PITANGO GELATO

Pitango Gelato was founded in 2006 by Noah Dan, who fell in love with authentic Italian gelato during childhood summers spent in Trieste, Italy (above). Today the company operates four gelaterie in DC, Maryland and Virginia. It is a private company run by self-described control freaks who carefully maintain the quality of the product all the way from the cow to the consumer. We believe that today's mass-produced frozen desserts are no longer a simple and healthy snack. Almost all the basic ingredients in the industry are processed and produced by a handful of companies. In this environment where shelf life and marketing abilities are the most important virtues, wholesomeness and simplicity are the first to be sacrificed and fall by the wayside. As a result, almost all frozen desserts today are laden with cheap artificial ingredients designed by scientists, food chemists and marketing executives to appeal to an impulse buyer. At Pitango Gelato, we invest our time and resources in crafting a product from organic ingredients with the wholesome, simple and distinctive flavor that only real milk and real fresh ingredients can provide. All of our flavors correspond to their namesake: That means that our pomegranate sorbet is simply made with real fresh pomegranates that we squeeze ourselves-and not from concentrate, syrup or a processed industrial product. We use no chemicals, colorings or artificial ingredients. And our gelatos and sorbets are made without excessive fats or sugars because we know that our customers can taste the difference. Most gelato shops today lure consumers in with colorful, eye-candy displays that are designed to appeal to an impulse buyer. Made with mixes and powders and decorated with a garnish of fresh fruit, these confections bear little or no resemblance to authentic Italian gelato prepared with real fresh, wholesome ingredients. Even in Italy, gelato has fallen victim to less expensive and less labor-intensive shortcuts. We believe that our customers are part of a growing market segment that can distinguish and understand the difference in quality and price between the pint of fresh local strawberries that goes into our strawberry sorbet and an artificially flavored product that may go by a similar name.