One of Australia's most loved gelato brands is now available in Hong Kong. Gelato Messina partnered with Hong Kong restaurant hospitality team Black Sheep Restaurants to open its first gelateria in Central, on one of the city's most prestigious streets, in October 2021.
The road to Hong Kong took 18 months of hard work. Austrade provided critical advice and support as Messina worked through the rigorous Hong Kong import licensing application process for the company's award-winning milk.
'Austrade's steadfast support and skill in negotiating the hurdles we faced was critical to the development of the concept in this dynamic city,' says Simon Ravindran, who looks after Messina's International Business Development.
'There's an extra level of assurance when you work with Austrade. Their on-the-ground presence and experience is critical, smoothing the way for Australian companies looking to expand into international markets.'
Making gelato from scratch using quality ingredients
Messina makes its products using the highest quality ingredients. It owns and operates a dairy farm in Victoria, where it raises 450 pasture-fed Jersey cows. The company also sources strawberries and hazelnuts from its own farms. It also sources the best Australian Kensington Pride mangoes for its mango sorbets and jams.
Black Sheep Restaurants and Messina share a passion for food that is made from quality ingredients. They were both adamant that they would only make gelato onsite from scratch and not import it from Australia as a frozen product. The only way to do this was to import Messina's award-winning fresh milk into Hong Kong.
'The application process was rigorous and required us to adhere to the stringent quality control requirements of the local authorities. But it was worth it in the end,' says Ravindran. 'We are now able to serve our made-from-scratch gelato using the best Australian Jersey milk available in this dynamic, sophisticated, food-loving city.'
Getting Australian milk to Hong Kong
Getting dairy products into Hong Kong is challenging. Messina had to provide documents detailing its raw ingredients and manufacturing processes to The Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in Hong Kong. Once the documents were cleared, Messina had to send 6 samples to the food authority. Each sample had to clear testing before the next one could be sent.
Austrade's Business Development Manager in Hong Kong Jennifer Kwong supported Messina throughout the 18-month journey, which was slowed down by COVID-19. The agency guided the company through the regulatory process and made sure the testing did not stall.
'Getting Australian milk that's less than a week old into Hong Kong is a major feat,' says Ravindran. 'We can't thank our local distribution partners at Nowaday International, the wider Austrade team and importantly Jennifer Kwong and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Shannon Powell for their tireless work. Full credit to Austrade for helping us understand and navigate the regulatory requirements.'
Work with like-minded partners
Messina needed an import partner to get its milk into Hong Kong. It wanted to work with a distributor who had experience with Australian brands and milk.
'Nowaday International made it easy for us from the technical side of things,' says Ravindran. 'They helped us prepare the documents needed for testing and understand some of the lesser-known aspects of the application process. They really helped our export team who worked tirelessly on this project through the entire process'.
Messina also forged a relationship with Black Sheep Restaurants. The renowned hospitality team group is best known for its in-house restaurant concepts curated by founders Syed Asim Hussain and Christopher Marks. The founders had experienced Messina on previous trips to Australia.
'There are a lot of similarities between Messina and Black Sheep Restaurants,' says Ravindran. 'We have the same approach to product quality, customer service and how we treat our customers and staff. We both believe good food doesn't come easily or quickly.
'We at Messina were confident we could entrust the only brand we know and love to Black Sheep Restaurants because of what we had experienced and seen from our own trips to Hong Kong in the past. The founders and their team are simply exceptional at what they do in every way.'
Securing visas for key staff
Messina's import application was approved in June 2021. The next challenge was getting staff to Hong Kong. Black Sheep Restaurants had secured a site at Pottinger Street, one of the city's premier streets. With restrictions lifting, it was time to open for business.
'Shannon was very helpful,' says Ravindran. 'She provided a letter of support to the Department of Home Affairs. It validated the 2 years of contact and discussions we've had with Austrade. It also stressed that our opening was imminent, so it was critical to secure Australian travel exemptions for our staff. Shannon and Jennifer were extremely helpful in navigating and supporting this process.'
Powell also approached the Hong Kong authorities to expedite visas for Messina's 2 staff. When borders closed to international travel, Kwong checked in with Nowaday to see how the testing was going. Powell also kept in touch with Black Sheep Restaurants.
'It was emotionally difficult to open our first store in Hong Kong without being able to travel there ourselves,' says Ravindran. 'However, it gave us enormous confidence to have two of our best people representing Messina at the highest levels – and Austrade looking out for us.'
40 flavours of gelato
Messina's staff – the chefs who make the gelato – arrived in Hong Kong in August. The store opened on 1 October 2021, offering its signature 40 flavours. In addition to the Australian bestsellers, the company partnered with Black Sheep Restaurants' chefs to create flavours for local tastes such as Milk Tea, Egg Tart and Tofu Fa.
'It's fantastic for customers to see our production process,' says Ravindran. 'They can see the Jersey milk being pasteurised and turned into a fresh liquid mix that is then batch frozen and turned into fresh gelato.'
Messina currently exports 500 kg of milk a week to Hong Kong. This is up from 300 kg a fortnight when the store opened.
'The store is doing exceptionally well,' says Ravindran. 'Customer numbers are growing week on week. It's great especially since Hong Kong is now in its cooler months. The team in store are also making our range of beautiful and intricate cakes onsite. If this keeps up, we'll have to increase the amount of milk we send.'
Expansion on the horizon
Messina's success in Hong Kong has already led to a business enquiry in Thailand. The company is also interested in Japan, Indonesia and the UAE. Austrade is assisting the company to scope out import requirements in these markets as well.
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