History

The Morelli family has been making ice cream for five generations to a trademark recipe which was introduced into the UK in 1907, when Giuseppe Morelli, after emigrating from Italy, started selling it from the back of his bicycle. He and his young son, Mario, left home early in the morning with fresh ice cream and would not come home until they had sold out! Eventually, the bicycle was replaced by a van and the business grew.

The first Morelli’s ice cream parlour in the UK was opened by Mario on the seafront in Broadstairs, Kent in 1932, becoming the first to serve over 20 flavours of ice cream. This iconic store still proudly serves loyal customers today and represents the very best of the Art Deco parlours from the heyday of British seaside life.

Today Morelli’s Gelato is run by Bibi Morelli, and the family moves into its fifth generation in the ice cream business. Morelli’s Gelato is beginning to roll-out globally, effecting a focused expansion by way of select ’home-owned’ flagships and franchises with strategic franchise partners.