Caffè Panna

What Caffè Panna does

Caffè Panna is a New York City-based, founder-owned artisanal ice cream and coffee shop founded in 2019 by Hallie Meyer after she was inspired by Italian gelaterias during her time working at Otaleg in Rome. The company operates two physical retail locations, the original Gramercy shop at 77 Irving Place in Manhattan and a newer Greenpoint Brooklyn location at 16 Norman Avenue, both open afternoon-to-evening hours (1:30pm-9:30pm) and serving scoops, pints, affogatos, sundaes, soft serve, and (at Brooklyn only) granita, alongside espresso beverages. The product line consists of seven permanent classic flavors plus five weekly rotating flavors and daily-changing sundaes and affogato sundaes, all churned in-house in onsite kitchens with specialty ingredients including imported panna from Piemonte, pistachios and olive oil from Sicily, Union Square Greenmarket produce, and specialty suppliers such as Heilala Vanilla, Amano Chocolate, and Best Damn Cookies. Distribution combines in-store retail, local pickup and delivery through Toasttab to adjacent Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhoods, B2B wholesale to select NYC specialty stores and restaurants, and nationwide shipping of curated pint packs via an exclusive Goldbelly marketplace partnership, with pint pack selections rotated every five weeks. Marketing is driven primarily through the @caffepanna Instagram account, which functions as a real-time daily menu channel, supported by an email mailing list, earned media coverage (notably New York Magazine), and the company's own website. The brand extends beyond the core shop model through event-driven concepts including the Bar Panna affogato corretto popup and the Trattoria Panna pasta popup series, leveraging founder expertise and Italian provenance as core positioning levers.

Name

Caffè Panna

Legal name

Caffè Panna

Website

https://caffepanna.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Caffè Panna is a founder-owned, Italian-inspired artisanal ice cream and coffee shop operating two NYC locations (Gramercy and Greenpoint), serving daily-rotating in-house flavors, affogatos, and sundaes to food enthusiasts and coffee drinkers, with nationwide shipping via Goldbelly.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Ice Cream & Café

NAICS

Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (311520), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Cream & Gelato Shops (THAFAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dessert Cafes (Coffee + Desserts) (THAFADAH)

Keywords

• Artisanal ice cream
• Italian gelato parlor
• Specialty coffee shop
• Dessert cafe
• Frozen desserts retail

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. In-Store Retail Sales: Direct retail sales of ice cream scoops, pints, affogatos, sundaes, soft serve, and granita (Brooklyn only) at Gramercy and Greenpoint shop locations. Operating hours 1:30pm - 9:30pm, Tuesday-Sunday (Gramercy) and Wednesday-Sunday (Greenpoint).
2. Online Ordering - Pickup & Delivery: Online ordering through Toasttab platform for in-store pickup and delivery to adjacent Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhoods. Orders open at 1:30pm matching shop hours.
3. Nationwide Shipping: Nationwide shipping of curated pint packs via Goldbelly marketplace. Pint packs feature favorite flavors churned in Manhattan shop, rotated every 5 weeks for nationwide customers.
4. B2B Wholesale: Distribution of special pints to select specialty stores and restaurants in NYC. Restaurant and grocer collaboration opportunities are welcomed through contact channels.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Caffè Panna is an Italian-inspired ice cream and coffee shop that produces and sells artisanal ice cream (scoops, pints, sundaes, affogato sundaes, soft serve, and Brooklyn-only granita) plus espresso beverages at two NYC shop locations. All ice cream is churned in-house in onsite kitchens using imported Italian panna from Piemonte, Sicilian pistachios and olive oil, and locally sourced ingredients. The company also ships curated pint packs nationwide via Goldbelly and distributes select pints to NYC specialty retailers.

Product overview

Caffè Panna is an Italian-inspired ice cream and coffee shop with daily changing flavors, operated as a unified retail offering rather than a platform architecture. The core products consist of classic scoop flavors (seven permanent varieties including Vanilla, Chocolate, Raspberry Sorbet, Caffè Bianco Stracciatella, Red Flag, Cookies 'n Panna, and Aud's Dream) complemented by five weekly rotating special flavors, daily changing sundaes and affogato sundaes, pints for takeout, soft serve, and granita (Brooklyn only). The company operates two physical shop locations (Gramercy and Greenpoint) and offers nationwide shipping of curated pint packs via Goldbelly. All ice cream is produced in-house in onsite kitchens, with ingredients sourced from local producers including the Union Square Greenmarket and specialty imports from Italy (pistachios, olive oil from Sicily, and panna from Piemonte).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Classic Scoop Flavors

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GoldbellycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGoldbelly serves as the exclusive nationwide shipping partner for Caffè Panna, enabling customers across the United States to order curated pint packs. The partnership allows nationwide Panna fans to experience changing flavors similar to NYC customers, with pint packs rotated every 5 weeks.
• Union Square GreenmarketminorOthersCaffè Panna sources ingredients from local producers at the neighboring Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan. This includes fruit swirls and seasonal produce for ice cream flavors.
• Amano ChocolateminorOthersSource of chocolate shards (fruity Amano Chocolate) used in the Caffè Bianco Stracciatella classic flavor. Partnership provides specialty chocolate for ice cream production.
• Heilala VanillaminorOthersSupplier of vanilla beans used in the classic Vanilla ice cream flavor. Specialty vanilla supplier from New Zealand.
• Best Damn CookiesminorOthersLocal producer supplying marshmallows for the Best Damn Fluffernutter flavor, as referenced in product announcements and Instagram posts.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream: Premium artisanal ice cream brand with multiple NYC storefronts and national grocery distribution. Closest direct comparable in scale, premium positioning, and multi-location NYC retail model, though Van Leeuwen has significantly broader distribution.
• Salt & Straw Ice Cream: Artisan ice cream chain with rotating small-batch flavors and a strong narrative-driven brand. Comparable on premium positioning, flavor experimentation, and growing multi-location retail footprint.
• Il Laboratorio del Gelato: NYC-based Italian-style gelato maker producing in-house with rotating artisanal flavors. The most directly comparable peer on the Italian gelato craft positioning and in-house production approach.
• OddFellows Ice Cream Co. NYC-based artisanal ice cream shop known for rotating creative flavors and premium ingredients. Closely comparable on flavor innovation cadence and downtown NYC retail positioning.
• Ample Hills Creamery: Brooklyn-origin premium ice cream brand with multiple retail locations and grocery distribution. Comparable Brooklyn-anchored premium scoop shop with retail expansion trajectory.
• Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream: NYC-based premium ice cream parlor with multiple Manhattan locations, focusing on classic and inventive flavors churned in-house. Directly comparable premium scoop-shop model serving similar NYC clientele with artisanal positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams: Nationally distributed premium ice cream brand with direct-to-consumer shipping and many scoop shops. Comparable premium positioning and flavor creativity, but operates at significantly larger scale with broader geographic footprint.
• Talenti Gelato: Mass-premium gelato brand sold through grocery retail nationwide. Comparable on the Italian gelato positioning and premium tier, but distributed through CPG channels rather than scoop shops.
• Häagen-Dazs: Established premium ice cream brand with global retail and scoop shop presence. Represents the broad incumbent benchmark for premium ice cream positioning against which artisanal players like Caffè Panna differentiate.

Others

• Blue Bottle Coffee: Craft coffee company combining espresso bar service with premium positioning and selective retail expansion. Relevant comparable for the coffee and affogato component of Caffè Panna's café offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/caffepanna

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Caffè Panna