At half past one in the night, the first customer was in front of his shop, says Roberto Pin. Of course, he doesn’t know what attracted him or her to this late hour and in icy temperatures, says the Italian. Presumably it was – despite the time and weather – the desire for ice cream. After all, Roberto and his wife Giselda Pin run the “Vaniglia il Gelato” ice cream parlor in Taufkirchen, which has made a name for itself beyond the municipality. With homemade ice cream, of course – not with opening times until well after midnight. And yet that late-night customer was able to satisfy his need for gelati: at the new ice cream machine, where the Taufkirchen-based company has been selling stracciatella, vanilla and co. In cups since Saturday.
Beverage cans, chocolate bars and coffee: all of this has been drawn from machines for decades. In addition, for some time – also in the district – you can see more and more sausage machines in front of butchers and milk machines in supermarkets. But ice cream? From the tin box? And that in winter? “We want to try it out now,” says Roberto Pin. And even if not too many have followed the premiere customer on Sunday night and experience is therefore limited: “So far, the response has been very good,” emphasizes Roberto Pin. In any case, the idea behind the machine – an offer around the clock, 365 days a year – corresponds to the zeitgeist, according to which fewer and fewer customers want to stick to fixed opening times, thinks the Taufkirchner. In this context, he refers to the neighboring town of Unterhaching, where the first e-supermarket opened its doors in the summer. Or better: has activated his touchscreen.
Twelve flavors
In any case, the new machine offers the Pin couple the opportunity to continue to sell their ice cream creations – even though the business has been in the winter break since the end of October and probably until February or March. There are currently ice cream sundaes in twelve flavors behind the glass: in addition to classics such as chocolate, amarena and tiramisu, there is also a sugar-free and vegan option as well as several Christmas varieties with gingerbread, biscuits and cinnamon. “We want to awaken the imagination and show that ice cream isn’t just for summer,” says Roberto Pin. All varieties are available in two sizes in the vending machine – as a half-liter version for the refrigerator at home and in a 160-milliliter cup plus a spoon for immediate licking. Payment can currently only be made by card. The price is actually three or eight euros, depending on the size, says Pin. Currently, however, the machine ice cream is one or two euros cheaper – “as a starter offer”.
For his ice cream parlor, which this year celebrated its fifth birthday at the Taufkirchen location, the machine means a larger investment, says Roberto Pin. In addition, he first had to tinker a bit in order to adapt his ice cream to the new sales channel. After all, it is in the machine, the inside of which is cooled down to minus 18 degrees, much colder than on the ice cream counter. “That’s why I had to change the structure of the ice a bit,” explains Roberto Pin. “So that you don’t need to defrost it first, but can spoon it out straight away.” His personal tip is: “Get the ice cream from the machine and then eat it at home – preferably in front of the fireplace.”