$20k day, Ottolenghi pints & Sydney Superstars

The Broken Cone: Ice Cream & Gelato Newsletter

Author

The Broken Cone
September 08, 2025

$20k day, Ottolenghi pints & Sydney Superstars

Hello! And Welcome to The Broken Cone. The Ice Cream & Gelato newsletter.

New? Subscribe free here.

Every Monday we send you two news stories and one deep dive, direct to your inbox.

Estimated read time: 2 minutes 54 seconds

NEWS

Curated global Ice Cream & Gelato news. This week:

 

$20k day for TikTok Ice Cream

Christchurch shop owner sells $20k of TikTok Ice Cream in a day. John Patel, owner of Megha Discounter, spoke to RNZ about his stunning day of sales. He stocked the fruit shaped Fruitae ice creams after seeing they were doing the rounds on TikTok. After selling out of his first batch, he had over 70 customers daily checking in to see if he restocked. Patel credits local TikToker, @christchurchgirl who first alerted locals that he them in store. Original discussion with RNZ here. Check out the Chicken Leg shaped treat Fruitae also make. The next craze?

Ottolenghi x Waitrose

Last month the celebrated chef and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi enters the Ice Cream game with three flavours exclusive to Waitrose (UK). Madagascan Vanilla & Miso Salted Caramel, Roasted Pistachio & Sour Cherry Swirl and Coffee & Cardamom. All flavours are made using West Country cream. Retailing at £6 for a 500ml tub, all three flavours have been received well. Watch reviews for Coffee and Cardamom here, Salted Caramel here and Pistachio here.

Deep Dive

Shops, Flavours, Marketing, Operations, Founder Stories. This week:

Gelato Messina (Australia)

25+ stores. 297k loyal insta followers. 40 flavours running at all times. The Sydney Superstars, Gelato Messina have been at the very top of the game since 2002. It started in Darlinghurst Sydney and has grown to something much bigger. Beloved by their customers, lauded as one of the best Gelato’s outside of Italy, we break down 3 reasons that make them so special:

Vertical Integration

They control a huge amount of their supply chain. They make all their Gelato bases and pastries at Messinaville. As well as that, they produce many of their own raw ingredients:

  • Milk: Since 2006 they have produced their own milk from jersey cows at their Victoria farm.

  • Hazelnuts: They grow and harvest their own hazelnuts. Their beginnings here.

  • Dulce de leche: When the Australian Government banned import of Dulce de Leche, they travelled to Argentina, bought a Paila and started making their own.

Not only does greater vertical integration reduce middlemen costs but drastically improves the control of your product.

Endless Creativity

With 8 wacky Gelato cakes, a growing list of collabs and 5 new special flavours every week(!) they are always turning out new ideas. Two of their flavours for example:

You Cannoli was actually a customer suggestion. Creativity = customer engagement.

They’re funny

The only thing they don’t take seriously is themselves. And customers love them for it. Their insta bio: “just another glorified ice cream shop” is just a start:

Key takeaway: Gelato Messina prioritise their product to an exceptional level, creating some of the most spectacular Gelato, and have fun while they do it.

Deeper dive:

Quote of the week

❝

I'm not the one to sort of sit and cry over spilt milk. I'm too busy looking for the next cow.

Gordon Ramsay

That's all for this week folks. 

Next week → As always, two news stories and one deep dive.

We'd love to hear from you. Reply, chat to us and tell us about your journey.

But finally - when you get a break:

 🎵 Song of the week (Shop playlists here)

🐕 Dog of the week

📺 All the videos we share, saved here.

Enjoyed The Broken Cone? Forward to a friend - it helps us loads.

Not bothered anymore? Unsubscribe below - we’ll be sad to see you go.

Take care

TBC x