FF, a leading company in the distribution of Sicilian ice cream on stick under the brand name Stecco Natura Gelaterie, has signed an agreement with Icy Matters Company Limited for the development and roll-out of Stecco Natura Gelaterie stores in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. Icy Matters is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shun Tak Holdings Limited. It is a Hong Kong diversified and listed group with operations focused on transportation, real estate, and hospitality throughout China and other regions of Asia. The group, which recorded revenues of 6.3 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 700 million euros) in 2017, was founded in 1972 by legendary Chinese entrepreneur Stanley Ho. FF is controlled by the two founders Cristian Ielo and Massimo Mirabella and its main shareholder is Andrea Morante. The agreement provides for the development of sales outlets to introduce the Stecco Natura concept and ice-cream products in a vast Asian region where the Chinese market alone has recently surpassed the U.S. as the largest ice-cream market in the world.
An important deal for Stecco Natura
It is surprising how a (relatively) small Sicilian startup has quickly established itself on the European market, arousing as well the commercial interest of a large Chinese company based in Hong Kong. It is a historic turning point for Stecco Natura, the young Sicilian company recognized as ‘first mover’ in the market of high quality ice cream on stick. All this is based on a traditional fantastic all-Italian product commented Andrea Morante. The products of Stecco Natura are characterized by their natural ingredients, almost all from Sicily, free of artificial flavors, colorings, and chemical emulsifiers. The sorbets are made from up to 70% fruit, with added grape juice and carob seed flour. The creams on the stick are made with high quality milk and fresh cream, carob seed flour, grape juice, and pure pasta of Pistacchio di Bronte DOP (Pistachio of Bronte PDO), Nocciole dei Nebrodi (Hazelnuts from Nebrodi mountains’) and Mandorle Pizzute di Avola (Pizzute Almonds from Avola).