Gelatoo is a design object: it is beautiful, functional, innovative and made to last from materials that not only make the object a pleasure to experience, but have also been chosen for their intrinsic qualities. Designed by Matteo Ragni, instead of using conventional disposable pans, Gelatoo has an outer shell made of cork, a material known for its insulating qualities, and an inner container made of porcelain, which doesn’t affect the taste of food. The entire container is wrapped in a cotton band used as a convenient carrying handle. Gelatoo is a product that represents the successful synthesis of functions and meanings defined by thinking around conventional methods of containing and carrying gelato. It is an approach developed by ifi, the Italian company that has used innovation and design since 1962 as its guidelines for products which represent development drivers in the gelato, bar and confectionery sectors, in partnership with Matteo Ragni, for whom design represents a method and a mindset that can be applied to any object in everyday life and that increasingly acts as a magnet for social and ethical issues. Talking about Gelatoo, Ragni says “The projects that embrace new habits and attitudes are the ones that are most satisfying for designers like me, but also and most importantly for consumers like me, who are fully aware that we live in a unique world that must be respected and preserved for the people who will come after us.” The innovative container expresses a desire to raise the bar for a form of consumption rooted in the life experience of so many lovers of traditional Italian gelato. It is an object that has every intention of becoming a feature of dining tables, living rooms and all social events that celebrate the ritual of fine gelato. In the words of ifi Chairman Gianfranco Tonti, “We hope a container as finely crafted as Gelatoo can be the harbinger of new forms of consumption that are in step with the needs of a circular economy perceived as being ever more stringent.” Gelatoo was staged at Cascina Cuccagna during De Rerum Natura, an itinerary of design projects that share a desire to recognise and explore the relationship between man and the environment. The project’s ambassador extraordinary was Master Gelatiere Alberto Marchetti, who has always promoted a very clear philosophy: gelato must be fresh, simple and good. MATTEO RAGNI Matteo Ragni was born in Milan in 1972. He took a degree in Architecture at the Milan Polytechnic. Since 1994 he has focused on design in a wide range of industrial and crafts contexts, concentrating on questions of function combined with typological innovation. He has worked for many companies, often mixing his activity as a designer with the role of creative director, creating perfectly synchronized systems of communication and production. His working relationships with Italian and international producers have allowed him to construct a modus operandi that adapts to the background and history of each individual brand, in the conviction that this is the only way for the role of the designer to take on an ethical character, contributing to true evolution. In 2001, at the age of 29, Matteo Ragni became one of the youngest talents to win a Compasso d’Oro award, with the disposable utensil Moscardino, designed together with Giulio Iacchetti. In 2014, he was assigned a second Compasso d’Oro, again with Giulio Iacchetti, for the design of a series of manhole covers for Montini. He has received many other national and international honors, underscoring his discreet, eclectic approach always driven by the pursuit of irony and thoughtful, clean design gestures. IFI ifi is a reference brand in the design of technology and furniture for public premises. A story of innovation, born in the Sixties from the intuition of translating the world of bar furnishings into industrial terms. Since then, ifi develops and invests its experience in refrigeration by introducing innovative solutions for the coffee, confectionery and gelato sectors. In 2014, ifi has been awarded the Compasso d’Oro Award with the gelato display case Bellevue with Panorama® technology (design Marc Sadler), the ideal synthesis between the best gelato preservation –in pozzetti counters- and the emotion of seeing gelato in traditional display cases. Today, ifi is an Italian company where technological innovation, design, research, food science and industrial culture merge and grow along with an entrepreneurial spirit: all ingredients for the translation into projects of values like the improvement of preservation, visibility of the displayed products, functionality, and hygiene, with a specific attention to the professionals and resources wellbeing.
