Story

This story begins in 1986 in Sassuolo, Massimiliano is a fifteen year old boy who starts working in the family ice cream parlor where, far from school desks, he discovers a new world, made up of hard work and sweat but, at the same time, of satisfactions and pleasures. Massimiliano discovers what it means to get up early in the morning for reaping the best fruits, “before the sun warms the apples,” as Dad always says, or to buying the freshest ingredients on the market. Discovers the goodness of freshly made ice cream, tasting it first with a teaspoon. Discovers the joy of children when they eat his pistachio ice cream. Especially he discovers a new imagine of his father that he had never seen before, a proud father happy to offer the best ice cream in Sassuolo.

Among the school desks, Massimiliano knows Alessandro, whom he loves to talk about his days in the ice cream shop and the passion for this new experience. Alessandro, fascinated by the stories of his classmate, begins to get passionate about the world of ice cream and food in general. The two friends become inseparable and enjoy traveling with fantasy, building in their mind new recipes and new ways to bring the best of Italian cuisine to the world. Massimiliano dreams of making their fantasies real one day, and throws himself headlong into the world of ice cream.

The ways of the two friend divided. Massimiliano, decides to make his passion a job, starting from the small family ice cream parlor. Thanks to his solid principles: honesty, competence, seriousness and dedication, Massimiliano makes his talent flourish.

He decides to expand his knowledge and spend his time in contact with nature, to discover the sweetest fruits and the most fragrant herbs. He realizes that it takes time to find the fruit at the right stage of ripeness, that it takes more than an hour to peel 10 kilos of apples. However, the effort pays off in an exceptional way: to deepen the chain that goes from the cultivation of the fruit to the ice cream presented to the final consumer, it gives Massimiliano an extra gear and makes him one of the best homemade ice cream makers.

With his dream in his pocket and armed with fatigue and curiosity, in just a few years Massimiliano passes from managing a single ice cream shop to becoming one of the most famous consultants on the national scene and beyond. Designs and manages semi-industrial ice cream parlors and laboratories, as well as designing and launching well-known activities such as the Mariotti Laboratory, Cannoleria Siciliana and G like gelato Spa. Starts traveling around the world, getting knowing new companies, people and realities from which to take inspiration. His ice cream arrives in Corsica; where he delights the palate of ministers, French politicians and international actors in the most famous restaurant of the Ile Rousse. An extraordinary success.

After 33 years of work, for Massimiliano happens unexpected thing: he meets his old friend Alessandro. The two friends discover that they still united by the passion for ice cream and for Made in Italy food. Massimiliano discovers that Alessandro also has cultivated this passion over the years, becoming an esteemed professional in creating commercial formats. Time does not seem to have passed and those two boys, now adults, are still dreaming together. So why do not try?

The dream of two friends takes quickly a shape and they are ready for a new challenge: Almast is born, the activity with the aim of bringing real Italian food into the whole world, create innovative formats and help entrepreneurs around the world in their work, providing Interior design consultancy, study of menu and ideation of personalized recipes.

However, Massimiliano does not forget the places he explored, the experiences he lived, the people who inspired him and so decides to create a company together with three Corsican guys, Francois, Denis and Jean-do, to whom he transmitted his greatest passion. Almast Corse is born.

Almast’s journey continues. A journey without confines, full of taste, passion, emotion and tradition. A journey that goes overseas to reach over 14,000 km from where it has begun: Almast Australia is born.

Almast also reaches the Arab world, the United Arab Emirates, pearl of the Middle East: Almast United Arab Emirates is born.

What will be the next destination? You can decide it! If you are fond of ice cream or made in Italy food and you want to make it your passion, if you believe that the secret of happiness is to love what you do, we at Almast believe it is so! Do you know that eating a spoon of sugar gives 10 minutes of euphoria and that chocolate is the food of good humor? If you want to contribute personally to make your life and that of others a bit happier, you can write to us here, to work with us or invest in a new Almast point.

Thus, Massimiliano realizes his dream… but reality is more beautiful than he ever dreamed.