Messina Scoopology
First thing's first...
We don’t just scoop gelato, we make it all from scratch. That means baking all of the cookies, brownies and all the other delicious additions, as well as churning every flavour fresh in each store. If you’re studying food tech, training in hospitality, or just want to see what actually goes into a tub of Messina, this page along with our factory tours will give you content the full, unfiltered look behind the scenes.
BOOK A TOUR
Want to bring your class or crew in?
We offer limited guided tours of our Marrickville Messinaville production facility for high school, TAFE and hospitality students.
- $25 per person (includes a free single scoop)
- Maximum 15ppl through the factory at any time; we can split larger groups if needed
📩 Contact hello@gelatomessina.com to enquire.
What Makes Messina The Best Gelato In Australia (and arguabling worldwide)?
In this podcast linked below, Gelato Messina founder Nick, chats through why we insist on making everything from scratch. From slow-cooking dulce de leche, to roasting hazelnuts and making our own chocolate. It’s all about how controlling every part of production helps us make better gelato (and stay a little bit obsessive in the process).
Where Messina sits in the Australian food industry
The Australian food industry is normally broken down into a handful of sectors: agriculture, food processing and manufacturing, food service, food retail, food marketing, and the cross-cutting food-safety function. Most food businesses sit in one or two of these.
Messina is unusual because it operates in three of them at once.
Food processing & manufacturing
At Messinaville we turn raw milk, sugar, eggs, fruit and other ingredients into the gelato bases and additions that go into our products.
Food retail
Through our gelato stores, our online shop, and the Messina x Woolworths range that sits in supermarket freezers.
Food service
Through Erin (our restaurant inside the Marrickville HQ) and Shadow Baking (our sister company).
Why we run a batch system
Production systems are classified two ways. By type (custom/job, batch, continuous), and by scale and automation (small-scale, large-scale, manual, automated, computerised). Messina runs large-scale, batch production with a mix of manual chef-led work and automated/computerised processes — pasteurisation and freezing are computer-controlled; recipe development and finishing touches are done by hand.
Most mass-market ice cream brands run a continuous production system — one base flowing through one line, 24/7. It's the cheapest way to make a lot of one thing. We chose a batch system instead. It costs more per litre, but it's the only way you can run 40 different recipes a day, including five brand-new ones each week.
Size and scale
Messina is considered a large business in Australia by employment numbers, but the production model is still small-batch and chef-led (even general staff) recipes, not industrial formulations.
Employees
400+ across stores, kitchen and head office. We have a series called 'Messina Made' which explores some of our staff who have great stories
Stores
36 in Australia and counting each year + 3 international stores:
2 in Hong Kong
1 in Singapore
Flavours in the cabinet
40 Flavours = 35 classics plus 5 specials each week. Specials are released between Tuesday and Saturday and stay in the cabinet for seven days only.
