Industry: Food|Destination market: Chile| Client: Major international distributor
A major international client came to us with a clear brief: import Italian gelato into Chile. Before we could get to the logistics – moving a highly perishable product 11,500 km across the world – three other pieces had to fall into place: finding the right Italian producer, opening negotiations, and signing the commercial agreement. One catch complicated everything further: the client couldn’t fly to Italy to taste the product before making the call.
The challenge
The whole project rested on four sequential steps: select the supplier, sign the commercial agreement, ship a sample for remote tasting, and clear it through Chilean customs inside a very narrow window. If any one of them failed, the rest went with it.
Gelato is an unforgiving product. It needs an unbroken cold chain at −18 °C, air freight as the only viable transport, and extremely fast customs clearance. A single delay and the dry ice begins to sublimate, the temperature rises, and the sample is compromised. Without an intact sample there’s no tasting, and without tasting there’s no deal.
The 2306 solution
1. Producer research and selection
We surveyed the Italian gelato producer market and evaluated candidates against three criteria: product quality, fit with the positioning the client was after, and production capacity capable of sustaining continuous, long-term supply into Chile.
2. Commercial agreement
We arranged an introductory call between the parties, negotiated commercial terms and contract details, and brought the deal to signature. By that point the client had a selected producer and a signed contract. The only thing left to verify was the product itself.
3. Tailored logistics
Since the client couldn’t come to Italy to taste the product, we brought it to them. We evaluated several international couriers and freight forwarders and chose the safest option: insulated containers with dry ice, at a deliberately oversized ratio (20 kg of dry ice for every 3–4 kg of product). With a product this fragile, a single delayed flight or customs hold could have wiped out the entire shipment.
4. Documentation and customs coordination
The freight forwarder compiled the full list of required documents and ran them past local Chilean forwarders and customs agents ahead of time, confirming that no additional paperwork was needed beyond the standard set. Every document was verified before departure. With dry ice, time is working against you — customs clearance isn’t the moment you want to find out a certificate is missing.
5. Coordination with the client’s import team
We brought the client’s import team in early to coordinate the arrival window in Chile, share all customs documentation, and secure formal sign-off before anything left the warehouse. Only then did we pack the boxes, collect the product, and set the shipment in motion.
The outcome
The samples arrived on schedule, with the cold chain unbroken. The client tasted the product at their offices in Chile, signed off on it, and placed a first order with the selected Italian producer.
The real value of the project wasn’t the shipment. It was unlocking a buying decision that would otherwise have stalled, waiting for a logistics and customs chain built around this specific product. A gelato can’t be judged from a spec sheet. It has to be tasted.
What the client gained
- Reduced logistics risk: perishability, temperature, and customs handled by a team that has already run this kind of route.
- One point of contact for shipping and paperwork, from first call to final delivery.
- Access to vetted Italian producers, with direct engagement all the way through to a signed contract.
- Product assessment in-house, sample in hand, with the time to evaluate it properly.
- Predictable timelines and costs, with deadlines agreed upfront and honored.
Looking for the right Italian food supplier for your market?
Our work starts before any shipment does: we source the right Italian producer, run the negotiation, and close the deal. Logistics comes after. If you need a partner for sourcing food from Italy, let’s talk.
