Eight years after backing an Italian gelato manufacturer, Charterhouse Capital Partners has made its exit. In May, the private equity firm sold Casa Optima – now a global player in artisanal gelato and pastry ingredients – to a Terlos-led group of investors.
According to unnamed sources familiar with the deal, Charterhouse achieved a 2.6x return on its investment in Casa Optima, which had grown to an enterprise value of nearly €900m – in large part thanks to the value creation efforts undertaken by the firm.
“The journey was a long one – eight years,” said Vincent Pautet, Partner at Charterhouse, citing delays to Covid. “Now it’s a business that is growing very fast, has increased its margins, is generating a lot of cash, and is a platform for acquisition. We see a future where it can double in size.”
The right ingredients
At the time of its acquisition, Casa Optima – then operating as MEC3 – was a family-run business, aligning well with Charterhouse’s investment thesis, which targets high-quality, often founder-led, mid-market European companies, particularly in healthcare, business services, and ingredients.
Having manufactured gelato bases and powders since 1984, Casa Optima was considered a category leader in the artisanal gelato space. It also had the largest direct sales force in Europe and connections with around 30,000 independent gelato shops.
“This large and direct relationship with so many small, independent businesses created a strong barrier to entry for competitors – it would be hard for others to replicate this kind of reach,” Antonio Di Lorenzo, Partner at Charterhouse, says.
Profit margins reflected that differentiation. Casa Optima’s EBITDA was €30m at time of purchase with a margin of around 20%, according to the same sources. The highly fragmented customer base allowed for consistent annual price increases of 2-3% with little pushback.
Beyond the company itself, there were strong market tailwinds, including an increasing consumer demand for artisanal, rather than industrial, gelato.
“While there is little difference in price, artisanal products represent a healthier and tastier option,” notes Di Lorenzo.
Regulatory tailwinds helped, too. In 2021, Italy proposed a bill to protect ‘artisanal gelato’ by banning airier alternatives, with violators facing fines of more than €10,000.
Gelato consumption has been steadily on the rise. According to SIGEP’s 2024 industry report, European gelato consumption grew by 2.1% in 2024. Italy, which occupies a 26.4% share of the market, generated nearly €3bn in gelato revenues last year, up from €2.9bn in 2023.
“Casa Optima was a global leader in a high-opportunity market,” recalls Di Lorenzo, presenting a strong case for operations streamlining, global expansion and consolidation in a fragmented market.
A rocky road
A couple of years into the acquisition, organic growth faced a slowdown, driven by increased competition and lack of operational focus. This prompted a reinforcement of Casa Optima’s management team, which led to the hiring of Francesco Fattori as CEO in 2019, supported by a strong group of managers. Later on, in 2024, Charterhouse appointed Javier Ferrán, a high-profile investor in the consumer space, as Chairman.
A number of changes followed. Pricing strategy, for instance, became more “scientific,” Di Lorenzo explains. Rather than just offering a flat 3% pricing increase across the board, it was, instead, tailored by product line which was based on forecasts of raw material costs. Where cocoa-based products might see a 20% increase, milk-based products could hold at 2-3%.
The firm also leaned into M&A as a growth lever, executing a series of strategic acquisitions: Modecor, Giuso, Pernigotti Maestri Gelatieri Italiani, and Blend in Brazil, and tailoring the offerings to each market. This helped to expand the product range beyond gelato to include pastry and beverage ingredients, diversifying the portfolio and growing EBITDA to €40m.
“It was a good company,” Pautet says, “but we went from family-style management to a more private-equity driven setup.”
Then: Covid. With gelato shops shuttered for months, it was a period of crisis and cash management. EBITDA was cut in half for a year, although this had rebounded by 2021.
The next challenge came with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a supercycle of inflation.
“All the products we were buying to manufacture the gelato bases – such as oil and sugar – went through the roof in terms of costs,” he adds.
The firm refinanced the business in 2022, just before the war broke out, to extend the debt maturities and give the company enough flexibility. According to Pautet, the goal was “to avoid pressure over the next three to five years.” Additionally, it leveraged the scattered customer base to pass on prices.
The portfolio team was also deployed during this time, with one member effectively becoming the company’s interim on-the-ground procurement officer, purchasing the raw material at the best price.
Another member worked alongside management on long-term strategy, revamping the commercial organisation and accelerating product innovation. The launch of a Pokémon-themed flavour was one recent example of that effort.
A sweet deal
Casa Optima now serves over 30,000 gelato shops and 6,000 pastry shops in over 150 countries worldwide. The company has a comprehensive portfolio of premium ingredients for artisanal gelato, pastry and beverages, developed in manufacturing facilities in Italy and Brazil. By the end of 2025, EBITDA is expected to hit €70m.
“Gelato shops and their entire value chain are quite rich,” Di Lorenzo adds. “We’ve seen proliferation not only in southern Europe, but across the continent and now globally.”
Charterhouse started to receive approaches from late 2022. The firm settled on Terlos, a private investment firm with a focus on European consumer brands and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority as exclusive limited partners. Javier Ferrán, Chairman of Casa Optima, serves as Managing Partner of Terlos.
The completion of the transaction is expected by the first quarter of 2026 and is subject to terms and conditions.
