Baglios
Baglios is a privately held South African artisanal gelato retailer operating 11 company-owned gelato bars across Gauteng and Western Cape, selling preservative-free traditional Italian gelato, coffee, and adjacent desserts, with catering, events, and franchise offerings.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1970
- HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Baglios does
Baglios is a privately held South African specialty gelato and ice cream retail business that operates 11 company-owned gelato bar locations across Gauteng and Western Cape, with its head office in Randburg, Johannesburg. The company produces gelato and sorbet daily using traditional Italian recipes inherited by founder Enzo Barbaglia, who emigrated from Italy in the 1970s. The production process combines mixing, pasteurization, homogenization, and maturation, followed by a proprietary 4-hour churning cycle that produces a creamy, preservative-free handmade texture. Each flavor uses a unique recipe, with globally sourced ingredients (Sicilian pistachios, Belgian cocoa) combined with locally sourced inputs (Western Cape cultured butter, local fresh fruits).
The core product line includes Italian gelato, artisanal specialty coffee, fresh fruit granita, milkshakes, and waffles. Beyond in-store consumption, Baglios generates revenue through take-home gelato orders (pick-up only), gelato-making events for all ages, catering services, and party venue hosting. The company also offers franchise opportunities for entrepreneurs to open Baglios stores as part of the brand family, providing a licensing and royalty revenue stream alongside company-operated retail. Marketing is concentrated on Instagram and Facebook organic social channels, with no disclosed app, e-commerce delivery, or digital infrastructure. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is determined at point of sale. No external funding rounds, acquisitions, or institutional investors are referenced; ownership appears to remain with the founding family.
Baglios firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Baglios
- Legal name
- Baglios
- Website
- https://baglios.co.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1970
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Baglios is a privately held South African artisanal gelato retailer operating 11 company-owned gelato bars across Gauteng and Western Cape, selling preservative-free traditional Italian gelato, coffee, and adjacent desserts, with catering, events, and franchise offerings.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Baglios industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Frozen Desserts / Italian Gelato Retail
- NAICS
- Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (311520)
- SIC
- Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ice Cream & Gelato Shops (THAFAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Gelato Manufacturing (AFAHAEAD), Dessert Cafes (Coffee + Desserts) (THAFADAH)
Keywords
Where Baglios is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Johannesburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices11 records
Markets served
Baglios business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Retail Gelato Sales: Direct sales of freshly made Italian gelato to consumers at physical store locations. Revenue generated through in-store purchases of gelato, coffee, waffles, milkshakes, and other menu items.
- Take-Home Gelato: Pre-order take-home gelato for customer pick-up, allowing customers to enjoy gelato at home.
- Franchise Fees: Revenue from franchise opportunities where entrepreneurs can open Baglios stores as part of the brand family.
- Catering and Events: Catering counter services and venue hosting for kids' parties, providing additional revenue streams beyond regular retail.
- Gelato-Making Events: Hosting gelato-making events for customers of all ages, providing educational and experiential revenue opportunities.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels2 records
Baglios product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Baglios produces and sells Italian gelato, sorbet and related frozen desserts made fresh daily using traditional recipes passed down through generations, with a 4-hour churning process and no preservatives. The company sells through 11 gelato bar locations across South Africa, supplemented by take-home gelato ordering, catering, party hosting, and gelato-making events. Artisanal coffee, fresh fruit granita, milkshakes and waffles complement the core gelato offering.
Product overview
Baglios is an Italian gelato and ice cream retail business operating multiple Gelato Bar locations across South Africa. The core offering is fresh gelato made daily using traditional recipes from Italy, complemented by artisanal coffee, fresh fruit granita, milkshakes, and waffles. The company operates on a platform of physical retail locations with services including take-home gelato, gelato-making events, catering, and party hosting. Founded in the 1970s by Enzo Barbaglia who migrated from Italy, the brand maintains Italian heritage through recipes passed down through generations, using globally sourced ingredients like Sicilian pistachios and Belgian cocoa, combined with locally sourced fresh fruits and Western Cape cultured butter.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Italian Gelato
- Artisanal Coffee
- Fresh Fruit Granita
- Milkshakes
- Waffles
- Take-Home Gelato
- Gelato-Making Events
- Catering Services
- Party Hosting
- Franchise Program
Companies that use Baglios
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Baglios technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Baglios partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Baglios competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GROM: Italian gelato chain founded in Turin in 2003, with traditional Italian recipes and multiple branded gelato bars worldwide. Baglios mirrors GROM's traditional Italian recipe heritage, no-preservative formulation, and retail gelato bar format, making it the closest direct comparable in the artisanal gelato shop category.
- Amorino: French artisanal gelato chain with global retail locations and traditional Italian gelato-making methods. Comparable to Baglios in shop format, premium positioning, traditional recipe approach, and multi-country retail expansion through company-owned and franchise stores.
Regional players
- vida e caffè: South African specialty coffee chain with multiple locations. Comparable to Baglios on cafe-format retail in South Africa and specialty coffee positioning, but operates purely as a coffee chain without gelato or dessert focus.
- Primo Gelato: South African artisanal gelato brand producing traditional Italian-style gelato for retail and wholesale. Directly comparable to Baglios on South African artisanal gelato manufacturing and no-preservative positioning, though it operates more in wholesale than company-owned retail.
- Fego Caffé: South African café chain offering coffee, breakfast, and light meals. Comparable to Baglios on South African geographic presence and combined coffee-plus-dessert café format, but does not focus on gelato as a core product.
Broad incumbents
- Cold Stone Creamery: American ice cream franchise chain with stores in multiple countries. Directly comparable to Baglios on retail scoop shop model and franchise-driven expansion, but operates in a broader franchise system with different product format (stone-mixed ice cream).
- Ben & Jerry's: Unilever-owned premium ice cream brand with branded scoop shops globally. Overlaps with Baglios on premium positioning and experiential retail, but operates as a broad global ice cream incumbent with mass-market distribution rather than an artisanal gelato specialist.
- Baskin-Robbins: Global ice cream and specialty cake chain with thousands of franchised stores. Comparable to Baglios in physical retail scoop shop format and franchise model, but positioned as a mass-market ice cream chain rather than premium artisanal gelato.
- Paul (Bakery Café): French bakery-café chain with South African presence, serving French pastries, sandwiches, and coffee. Comparable to Baglios on the combined coffee + artisanal dessert offering and cafe-format retail presence rather than pure gelato product.
- Häagen-Dazs: Premium global ice cream brand owned by General Mills, with branded cafes worldwide. Competes with Baglios in the premium ice cream/gelato category but operates as a broad CPG and cafe portfolio rather than a single-format artisanal gelato shop.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Baglios social profiles
Digital presenceBaglios financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Baglios leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Baglios funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Baglios M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Baglios
What does Baglios do?
Baglios produces and sells Italian gelato, sorbet and related frozen desserts made fresh daily using traditional recipes passed down through generations, with a 4-hour churning process and no preservatives. The company sells through 11 gelato bar locations across South Africa, supplemented by take-home gelato ordering, catering, party hosting, and gelato-making events. Artisanal coffee, fresh fruit granita, milkshakes and waffles complement the core gelato offering.
Is Baglios a public or private company?
Baglios is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Baglios founded?
Baglios was founded in 1970. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Baglios based?
Baglios is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does Baglios make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Retail Gelato Sales are the primary driver. The others are take-Home Gelato, franchise Fees, catering and Events and gelato-Making Events.
Who are Baglios's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GROM and Amorino. Regional players are vida e caffè, Primo Gelato and Fego Caffé. Broad incumbents are Cold Stone Creamery, Ben & Jerry's, Baskin-Robbins, Paul (Bakery Café) and Häagen-Dazs.
Does Baglios have an API?
No public API is recorded for Baglios.
What industry is Baglios in?
Baglios's product category is Specialty Frozen Desserts / Italian Gelato Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAGAA, Ice Cream & Gelato Shops, with a secondary code of AFAHAEAD, Gelato Manufacturing. Its NAICS code is 311520 and its SIC code is 2024.