2024 was a year defined by unpredictability: geopolitical shifts, supply chain disruptions, and rising expectations from customers. For creators, entrepreneurs, and producers alike, the question has become not just how to operate faster or cheaper but how to operate smarter, more sustainably, and with more control.

At Gelato, we've spent over a decade building a different approach. GelatoCreate helps creators build global businesses without taking on the risk of inventory. Their orders are produced locally by partners in our network: faster, more sustainable, and closer to the end customer.

As this network scaled, something important happened. Our production partners began asking if they could use our software, built initially to serve Gelato orders, for the rest of their operations. That insight led to GelatoConnect, a platform to run procurement, workflow, and logistics across their entire business.

"We are building better systems for a more sustainable world."

In June 2024, we launched GelatoConnect at Drupa, the world's largest event in the global print industry, opening up the technology that has powered our network for years. It now supports producers in over 31 countries, helping them increase uptime, reduce waste, and scale without growing headcount.

Together, GelatoCreate and GelatoConnect form a powerful system, enabling creators to sell more globally and producers to operate more efficiently. This shift toward local, on-demand production is not just about sustainability. It's about a better way to produce: one that reduces waste, shortens delivery routes, improves working capital, and builds resilience into the supply chain.

As global supply chains face increasing pressure from trade restrictions to rising costs and logistical uncertainty, local production is no longer a nice-to-have. It's becoming essential. Across the print industry, where fragmentation and inefficiency are still widespread, we believe software is the unlocker.

Our commitment is to empower local print partners with the tools to profitably produce and ship personalized micro-orders: faster, cleaner, and with greater operational control.

This is not just a more sustainable path; it's a more resilient and scalable one. This is what Gelato will continue to build, to transform production for the benefit of people and planet.

Henrik Müller-Hansen, Founder & CEO, Gelato

Sustainability at Gelato isn't something we layer on top; it's embedded in how our platform operates — producing only what’s sold, closer to where it’s needed. From the beginning, we focused on building the systems, software, and network required to make local, on-demand production both viable and scalable.

In 2024, we completed our first Double Materiality Assessment to clarify where we can have the greatest impact and where we must take the greatest responsibility. Our sustainability strategy is guided by a simple but powerful framework: Avoid, Reduce, Optimize.

• Avoid: GelatoCreate eliminates excess inventory by producing only what is sold. GelatoConnect enables PSPs to fulfill orders in real time, replacing forecasts with actual demand.

• Reduce: In 2024, 88% of orders were produced in the same country as the customer, and 99% within the same region—cutting transport distances, emissions, and packaging waste.

• Optimize: Automation, smart imposition, and real-time analytics help improve accuracy, reduce material waste, and increase throughput across the production workflow.

GelatoCreate and GelatoConnect both contribute to sustainability through this shared framework. GelatoCreate eliminates excess inventory and enables creators to fulfill orders close to the end customer. GelatoConnect supports producers with real-time demand, automated workflows, and localized fulfillment—enabling smarter sourcing, reduced material waste, and fewer shipments.

This is not just a more sustainable path — it’s a more resilient and scalable one. As global production shifts from speculative to demand-driven, and from centralized to local, Gelato is building the platform that is changing the way the world produces for the benefit of people and planet.