Entrepreneurial journeys: Lewis Ratto

Alfonso Gelateria is a gelato manufacturer and retailer based in Oxfordshire. They also have a food truck based in North Oxford and a gelato cart in nearby Blenheim Palace, which currently operates at weekends and during school holidays.

Lewis' Journey

Born and raised in Rome, Italy, until he was 17, Lewis Ratto always had an inclination to ‘do something with food’.  He graduated in Chemistry from the University of York in 2015. 

“I grew up with ice cream, it’s a big part of my identity.  I would spend summers in Italy where it’s all about meeting friends at the ice cream parlour and I wanted to do something similar in the UK." 

“After graduation I had a couple of jobs - at a pharmacy for 10 months then as a chemistry technician in a school.  I would fly out to Italy in half-term to do ice cream courses in order to complete my professional training.  There’s a lot of chemistry involved in ice cream manufacturing, particularly in recipe writing, so my degree definitely came in even though I haven’t become a scientist."  

“I got my first food truck in May 2018 so it was late in the season.  It was just me on my own.  I’d make ice cream in some space I rented at the back of a bakery every morning, sell it in the afternoon, pack away in the evening and do admin by night." 

“During the winter season I worked for the bakery to pay for equipment and loans I had".

Business growth

I got my first wholesale customer in 2019, then got someone part-time to help make ice cream and a Saturday assistant to help sell on the van.  I got my second mobile vehicle in August 2019 and started employing a few casual workers, originally to grow with mobile stands but then Covid hit.  We set up an online system to do deliveries and take orders.  It was back to me on my own making ice cream and doing deliveries. 

It worked out so efficiently that when, halfway through the summer, a shop came up for rent, I took it.  This means I can be open for 12 months a year and finally employ people full-time.  I now have 13 people in the business including a full-time ice cream maker plus part-time workers, weekend staff and casual staff.  I’m opening a second shop, looking to bring on another 10 members of staff  and looking at a third shop.

Challenges

Lewis says that there isn't any single challenge you overcome.  There's always a problem or set of problems at any given time, so the challenge is having the stamina to continuously get past them.

“At the beginning, the percentage of things I didn’t know far outweighed what I did know so I was constantly having to learn.  Things like bookkeeping, how accounts should look like, legal structures, the best suppliers, the cheapest suppliers, all before I started looking at marketing, software and websites.  Then as we grow, there are different challenges - staffing, training people, ensuring consistency of quality and customer service.”

The direction of my business has changed

I originally intended to have a food truck-based business.  I never intended to have shops but I’ve actually found it’s easier to run a shop than a food truck.  I didn’t expect that.  The moment I got a bit bigger, the easier things got because I’m not doing all the tasks in the business anymore so can concentrate on working on the business rather than in the business.

My aspiration is to become a national chain and brand.

Measuring achievement

I have a sense of endless urgency.  I feel like I’m just getting started.  I measure achievement by having happy customers who are happy to pay for my product - but above all, there has to be profit, otherwise it’s not a business.  It means I can pay my staff properly and on time.  However, I feel like I need some light at the end of the tunnel, some personal time.  I’m working up to having a full day off!  At the moment I’m managing a couple of half days.

Words of advice

“There’s never a perfect time to start a business.  Know what you’re getting into but just do it and throw yourself in 100%.  If you go in half heartedly, you will only get half hearted results." 

“Also, don’t lie to yourself about the actual state of your finances and what’s actually happening in the business. You have to be most honest with yourself".

“Be prepared to change and amend your ideas about what your business is.  Don’t take it personally if customers want something different or the market changes. Don’t hold on too tight". 

“Finally, don't be scared to hire people to help you and lean on people who are much better than you at different tasks - these things will separate you from other businesses.  And show them you work harder than them.  You can’t be seen to be doing less, especially at the start.”

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