As Australia and Oceania’s exclusive representation of Europe’s leading gelato equipment suppliers, we’ve spent 30 years helping shops find the right setup. This guide covers our recommendations for artisan producers and small businesses, with options for scaling to higher-volume production.
We’ll show you the best equipment for your gelato or ice cream shop in 2026, including:
- pasteurisers
- batch freezers
- combination machines
- filling machines
- blast freezers
- and storage freezers
Why we recommend Telme, Teknoice, and Longoni
As you read this blog, you’ll notice we recommend a lot of Telme machines, because we truly believe they manufacture the best ice cream and gelato equipment for artisan producers.
For nearly 20 years, they’ve produced high-quality machinery with a focus on reliability, service, and sustainability. For everything from batch freezers to pasteurisers and filling machines, they’re our pick for those starting out in the gelato industry.
We recommend Teknoice for more high-scale, industrial ice cream production, and Longoni for their blast freezer and storage freezer ranges. All of these are trusted Italian brands that have delivered only the highest quality equipment for decades.
Best pasteurisers: Telme Evopasto
A pasteuriser heats your base mix to a specific temperature to kill bacteria and create a safe, stable product, holds the mix at that temperature for a period of time, and then cools the mix for aging. They’re essential for food safety, but also play a huge part in product quality.
For most entry-level shops, the Telme Evopasto is everything you need. It has simple button controls , adjustable heating between 60° and 90°C and cooling between 0° and 20°C, and capacities from 15L up to 120L per batch. It also has a two-speed agitator, allowing better control over mixing for a smoother, more consistent base.
These come in water-cooled and air-cooled versions. Water-cooled is more efficient for shops with easy plumbing access. Air-cooled works well for tight spaces (like food trucks) where you can’t access water.
For higher capacity: Telme Ecomix T
Need more than 120L? The Ecomix T series goes up to 200L with touchscreen controls. Best for wholesale production or larger operations.
Best batch freezers: Telme Ecogel T
A batch freezer takes your aged base mix and freezes it into gelato or ice cream.
For artisan producers who want precision, the Telme Ecogel T is our top recommendation. It has two compressors that give you a wider range between minimum and maximum batch size, and a touchscreen interface that gives you full control over temperature and beater speed.
Temperature control has a big impact on the final product. Your chocolate gelato might come out best at -10°C, while vanilla is perfect at -8°C. The Ecogel T’s controls let you dial in on the extraction temperature so you can achieve your desired texture and consistency for each flavour and product.
You can save custom programs for different flavours or adjust parameters on the fly. The beater speed control also gives you some influence over how much air gets incorporated, meaning more control over the texture of the final product.
These come in capacities from 4.5kg per batch up to 34kg per batch, depending on your production needs.
For entry-level: Telme Pratica
If you’re just starting out and budget is critical, the Pratica series offers solid performance with preset programs and button controls. You get reliable batch freezing at a lower price point. Available in capacities from 1.2kg per batch up to 13kg per batch.
For higher volume: Teknoice continuous freezers
Once you’re producing wholesale or running continuous production, we can connect you with industrial-grade continuous freezers that handle much higher volumes.
Best combination machines: Telme Pastogel T
This combination machine does both pasteurising and batch freezing in a single barrel. It’s a cost-effective fan favourite for makers who don’t yet want to commit to having two separate machines for the pasteurisation and freezing processes.
The Telme Pastogel T series is our pick for combination machines. It pasteurises up to 18L and freezes from 4.5kg to 9kg per batch, depending on the model. Just like the Ecogel T, it has touchscreen controls, inverter control to vary beater speeds, and full temperature management.
This works beautifully if you’re opening your first shop and still figuring out your production rhythm. No need to buy or operate two separate machines – just use the Telme Pastogel T to pasteurise in the morning and freeze in the afternoon.
For higher capacity: separate machines
Once you know you need 30L+ of pasteurising or 20kg+ batch freezing, or your capacity is high enough that you need to pasteurise and freeze batches simultaneously, separate machines give you that flexibility.
Best filling machines: Telme Variofill
Hand-filling tubs is a grind. A filling machine gives you consistent portions and speeds up production, so you can actually meet wholesale orders without hiring extra staff just for filling. It also means you can offer your customers pre-portioned take-home products.
The Telme Variofill is one of the few cost-effective options for small producers. It’s simple to operate, runs on single-phase power, and doesn’t need water; it uses its own onboard air system.
You can use it with inclusions up to 8mm (think chocolate chips, cookie pieces, fruit chunks), and the 13L cylinder capacity handles most artisan production needs.
If you’re filling 50 to 200 or more tubs per day, this machine pays for itself quickly in labour savings and portion consistency.
For higher capacity and dual flavours: Telme Variofill Duo
The Variofill Duo has two 13L cylinders. Run the same flavour for double capacity, or fill cups with two flavours side by side. Perfect for slightly larger operations or if you want to make dual-flavour products part of your range.
For industrial setups: Teknoice filling lines
For container-filling on an industrial scale, we recommend Teknoice’s rotary and linear filling lines. They have customisation options for decorating, sealing, and lidding, and work for anything from single-serve cups to multi-format retail tubs.
Best blast freezers: Longoni ASR range
A blast freezer rapidly hardens freshly churned gelato or ice cream, which helps to achieve a more stable product, prevent the growth of ice crystals, prolong shelf life, and help the product hold its shape in storage and in the display.
The Longoni ASR blast freezer series delivers the fast pull-down you need with strong airflow and probe-led programs, so you can hit a more consistent core temperature every time. The ASR3 is a great entry point for artisan shops, while larger tray models keep up as you move into higher-volume production.
Best storage freezer: Longoni XGN900
Storage freezers keep your blast-frozen gelato or ice cream at a stable, properly cold holding temperature, so flavour and texture stay locked in until you’re ready to serve or ship.
Longoni has a few storage freezer options, but the XGN900 is the one we recommend for ice cream and gelato because it has the coldest temperature range in the lineup (-18°C to -25°C). It’s frost-free with fast recovery after door openings, and it can hold roughly 35 individual 5L gelato pans, making it a strong fit for busy shops and small-scale production.
A quick tip before you buy: talk to the experts early
If you’re setting up a new gelato shop, don’t try to piece everything together from random advice online. Speak to someone who’s done it many times before.
At Artisan Industrial, we take in all your variables (power, water, budget, workflow, location) and match equipment to what you’re actually trying to achieve, so you don’t waste months researching the wrong setup.
Get the best commercial ice cream equipment in 2026
The best commercial ice cream equipment is the setup that matches your space, workflow, and production goals, and keeps quality consistent as you scale.
If you want help choosing the right machines (and making sure your power, water and layout are ready), get in touch with Artisan Industrial. We’ll point you to the right setup and help you avoid costly mistakes.
