is moving into a bigger space at the end of November.  “We’ve completely outgrown the current operation,” Piccolina Gelateria founder Sandra Foti told Inside Retail.  “We’re really excited about the new facility, because we’ll have a lot more capacity to produce our products. Everything we make is from scratch, so we require a big kitchen with a big team of pastry chefs and gelato makers.” According to Foti, the lack of space has been one of the biggest restrictions on Piccolina’s potential growth in the past year. The business has had to turn down opportunities because, logistically, it couldn’t bring a new product line or concept to the table. With a bigger space, Foti is hopeful that more Melbourne stores are on the cards: as well as the business’ first sites outside of Victoria.  “I’d love to expand interstate, but it’s a really big move that requires a lot of planning,” she said. “I think if you can make gelato work in Melbourne where it’s cold a lot of the time, the further north you go, the greater the opportunity is.” Homemade hero Piccolina Gelateria was born in 2015, when Foti decided she wanted to try her hand at launching her own business. A graphic designer by trade, but a foodie at heart, Foti was inspired by her childhood making gelato with her dad, and realised there was an opportunity to make high-quality, handmade gelato for everyone.  “We don’t make anything pre-made. We have all the raw ingredients [on site] and we make everything by hand: every jam, every ganache, all the crumbles, all of the sauces. Everything,” Foti said. Though the focus has always been on the ingredients, Foti’s background as a designer, as well as her contacts in the design industry, have been instrumental in shaping the identity of the business, as well as the look and feel of its stores.  “We’re always focusing on the design and quality of the fit-out, and working with the best designers in the industry,” Foti explained.  “When I started the business I used some of the contacts I had to talk through the concept of what I was trying to do, and worked out a way to execute on a space that people feel they can come and gather and experience more than just eating gelato.” That focus on design has also informed the brand’s gelato and cake offerings. Piccolina is known for its collaborations with artists, architects and designers on limited ranges, which always strive to bring something new to the table.  Fan favourite Piccolina saw a big sales bump during the pandemic, when many Melburnians incorporated a takeaway gelato into their daily walks during lockdown. That has translated into the kind of customer loyalty that many brands could only dream of. “We’ve had customers purchase in-car freezers so that they can take our gelato with them on the road to their holiday houses,” Foti said.  “We had one customer actually measure the size of our cake boxes and measure the freezer he was buying to make sure our cakes would fit, which was pretty cool.”