffee is any indication, it might not be long before more people enjoy their
first taste and gelato becomes a staple of U.S. culinary culture.
About PreGel AMERICA
PreGel AMERICA is the U.S. division of PreGel S.p.a., a global ingredient
company headquartered in Reggio Emilio, Italy. PreGel develops, manufactures
and distributes all-natural ingredients, toppings and fillings of the highest
quality from Italy, including flavors, powders and pastes used in gelato,
frozen yogurt, sorbetto and other frozen desserts. Based in North Carolina
since 2002, PreGel directly sells to restaurants, gelato cafes, coffee shops,
frozen yogurt shops, bakeries, pizzerias, hotels, resorts, grocery stores and
universities, as well as a few distributors in the United States. The company
headquarters is in Concord, N.C., just northeast of Charlotte. For more
information, visit www.pregelamerica.com .
The gelato survey was commissioned by PreGel AMERICA and conducted online
by Synovate eNation. The sample of 1,000 adults ages 18+ has a margin of error
of + 3 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
SOURCE PreGel AMERICA

Gretchen Siebert, +1-704-552-6565 ext. 159, siebert@lgapr.com, or Jennifer
Garber, +1-704-552-6565 ext. 108, garber@lgapr.com, both of LGA for PreGel
AMERICA