When asked why he got into the world of "frees" (such as products without dairy or plant-based derivatives), Andrea De Bellis, pastry chef and instructor at Gelato University, replied that “the first reason is for love, since my partner is vegan!”
In fact this was the initial reason why he began studying and experimenting with alternative ingredients used to produce products for those like her who have decided to change their diets and choose products without ingredients originating from animals. Andrea says that
thanks in part to his experience at Carpigiani Gelato University and the many courses he’s taken, he understood how to work by substituting some or all of the ingredients. Since then Andrea says he has found the key to developing any recipe he wants, with whatever ingredients he has on hand. He adds that his dedication to vegan and "free" pastry and gelato was also based on observations of the current market, which he now deems ready for this type of product, even in Italy. In fact the
increased consumption of plant-based and free products has attracted the interest of large manufacturing companies, driving them in recent years to develop products more in line with consumers’ needs.
This has facilitated both the entry into the market of products that were previously more difficult to find and access to them by small artisans (protein, fiber, inulin, different sugars, hydrocolloids, etc.). 
“When industry gets involved a world opens up for artisans as well, because it means that the market is alive and well.” This trend has continued to expand, and internationally the market has been moving decisively in this direction for at least four years. Andrea points out that
even historic pastry brands are adapting: Ladurée, for example, developed a line of vegan products, and Pierre Hermé published the book La pâtisserie végétale in which he reworked some of his traditional recipes in a plant-based key. “Ten years ago the plant-based products on the market didn’t even come close to the quality of traditional pastries.”
In general, according to Andrea, the current trend in pastry is to "work with less”: that is, try to enhance the flavor of the product by lowering (or eliminating) the calories derived from sugars and fats. The same trend is catching on in gelato as well, leading artisans to take a closer look at the functional properties of each ingredient, studying their synergies and working without drastically changing their qualities, or changing them but in a conscious way. Like with pastry, where "
we are constantly striving to arrive at the very essence of the recipes so we can reinterpret them in a better way, moving away from the classic position that ‘you do it like this because that’s the way it’s always been done.’” Andrea gives the example of pastry cream, "
to develop a vegan version, the process starts with identifying the specific requirements of the final product: what does a pastry cream look like, what parameters do I have to respect? For sure it must have a specific texture, consistency, silkiness, freezing point, etc. While before I just had to follow the traditional recipe, which always gave me the right product, now I have to figure out how to get the same result but in a different or even better way. So I start with the final objective, the finished product, and then I work backwards to develop a recipe that produces the same characteristics by ‘working with less.’” Knowing the end result, the proportions of functional and structural ingredients, it’s possible to replicate those same properties with ingredients from other sources. "If, for example, I want to create a fiordilatte gelato flavor but I want to make it with goat's milk in order to have a less fatty product, it’s obvious that we need to study the different qualities of the two types of milk in order to have a balanced end product. The process is the same for plant-based products."
According to Andrea, the main problem with vegan gelato or pastry shops is that they absolutely want to recreate the "usual traditional product" in order to attract more customers. "Going back to the example of fiordilatte gelato, this flavor is based on milk of animal origin: it’s obvious that it’s impossible to recreate the same product using a plant-based beverage. First of all the flavor will be different, and so will the texture or freezing point. The product will never be the same. Of course with additives you can recreate a similar flavor, but it will always be different. Creating a "free" product only makes sense when you consciously want to create new flavor palettes that aren’t required to adhere to traditional parameters.
The palette is broader and you can decide how to create a totally new product: it can be plant-based or it can be hybrid, there are no restrictions. The product doesn’t have to fall under any classification, it simply has to be of good quality.
Properly communicating products to customers is clearly crucial, Andrea adds. "Currently there are two strategies in the pastry market. The first is called the red ocean, which is what you see in traditional pastry, with the same products everywhere where competition is cutthroat (thus bloodying the ocean) and each company must create something that stand outs to attract customers. It’s no longer sufficient to say ‘I have a good product so the customers will simply come to me.’ Either you create a ‘pop’ product, so customers are attracted to the media aspect (photos on Instagram with the product of the moment is a growing trend: the more cool the product, the more the photo attracts followers), or you create a niche product, and this is where the second scenario comes in: the blue ocean. This is a market where you have more room to maneuver either because there are fewer competitors or they make a product that is esthetically and qualitatively different. This way you’ve created your niche.”
More and more people are being drawn to the world of pastry (thanks to TV shows, social media, and other communication tools), and they are ready to understand and choose. "In Rome, for example, if you get to the pastry shop too late the vegan croissants will be sold out, even in the city’s outskirts. This is because even those who aren’t strictly vegan are opting to eat foods without certain allergens or ingredients of animal origin.” Andrea believes that
this increased interest in vegan and “free” products is not only driven by health reasons but also by ethical principles. There is a growing awareness among younger generations, greater sensitivity to environmental and animal exploitation issues, and these products seem to reflect these concerns.
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