Gelato Fiasco

Gelato Fiasco is a Brunswick, Maine-based producer of gelato and sorbetto made with Italian-inspired techniques. The company manufactures grocery-store pints in-house at its Flavor Foundry facility in Brunswick, using milk from family farms, natural cane sugar, and inclusions such as nuts, cocoas, chocolates, fruits and confections. Its stated pint ingredient standards exclude erythritol, aspartame, rBST, artificial flavors, synthetic colors and high fructose corn syrup. As of 2017 its pints were sold in more than 5,000 grocery stores across the United States.

In addition to wholesale distribution, the company operates two year-round scoop shops in Maine — the flagship at 74 Maine Street in Brunswick (approximately 40 flavors daily) and an Old Port location at 425 Fore Street in Portland (approximately 30 flavors daily) — plus a seasonal gelato truck at the Eastern Promenade Food Truck Park in Portland and at regional events. Stores offer espresso and affogato, dairy-free and gluten-free options, in-store sampling, and pickup ordering, with third-party delivery available in Portland via 2DineIn, DoorDash and Uber Eats. A separate e-commerce site sells nationwide shipping packages: a Pint 6-Pack, a Hand-Packed 6-Pack of flavors made daily at the Brunswick store, and a Flavor Vault 6-Pack of historical flavors made to order, along with gift cards and God of Thunder coffee.

The company draws flavors from a collection of more than 1,500 recipes, including Maine Wild Blueberry Crisp, Torched Marshmallow S'more, Mascarpone Pistachio Caramel, Dark Chocolate Noir sorbetto and Sweet Resurgam. It is described as one of America's leading independently owned gelato producers and is structured as a C-corporation.

Founding story

Co-founders Joshua Davis and Bruno Tropeano started the company in Brunswick, Maine, in 2007, with Davis aged 24 at the time. The founding premise, as described by the company, was that they could not find gelato meeting their standards and set out to recreate Old World Italian techniques. Before opening, the pair worked with a business advisor at Coastal Enterprises, Inc. to develop a business plan for a homemade gelato shop in Brunswick using locally sourced ingredients; an early CEI micro loan for equipment and working capital funded the launch of the storefront.

Business model

Gelato Fiasco operates a hybrid consumer-packaged-goods and retail model. It manufactures grocery-store pints at its own Brunswick production facility, the Flavor Foundry, rather than outsourcing to a co-packer, and distributes them through supermarket retail. Alongside wholesale, it runs company-owned scoop shops and a seasonal gelato truck, and ships gelato direct to consumers nationwide through its online store. Management has stated that the wholesale operation exceeds the storefront business in profitability and scale, while both channels are considered essential.

Revenue comes from wholesale sales of hand-packed grocery-store pints, in-store sales of gelato, sorbetto, coffee and espresso drinks at scoop shops and the gelato truck, gift cards, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce shipments priced at $70 for a Pint 6-Pack, $89 for a Hand-Packed 6-Pack and $149 for a Flavor Vault 6-Pack. One profile lists $10M in trailing twelve month revenue, while a data provider estimates annual revenue in the $1M-$10M range.

Traction

By 2017 the company reported distribution in more than 5,000 U.S. grocery stores, 49 full-time employees plus up to 25 seasonal staff annually, and retention of 12.5% of its original staff. Later profiles list 45 employees and $10M in trailing twelve month revenue, while a data provider estimates 11-50 employees and $1M-$10M in annual revenue as of July 2026. The company maintains two year-round scoop shops, a seasonal truck, nationwide shipping, and a recurring record of regional best-ice-cream awards from 2013 through 2026.

Latest developments

The company continues to operate its Brunswick and Old Port scoop shops seven days a week and reopened its Eastern Promenade gelato truck for the summer season on May 16, 2026. It was again named Best Ice Cream in the Best of PortlandOldPort.com awards for 2026, following prior wins in 2024 and 2025. Nationwide home shipping remains available through its online store, offering pint, hand-packed and Flavor Vault six-pack formats.