Avondale gets its first gelato shop

Avondale's first gelato store, Red Velvet Gelato, opened after two years of preparation.

Owner Shital Gabani said she had developed her own gelato recipes while working as a web developer and running a small henna business; this is her first gelato business.

“I [didn’t] want to buy a franchise from any other businesses, I [wanted] to open my own.”

Gabani said she has kept a low profit margin, as she’s concerned about sales during the current cost-of-living crisis.

“I don’t want to earn [any] profits at the beginning, but I want to sell my products.”

According to the New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers Association, Kiwis are some of the highest per capita ice cream consumers in the world.

Red Velvet Gelato is the only ice cream shop in Avondale’s food hub, at the Rosebank Road/Great North Road intersection.

A 2021 Coriolis report said demand for ice cream in New Zealand is rising, with an increase in innovative, premium ice creams and gelato.

Red Velvet Gelato is near Avondale College, so Gabani said she hoped students would stop by on their way home.

She also wants to sell gelato to families with children.

“They are my target audience.”

The store is open from 10 am to 8 pm seven days a week, selling single scoops of gelato for $8, double scoops for $10, and kiddies scoops for $5.50.

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Our journalists sometimes use AI tools which are checked by humans for accuracy. 

AI was used to transcribe audio from the interview.