Gelato is currently as popular as it’s ever been, with creative ice cream parlours, gelato bars, and restaurants constantly competing with each other to produce new, original, and experimental flavours. Of course, this is not just another summer fad and gelato has actually been in vogue since ancient Roman times, when it was made using snow and ice from the mountaintops and then refrigerated under the ground!
As well as being an eternal favourite with customers, the margins on gelato are also popular with proprietors, and fortunately it is a food that is easy to keep fresh for weeks at a time. There are many different types of gelato makers available, but for commercial establishments, certain makes and models outshine the rest. At Bonzer, we only sell gelato equipment and gelato machines that have passed our rigorous industry standards for performance, functionality, and results, and so here we review our favourite models and highlight the best features that each has to offer, in order of price and capacity.
Nemox Gelato Pro 2500 SP
The Nemox Gelato Pro 2500 SP is the most compact commercial ice cream machine that we sell and is ideal for smaller establishments that need to produce limited quantities of gelato. It is a counter mounted design which produces up to 1 kg (1 quart) of delicious gelato in approximately 20 minutes. It features both a fixed 18/10 stainless steel bowl as well as a removeable bowl with a plastic lid, which saves valuable time as you can remove it and make another preparation with the fixed bowl immediately.The removable bowl is very easy to clean and can also be put in the freezer.
The unit itself is made from stainless steel, as is the blade which also has removable scrapers. It is suitable for long work cycles and has an automatic reset thermostat, as well as a magnetic safety device which ensures that the paddle will instantly stop when the lid is lifted. Furthermore, it has a density controlled switch which immediately stops when the gelato mix is ready.
It can accommodate 1.4 litres of gelato base mix and can produce approximately 4.5 litres of gelato per hour. The list price of the unit is £1663.23.
Nemox Gelato 5K SC
The Nemox Gelato 5K SC is one of the most popular gelato makers for commercial establishments, as it produces high quality gelato quickly and easily. It is an air cooled counter top unit that has a continuous operating function, so can make many different flavours in a short space of time.
The body and mixer blade are constructed from stainless steel and the blade comes with replaceable inserts. Just like the Pro 2500 SP, it features a magnetic safety device for the lid, a density controlled switch, and has a large opening so adding ingredients isn’t a messy affair. Moreover, it features an inbuilt drainage system which allows for fast and simple cleaning of the entire unit.
The 5K SC has an ingredients capacity of 1.75 litres and takes approximately 15 minutes per batch, so it can produce about 7 litres per hour. It’s list price is £2595.78.
Nemox Gelato 6K Crea
The Nemox Gelato 6K Crea is a robust counter top gelato machine, fitted with a stainless steel adjustable blade and scrapers. The blade has a variable speed control of between 55 and 115 RPM. The unit benefits from intelligent software which automatically controls the unit and has four production programs (Gelato Classico, SemiSoft Ice Cream, Granita, and Shock Freezing), so you can leave the unit alone to make the ice cream while you busy yourself elsewhere in the kitchen.
The gelato maker has a large opening which allows for mess free addition of ingredients and has an easy to clean drainage system. It also comes with an optional paddle for processing granita. The 6K Crea can hold a maximum ingredients volume of 2.5 litres and takes about 15 minutes per batch of gelato, so can produce approximately 10 litres per hour. It has a list price of £3958.33.
Nemox Gelato 12k
The Nemox Gelato 12K is a floor standing and very powerful aircooled commercial ice cream maker, complete with many advanced features. It has a frontal product extraction system and a paddle with adjustable scrapers which has a variable rotation speed of 60 – 130 RPM.
The extraction and mixing of gelato is controlled by an electronic inverter, and with a large opening for easy addition of ingredients and the same magnetic safety device featured across our other Nemox Gelato machines, the 12K takes care of the ice cream production so you can focus your efforts elsewhere.
The Gelato 12K takes up to 3.5 litres of ingredients and takes approximately 12 minutes per batch of ice cream, so can produce about 17.5 litres per hour. It has a list price of £6024.18.
Nemox Gelato 5+5K Twin Crea
The Nemox Gelato 5+5K Twin Crea is our largest and most expensive floorstanding gelato maker. Similarly to the 6K model, the Twin Crea’s functions are controlled by advanced software and it has the same four production programs (Gelato Classico, SemiSoft Ice Cream, Granita, and Shock Freezing). It features the magnetic safety device, a stainless steel blade with adjustable scrapers, a large opening for inserting ingredients, and an optional paddle for granita processing.
The unit is a real powerhouse and is ideal for large, busy establishments as it has an easy to clean drain valve and can accommodate up to 1.75 + 1.75 litres of ingredients. It takes around 15 minutes per batch and produces about 14 litres per hour. The unit’s list price is £6425.18.
Calculate your margin and ROI
These Gelato makers produce exceptional quality gelato and ice cream which will no doubt impress your customers and have them coming back for more again and again. Very healthy margins can be made and although they are top of the range machines, it doesn’t take long for them to pay for themselves. For this reason, we have created our new Ice Cream Margin & Return On Investment Calculator.
All you need to do to use the calculator is enter in your chosen ingredients, the container size, the container price, and the amount of mixture used, and the Calculator will tell you what your profit margin will be in advance.
Additionally, it will determine exactly how many sales you will need to make at this rate in order to recoup your investment. Judging by how fast gelato tends to sell, we estimate that it will only be a matter of days or weeks at the most, before your gelato maker has completely paid for itself.
So if you would like to find out more about our Gelato machines and how they can help to entice more customers into your establishment, please feel free to email sales@mitchellcooper.co.uk or call us on +44 (0)1825 765 511.
In the meantime, why not have a go with our Ice Cream Margin & Return On Investment Calculator and discover how you could be both saving and making money at the same time.
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