Martellato

The Conversation as Production Source

There are companies that develop new products by analysing what sells. And there are companies that develop new products by listening to what is missing. Martellato belongs to the second category – not as a strategic decision but from the character of its founder. Nereo Martellato was not a trained engineer or business economist. He was someone who loved the world of baking and patisserie from deep conviction and who observed the people working in it with genuine interest.

In the 1970s, when the range of tools and moulds for confectioneries and ice cream makers in Italy was still comparatively thin, Nereo held regular conversations with craftspeople in this field. Confectioners, bakers, chocolatiers, ice cream makers – all encountered the same limits in their daily work: moulds that could not be bought. Equipment that was missing. Processes that could not be satisfactorily solved with the available tools. Nereo Martellato noted these gaps and began developing solutions. Not for a market, but for specific people with specific problems.

From Conversation to Company – and From Company to Over 7,000 Products

In the 1980s, Nereo Martellato formalises his activities into Martellato Srl. The company begins small – focused on confectioneries and ice cream makers, the professional groups Nereo had most contact with. New customer segments are soon added: in the 1990s, catering and the hospitality industry; in the 2000s, the emerging cake design movement, which makes new demands for cutters, embossers, piping nozzles and decoration tools. The range grows not by plan but by need – always driven by conversations and observations.

Today Alessandro Martellato, Nereo's son, leads the company. The core logic has remained the same: products emerge from direct exchange with professionals. The range now encompasses over 7,000 items – many of them customisable – across the areas of pastry, chocolate, ice cream, bakery, catering and cake design. Martellato sees itself not only as a tool supplier but as a partner of the professionals who work with its products.

Polycarbonate – Why the Mould Material Determines Chocolate Quality

Martellato's best-known product is the polycarbonate chocolate mould. Those who have never worked with one underestimate the material difference. Polycarbonate is a hard, crystal-clear thermoplastic that is superior to all alternatives for this purpose for several reasons: it is food-safe, temperature-stable, mechanically robust and – decisively – it has a surface smoothness that no other material even approaches. This smoothness is the physical reason why chocolate from a polycarbonate mould emerges with the characteristic high gloss one knows from professional pralines.

The background: chocolate gloss forms during cocoa butter crystallisation. Form V crystals – the crystal structure produced by correct tempering – create a mirror-smooth surface when cooling in a smooth mould. The smoother the mould surface, the more light is reflected evenly, the stronger the gloss. In a rough mould or a silicone mould whose surface is silky-matt, this reflection does not occur. Martellato polishes its polycarbonate moulds to a high gloss, achieving a surface quality that optimally supports couverture tempering and subsequent crystallisation. Added to this is dimensional stability: polycarbonate moulds maintain their exact geometry even after repeated filling and emptying. For pralines, where wall thickness determines the bite and melt sensation, this is a relevant quality factor.

Silicone Moulds – Where Polycarbonate Reaches Its Limits

As superior as polycarbonate moulds are for pralines and bars – for other applications silicone is the right choice. Entremet moulds, mousse cakes, semifreddo, ice cream cakes: here what counts is not high gloss but demoulding. Chocolate shrinks slightly during crystallisation and therefore almost releases itself from the polycarbonate mould. Mousse and ice cream masses do not – they stick when the mould material is too rigid. Silicone yields, can be turned inside out and enables clean demoulding of even delicate masses without applying pressure to the finished product.

Martellato's silicone mould range includes classic red silicone moulds for fruit jellies, pâtes de fruit and mousses, as well as the BlackSil line: black, particularly high-quality silicone developed in close collaboration with Frank Haasnoot – world champion in chocolaterie and one of Europe's best-known pastry chefs. Black silicone is denser than red, has a more homogeneous cell structure and more even thermal conductivity. The result: more precise contours on demoulding, fewer air pockets, sharper edges. The BlackSil line is Made in Italy and incorporates Haasnoot's practical feedback directly into the mould design.

The Range – From Mould to Presentation Vessel

Polycarbonate moulds for pralines, bars, tablets, figures and decorations. Silicone moulds in the classic line and in BlackSil for entremet, ice cream and mousse. Ice cream moulds in various geometries. Cutters, piping nozzles and piping bags. Airbrush stencils. Cake rings and mousse frames. Apéro and dessert cups for hospitality presentation. Cake design tools, fondant embossers and decoration accessories. Over 7,000 products, many customisable, all tested to industry standards for food safety.

Polycarbonate moulds · Silicone moulds · BlackSil line · Ice cream moulds · Pastry accessories · Cake design tools

Martellato at miniSchoggi

A chocolate mould is not a chocolate mould. One produces high gloss, another a matt surface. One holds its geometry exactly after a hundred fillings, another has deformed slightly by the third use. One allows clean demoulding of a ganache filling at 28 degrees, another sticks. These differences are not abstract – they are directly visible in the finished product and directly felt in the working process.

For over 40 years, Martellato has done nothing other than develop tools and moulds for people who work daily with chocolate, ice cream masses, mousses and pastry. The range is not the result of a product catalogue compiled by a buyer – it is the result of conversations, observations and craft feedback across two generations. This shows in the details: in the wall thickness of a praline shell, in the sharpness of a cutter edge, in the surface quality of a polycarbonate mould. miniSchoggi carries Martellato because the range is relevant for everyone who wants to work seriously with chocolate, ice cream and pastry – from the first praline to professional production. The range at miniSchoggi covers silicone moulds, polycarbonate moulds and further pastry accessories and is continuously expanded.

Born from a conversation. Developed across two generations. Made in Italy. Martellato.