Gelatys, manufacturer of frozen gelato novelties, has opened a new production facility in Fort Myers, Florida. 

With an $8 million investment, the more than 30,000-sq.-ft. facility is operational, signifying a key step in the company's growth into a national CPG brand.

Built on a 1.5-acre site, the Fort Myers facility aims to support national grocery growth, fuel differentiated frozen-novelty innovation and solidify Gelatys' position as a defining brand in a category it pioneered.

The site features machinery capable of producing in one hour what previously required an entire day. It will scale production to support the national expansion of Mini Gems, Gelatys' portion-controlled gelato mini pops, and the next generation of premium Italian-style frozen novelty innovation.

"When my family and I moved to Miami, Gelatys began as a dream to bring true artisanal gelato to the U.S. market," says Adolfo Joel Heller Cohen, Gelatys founder and CEO. "We quickly saw a larger opportunity; premium gelato novelties were not being manufactured at scale because of how technically complex they are. That challenge became our innovation story, pushing us to create our own processes, adapt machinery and build products that did not yet exist in the market. Our new Fort Myers facility isn't just an expansion, it's the infrastructure we always knew this brand would need when growing from a local concept into a national brand. We're the only manufacturer of its kind in the United States, and we built that from scratch. The ambition that started Gelatys hasn't changed, and looking ahead, we're just getting started."

Since launching as a two-kiosk mall concept in Miami in 2016, the brand has expanded to 5,000-plus locations across 26 states, with a retail footprint that includes Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Wegmans, H-E-B, The Fresh Market, and Kroger banners including Mariano's, QFC, Fred Meyer and King Soopers.

Besides its manufacturing significance, the Fort Myers facility is creating about 75 new jobs, adding to the roughly 50 employees that supported Gelatys' original Miami facility.