This Miele’s Gelateria podcast episode explores how Michael Miele built his family gelato business in Inverness and how it grew into one of the Highlands’ most recognisable food brands.
Discover how Michael Miele built Miele’s Gelateria into one of the Highlands’ most successful family businesses. In this Growth for Good episode, he shares how heritage, innovation, and resilience shaped the journey from Italian roots to Inverness’ success—a powerful story of craftsmanship, sustainability, and SME growth.
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Miele’s Gelateria has become one of the most recognised food businesses in the Highlands, but the journey to get there is as compelling as the flavours in their famous gelato cabinets. In this episode of the Growth for Good podcast, Michael Miele explains how a deep family heritage, strong work ethic and bold entrepreneurial spirit shaped the business from its earliest days.
In the Miele’s Gelateria podcast conversation, Michael describes launching the shop at just twenty two and the struggle to secure traditional finance. With banks unwilling to fund a young founder in the north of Scotland, the breakthrough came through family belief. His parents took the extraordinary step of remortgaging their home so that the brothers could begin building the business. Their support remains a central part of the story, reflecting the long running Miele family tradition of food, service and community.
During the conversation Michael shares how starting in winter was a deliberate choice. He and his brother wanted to win the trust of local people before the tourist season began. This approach paid off, especially when they made the bold decision to give gelato away for free on the first day. Word spread quickly and queues soon ran down Church Street.
The episode also explores how the business adapted during Covid by pivoting overnight to a delivery service. Michael discusses the importance of sustainability and the investment the company has made in closed loop water systems and digital monitoring technology. These innovations have dramatically reduced environmental impact while protecting product quality.
Finally, Michael offers thoughtful advice for young entrepreneurs. He emphasises the importance of commitment, going all in and continually improving. His Lego brick analogy for sustainable growth shows how building a strong base leads to long term success.
This Miele’s Gelateria podcast episode offers practical insight, real honesty and inspiration for anyone building a business with purpose.