Decorative sign with the phrase "Little 'Lato" in cursive and serif fonts, on a black background.

Ciao, sweet thing!

Weโ€™re your friendly, local gelato shop with a big love for bold flavours and curious creations. Grounded in Italian craft and served with joy, every scoop is made to lift your day. If youโ€™re craving the best gelato in Auckland, Hamilton or beyond, come in for a scoop.
Weโ€™re here to make life a little sweeterโ€ฆ
the Little โ€™Lato way.

Little 'Lato brand icon - yellow asterisk-shaped starburst with black background
Little 'Lato Gelato - A person is using a spatula to lift melted caramel from a mixing bowl, showing its stretchy and smooth texture.
Little 'Lato brand shape icon

Award winning gelato, made the Italian way!

Okay, weโ€™ll brag.
Just this once.

With 120+ awards, 26 gold medals and two Supreme Champion wins, Little โ€˜Lato has become one of the most awarded boutique gelato producers in New Zealand. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Supreme Champion โ€” 2024 & 2022

  • Best Gelato in NZ โ€” 2024, 2022, 2020

  • Best New to Market โ€” 2024

  • Best of New Zealand Produce โ€” 2024

  • Best Dairy-Free โ€” 2024 & 2023

  • Champion Free-From Product โ€” 2023 & 2021

  • NZ Food Award Winner โ€” 2021

The best bit? Weโ€™re just getting started!

EXPLORE FLAVOURS
Medal with the text '2025 Category Champion' and 'Nice Cream & Gelato Awards' around the border.
Gold award badge for the 2025 Niche Cream & Gelato Awards with a circular design and a stylized scoop of gelato on top.
A circular badge with a gold background and dark text that reads "2024 Category Champion". The outer ring has the text "NICE, ICE CREAM & GELATO AWARDS".
Gold medal badge for the 2024 NZ ICE CREAM & GELATO AWARDS
Circular logo with a black center and a gold outer ring, reading 'NZ ICE CREAM & GELATO AWARDS' around the top and '2024 SUPREME CHAMPION' in the center.
A circular badge for the 2024 NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards with a beige outer ring, black inner circle, and a gold scoop icon at the top, displaying the text '2024 SUPREME CHAMPION BOUTIQUE' in bold white letters.
Gold circular award badge with black text that reads "2024 Category Champion" and "Experience Gelato and Ice Cream" around the edges.
Gold circular badge for the 2024 Outstanding Food Producer Awards by NZ Life & Leisure
Circular badge for the 2023 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, featuring text and a black and white design.
Gold badge with black text and a white border displaying the 2023 NZ Food Producer Awards by NZ Life & Leisure, highlighting outstanding NZ food producers.
Circular badge with a dark blue background and white border, featuring the text "Outstanding NZ 2023 Food Producer Awards Special Award" and the logo "NZ Life & Leisure" in black and white.
Black and gold circular badge for the 2023 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, organized by NZ Life & Leisure, with words 'Supreme Champion'.
Gold and black circular badge with the text "2023 Category Champion" and "Ice Cream & Gelato Awards" surrounding the central text.
Gold award badge for the 2023 NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards
A circular badge with a black center and a gold outer ring. Text on the badge reads '2023 Supreme Champion Boutique' in the center, and around the edge, it says 'NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards'.
Gold badge with black and white text that reads "Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards 2022" and includes a logo for NZ Life & Leisure.
A circular logo with a black inner circle and a gold outer ring. The gold ring has black text that reads 'NZ ICE CREAM & GELATO AWARDS' at the top. Inside the black circle, there is white text that says '2022 SUPREME CHAMPION BOUTIQUE' and a gold ice cream scoop graphic in the top right section.
Gold circular award badge for the 2021 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards by NZ Life & Leisure with black and white text.
A circular logo for the 2021 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards by NZ Life & Leisure, with text emphasizing the champion status.
Gold medal with black text reading "2020 Category Champion NZ Ice Cream Awards"
Gold medal with the text '2020 Gold' and 'NZ Ice Cream Awards' surrounding the center
Gold award badge with black text indicating 2019 accolade for ice cream and desserts.
Children holding a large ice cream cone with multiple scoops and waffle cookies, smiling against a bright blue sky.

Small batch,
big imagination

At Little โ€™Lato, innovation never takes a day off. Over 550 flavours of artisan gelato have been created to date โ€” and the list just keeps growing. From classics to cheeky twists, weโ€™re here to surprise, delight and keep the gelato love rolling.

EXPLORE FLAVOURS
A young girl with curly hair tied with a bow is enjoying a scoop of purple ice cream outdoors.

Scooping sunshine,
all year โ€˜round

Looking for an ice cream shop near you? Weโ€™re here to welcome you in with open arms (and open freezers). Find Little โ€˜Lato at these spots!

PONSONBY
WAIPU
HAMILTON EAST
TIMARU
HAHEI BEACH
PT CHEVALIER
ROTORUA
WAIHI BEACH
COOKS BEACH
TAUPO

FIND YOUR NEAREST PARLOUR

Our story

Little โ€˜Lato was born from founder Hannah Woodโ€™s dream to bring people together over gelato made the real way โ€” a craft she learned in Italy and now has grown into a little but loved brand thatโ€™s infused with curiosity, joy and a dash of cheeky fun. 


What started as one little gelateria has grown into a much-loved New Zealand gelato brand, known for authentic gelato, bold flavours and welcoming spaces made for everyone to feel at home. From mind-blowing vegan options to timeless favourites, every scoop is crafted to taste delicious and bring joy to your day.

READ OUR STORY

Flavours with friends

We love teaming up with legendary brands to create more flavours you didnโ€™t know you needed and experiences youโ€™ll want to share with your mates.

DISCOVER COLLABS

See what weโ€™re
scooping up

Follow along on Instagram to find out whatโ€™s happening in the world of
Little โ€˜Lato.

Ciao, sweet thing ๐Ÿ’›
Some top picks in the freezers currently ๐Ÿ‘Œ ๐Ÿ“Ponsonby ๐Ÿ“Hamilton
At the very heart of Little Lato, here is what we are all about ๐Ÿ’› A journey that started just over 8 years ago and has been one wild ride so far. Here’s to everything still to come! โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿฆ Read more at the link in bio ๐Ÿซถ
A fresh new look is coming to Little Lato! The same award-winning scoops, just a little more grown up โ˜บ๏ธ Scroll right for a little sneak peek, then hit the link in bio to read more. Maybe check out the new website at the same time ๐Ÿคฉ #comingsoon
We’re planning out the next couple of months ahead and feeling a bit indecisive ๐Ÿ˜† What flavours do you want to see make a return? ๐Ÿคฉ โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ € Comment below ๐Ÿ‘‡
Sea Salt & Vanilla Cookie ๐ŸŒฑ Coconut, Coffee & Cardamom ๐ŸŒฑ Two newbies hitting the freezers from this weekend! Which are you trying first? ๐Ÿ“Ponsonby ๐Ÿ“ Hamilton #littlelato #vegangelato
One of our all-time favourite foods, reimagined ๐Ÿฆ Date Scone - combining warm spices, sweet date sauce, & fresh scones blitzed into in every scoop. Now scooping in Ponsonby & Hamilton.
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