Gelato's platform business grows 3.5 times from 2020 to 2021

Gelato's platform and global production network, which provides hyper-efficient local production on demand for ecommerce sellers, grew by 3.5X in 2021.

Fueled by an accelerating market penetration and product launches, combined with investments in new integrations that open up its production on-demand platform to a community of more than 50 million creators worldwide, the revenue for Gelato’s platform business was 3.5 times higher in 2021 than in 2020. Growth is continuing in 2022, with revenue 2.3 times higher in the first half of 2022 than in the same period of 2021.

Including its business-to-consumer brand Optimalprint, the revenue of Gelato increased by 38% from NOK 635 million in 2020 to NOK 874 million in 2021. Excluding currency effects, the growth was 45%. The total investments of NOK 158 million (EBITDA) were according to plan and have enabled Gelato to accelerate the expansion of production partners and products and to launch local production in four new countries.

Hyper-efficient local production at a global scale

Following its capital raise of a total of USD 240 million from Insight Venture Partners, Softbank, funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and existing investors, the company has accelerated its investments in Gelato’s global footprint. “The capital we raised last year is being invested to power our customers’ ecommerce businesses. Our customers can now access even more countries and products. In 2021 we laid the foundation for adding three major product categories, wallpaper, phone cases, and personalized packaging. Today, Gelato has production in 33 countries across six continents,” says Müller-Hansen.

With Gelato’s software, an entrepreneur in for example Kenya, with a great idea and little to no capital, can in minutes be able to produce, ship, and get paid for their product sold in, for example, Germany. The Gelato platform removes the need for upfront investments in inventory, manufacturing, or logistics - and enables her to achieve similar profit margins as competitors 100x her size. “This levels the global creator and ecommerce playing field and is an enormous economic and social opportunity. Gelato is solving hyper-efficient local production at a global scale. With the emergence of new technologies such as 3D printing, Gelato’s curated and global marketplace will empower businesses and consumers worldwide,” says Müller-Hansen.

Bringing creativity to life - and into business

In 2021 alone, more than 12,000 ecommerce stores used Gelato to fulfill their orders. One example of Gelato customers is Born Beau. According to Born Beau’s founder Tomas Jancarek, “My customers are located in the UK, but the shipments were coming from Spain. It would take a week or more. I found Gelato and shipments took only 2-3 days and everything is produced locally - where my customers are. What a difference!”

“We are proud to make a difference for creators and entrepreneurs and are excited to see the tremendous growth in interest for producing through our platform”, says Gelato’s Founder and CEO Henrik Müller-Hansen. “Combined with very positive numbers from our consumer brand Optimalprint, we are convinced that we are building a company that will change the world, making it more sustainable."