instagrid x Ape Gelato video
Imagine a sunny summer afternoon by the sea in Helsinki, Finland. Sun is shining from a clear blue sky, you can hear the birds singing by the sea and the water splashing to the shore. In the middle of your afternoon walk, you decide to stop for a scoop of delicious gelato and enjoy it in the sun. Although, in the midst of your enjoyment you are distracted by the noise of a generator running in the background, and you hope that there would be another way for the ice-cream van to power their appliances.
Ape Gelato is a truly a mobile gelato truck, selling delicious gelato in Helsinki, Finland. The gelato sellers change locations from day to day and are working always off-grid. In the past, Ape Gelato has always relied on diesel generator to cover their energy needs. We wanted to test if instagrid battery could cover all their energy needs and bring benefits over a diesel generator.
Ape Gelato – Italian gelato that puts a smile on your face
Ape Gelato was founded in 2017 from the love of Italian culture and culinary: “We wanted to bring a piece of Italian culture and food to Finland”. Commonly you can spot local ice-cream vans in Finland during summertime, but Ape Gelato brings a fresh, southern European vibe to the selection. Instead of basic ice-cream flavors, Ape Gelato serves Italian gelato of amazing quality, and other Italian gelato treats like affogato.
Today, the bright orange Ape Gelato trucks are a common sight in the parks and squares of downtown Helsinki, and customers are loving the wider culinary choices when it comes to their summer treats. It isn’t only high-quality gelato that Ape Gelato wants to offer their customers, but an overall quality experience – to put a smile on the customer’s face when they continue their day after a gelato break.
Working always off-grid requires a portable power solution
“We start our working day by going to the garage and setting up everything needed – of course, gelato mainly”, Emiliano, one the gelato sellers, describes the start of the day. After this, they hop on the road and search their spot for the day depending on the weather and where the customers are located. “We also move during the day from one location to another, which is why we especially need to have our own electricity with us”, Emiliano continues.
“We work off-grid all the time, so we need to have our own electricity.” – Emiliano, Ape Gelato
When it comes to the appliances that require electricity, Ape Gelato needs to power the gelato freezer, coffee machine, and the decorative lights throughout the day. The solution they have at the moment for their electricity needs is a diesel-powered generator. The reason for using a generator has solely been the lack of other feasible solutions for portable power. “The diesel generator makes a lot of noise and releases emissions. We have been searching for a better solution for a long time.”
With instagrid: From 90 to 0dB and zero direct emissions
Replacing diesel generator with instagrid portable battery system in Ape Gelato’s daily work brought three main improvements to their workdays, silence being the clear number one. The previous diesel generator had a constant noise of 90dB, whereas instagrid is completely silent. “Silence allows us to focus much better on our work, and our customers are enjoying it as well”, Emiliano describes. Noise pollution from a generator is especially irritating in a business, like catering, where there are no other significant noise sources.
“Using instagrid is obviously a great choice for us as it’s environmentally friendly, portable, and silent.”- Emiliano, Ape Gelato
Another clear benefit for Ape Gelato is to be able to work without direct emissions. Often the daily location for the gelato truck is near parks or children’s playgrounds, where being able to work without constant emission pollution brings a huge benefit.
In addition to silence and avoiding direct emissions, instagrid’s portability and small size brings comfortability to daily work. When comparing to the current diesel generator, we could fit three instagrid batteries to the same space. And as an extra benefit, Ape Gelato doesn’t need to worry about refilling the diesel generator and use their time resources for that, but instead, they can use this spare time for selling gelato.
“At the end of the day, using instagrid makes our day much more enjoyable and trouble-free. It’s just what we needed really.” – Emiliano, Ape Gelato
Summary – instagrid test with Ape Gelato
Being able to work in silence improved employee and customer satisfaction
Avoiding all direct emissions made working in parks and near children’s playgrounds more convenient and enjoyable
Small size and portability brought comfort and easiness to daily workflow
Extra time was released for selling gelato when employees didn’t need to worry about refilling the generator
Learn more about instagrid ONE
In collaboration with VS Veicoli Speciali Company specialised in the outfitting of food trucks and promotional vehicles
