Based in Bayside Melbourne, Little Sky Gelato started with a passion to create better gelato — free from artificial colours and flavourings. To ensure the quality and source of their ingredients, the gelateria team built the business on strong relationships with suppliers with the belief that “you can grow a business as a community.”
To celebrate their recent certification, we asked the team about their decision to certify and how they’re reducing their impact on the planet.
Max Shatkhin, the head gelato chef. Photo by Fiona Story.
Tell us about Little Sky Gelato.
Little Sky’s small batch gelato is created in Bayside, Melbourne. House-made daily, using milk and cream from Victorian, family-owned farms, Little Sky’s delicious gelato is completely free from artificial colours and flavours. Little Sky also offers all natural, dairy-free sorbetto created with Australian seasonal fruits, mouth-wateringly good vegan gelato and spectacular gelato cakes. Being environmentally responsible is also a priority for this gelateria. Little Sky only uses green power, minimises waste by re-using, recycling, or composting, and by making choices that will have the least impact on the environment — like never ever using plastic spoons or polystyrene take-home containers.
Why did you want to certify as a B Corp?
When we started Little Sky we knew we wanted to create a better business. Firstly, we wanted to create amazing gelato to be shared with friends and family in a welcoming and calm space, using quality ingredients from farmers and suppliers who cared about what they produced and sold. Secondly, we wanted our business to not only be part of the Bayside community, but one that also gave back. Our final goal was to be as environmentally responsible as possible. We gave careful consideration into making choices that were best for our planet. Things like choosing to use green power, offering refillable ReturnR containers, and never ever using plastic spoons or polystyrene take-home containers. Becoming a certified B Corp is the next step in that journey we started back in 2019. And Little Sky is the first Australian gelato/ice-cream company to become a B Corp!
What makes Little Sky unique as a business?
“To create something better than anything else available, you need to be ingredient conscious”, says Max Shatkhin, head gelato chef and owner of Little Sky, “from the beginning I wanted to use quality ingredients from farmers and suppliers who cared about what they produced and sold.” Another example is, after trying an in-house composter for a while, Little Sky’s fruit scraps now go back to the farm, for compost or to feed the free-range chickens that lay the eggs that Max then buys to make house-made cones. This is better than the scraps going into landfill, and the house-made cones are super delicious, plus Little Sky donates a portion of house-made cone sales to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne as part of our “giving back” values.
B Corps want to help transform our economy into one that is inclusive, sustainable, and regenerative. What business practice do you want to see become the norm?
Stopping the use of plastic spoons and polystyrene take-home containers which surprisingly most gelato and ice cream shops still use. We only use reusable or compostable spoons and containers and it’s a choice a business has to make if there’s no legislation like the one around banning the use of plastic straws.
Do you have any tips for aspiring B Corps about the certification process?
Be patient.
