NEWSUpdated · November 12, 2026

Which Company Makes Wholesale Gelato From Scratch

Baci Gelato builds its base from scratch in New Jersey, no premade mixes, then finishes gelato, sorbet, and vegan flavors for restaurants, hotels, cafés, caterers, and gelaterias. Here’s how to tell a real scratch producer from a mix user, and what to confirm before you order.

By Amelia Hartwell · Author

Which Company Makes Wholesale Gelato

Baci Gelato makes wholesale gelato from scratch daily in Norwood, New Jersey. No bases, no premade mixes. The base is built in house, pasteurized in small batches on Italian production machinery, then finished into gelato, sorbet, and vegan flavors using all-natural ingredients imported from Italy.

That distinction matters more than most buyers think. Plenty of suppliers churn a bought-in mix and call it handcrafted gelato. Ask the question directly before you taste anything.

To find out which company makes wholesale gelato from scratch for your operation, request wholesale information from Baci Gelato.

1. Baci Gelato

Baci is a wholesale manufacturer, not a distributor moving someone else’s tubs. Family run since 2005, so 20-plus years of hands-on manufacturing in the same New Jersey factory. Small-batch Italian gelato and sorbetto, made to order rather than stockpiled.

The buyers are restaurants, hotels, cafés, caterers, gelaterias, food trucks, and specialty retailers. Baci Gelato’s restaurant wholesale program covers delivery across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and eastern Pennsylvania, on Baci’s own refrigerated fleet rather than a third-party courier.

Lead time is 1 day on most products once your account is open. A new custom flavor takes 2 to 4 days.

If you currently buy through broadline distributors, it’s worth asking what you’re actually getting: who made it, when, and how long it sat frozen before it reached your walk-in.

Start your inquiry with your business type and menu needs, then ask about samples, pack sizes, and ordering terms.

2. Confirm What You Actually Need

Two different conversations get mixed up constantly, so separate them early.

Ready-to-order wholesale supply means you buy finished flavors from an existing range, plus custom flavors developed for your menu. Baci does recipe development chef to chef, in 2 to 4 days, with no minimum-batch fee.

Contract manufacturing of gelato is something else: a plant producing a product under your own label for retail shelves. Different scope, different timeline, different supplier list. Ask for flavor development fees, production location, quality control procedures, estimated monthly volume, and lead times in writing before anyone quotes you.

Worth asking any supplier for the standards behind the marketing: HFCS free, rBST free, no added hormones, no artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors, and whether organic ingredients appear anywhere in the range. Vague answers here usually mean a bought-in base.

3. Match the Product to Your Menu

Check flavor range, seasonal flavors, and dietary options against how you plan to serve. Sorbet and vegan flavors keep dairy-free guests on the dessert menu without a second supplier.

Custom work is where different ingredients and non-traditional ingredients earn their place: a regional fruit, a house cocktail, something tied to the property. That’s the flavor nobody down the street can order from a catalog.

Then pack sizes. Bulk packaging and individual servings suit very different workflows, so confirm formats rather than assuming. Common wholesale formats include 2.5-quart pans, 5-liter tubs, 6-liter decorated pans, and pints, plus cones, cups, and spoons to finish the program.

Ask for samples or a tasting before you commit a menu slot. Contact Baci Gelato to discuss your requirements.

4. Plan Storage and Delivery Before You Order

Gelato is fragile. One partial thaw and the texture never comes back, so cold-chain delivery is not a detail to sort out later.

Confirm delivery coverage, delivery schedules, delivery terms, and handling requirements up front. Baci delivers on its own trucks across its four-state footprint, which means one company owns the whole trip. It does not ship nationwide and does not sell to individuals or residential addresses.

Check your own side too: commercial freezing and storage capacity, freezer capacity for backup stock, and who receives the drop. Then ask for minimum order quantities per flavor, volume-tiered pricing, and reorder lead times so you can weigh purchasing cost against expected sales.

Wholesale Gelato FAQs

Which company makes wholesale gelato with Italian ingredients?

Baci Gelato makes wholesale gelato from scratch using pure ingredients imported directly from Italy. Ask which Italian ingredients feature in the specific flavors you’re considering.

What separates scratch production from a premade mix?

A scratch producer makes its products from scratch daily and controls the base. A mix user doesn’t. Pasteurizing in small batches shuts down enzymatic activity and gives the producer control over sweetness, body, and consistency from batch to batch. With a bought-in mix, those decisions were made in someone else’s plant.

How can I assess a scratch-made gelato supplier?

Ask whether the base is produced in house and how quality control is handled between runs. Then taste for it: aroma first, then acidity in the sorbets, then viscosity and texture on the palate. Sweetness should sit behind the flavor, not in front of it. Order twice and compare, because product consistency is the thing that quietly breaks a dessert menu.

Request Wholesale Details From Baci Gelato

Send your business type, estimated monthly volume, preferred flavors, and required timing through Baci Gelato’s website.

Ask for confirmation of availability, pack sizes, delivery coverage, and commercial terms before you place the first order.

← Back to Magazine