MANILA — GROM Gelato from Italy is now available in the Philippines.

One of the most premium gelato brands in the world, GROM Gelato was founded by friends Guido Martinetti and Federico Grom in 2002.

A year later, the pair opened a 25-square meter gelateria in their home city of Turin which was an immediate hit.

“They had a dream—to make the best gelato in the world. How? [It’s] by selecting the best ingredients around—sometimes from Italy, sometimes from other parts of the world,” shared Diego Pacifici, global marketing manager of GROM Gelato, during the brand’s launch.

From pistachios from the Middle East to lemons from their organic farm called Mura Mura in Italy, ingredients and the Italian gelato tradition have been the keystones of the brand’s success.

Their philosophy of “pure, authentic, Italian” promises that they only use the purest ingredients, create every scoop from scratch, and use only traditional Italian recipes.

Boasting no emulsifiers, no artificial flavors, and no gluten, GROM Gelato has ranked as one of the most expensive gelatos in the world per gram.

GROM opened its New York gelateria in 2007, the first outside Italy, and the rest they say is history as they’ve expanded around the world with shops in three continents (Paris, London, Jakarta, Shanghai, etc).

GELATO TUBS

In 2017, after years of research, the company fulfilled their dream of bringing the GROM gelato experience outside of a gelateria with their gelato tubs.

These tubs are made and shipped from Italy and are available in 27 countries, including the Philippines.

GROM gelato tubs are not overly elaborate. Featuring clear labels and a simple white lid for their pints, the tubs allow the buyer to see the gelato inside and its ingredients.

For the Philippines, GROM Gelato initially offers four flavors—Crema di GROM, Cioccolato, Pistaccchio, and Stracciatella.

Using milk from Piedmont, the gelatos are lusciously rich and velvety, melting like butter on the tongue. There’s lightness, almost an airy quality to the texture of a bite, but without any compromises in flavor or richness.

Chocolate lovers should try the Cioccolato which uses cacao from Ariba Mocache in Ecuador. The gelato straddles that thin line between dark and milk chocolate, with dried fruit notes from the Ecuadorian chocolate chips mixed in, leaving a lasting impression.

Ecuadorian chocolate also makes another appearance in the Stracciatella. One of the most classic Italian gelato flavors, GROM’s Stracciatella packs an extra creamy punch with each bite having very generous pieces of Ecuadorian chocolate.

What do you get when you churn pastry cream and add some corn cookies and chocolate? The Crema di GROM is the gelato company’s signature flavor. It features Meliga Cookies made from three varieties of corn (Pignoletto, Ottofile, and Nostranodell’Isola). Frozen custard with still crisp cookies and chocolate, the flavor may be quite new to the Filipino palate but I found it very addictive.

Last but not least is the Pistacchio. This GROM flavor was once dubbed the best pistachio gelato you’ll ever taste by Carlo Petrini, founder of the International Slow Food Movement, and it’s not hard to concur. Using two varieties of pistachios (Perfect Green and Mawardi) from the Middle East, the best parts of the pistachio shine in a spoonful—nutty, earthy, and sweet almost like a light buttery caramel. Must-try.

GROM gelato 460ml pints are available in select groceries and supermarkets nationwide for P495++.