Meet the Gelato Pop-Up That’s Taking Over Philly’s Food Scene

Matt and Jenica Cocco, owners of Cocco’s Gelato, with their gelato cart at BLDG39 / Photograph by Gab Bonghi

It’s been a busy summer for Matt and Jenica Cocco, the East Falls-based couple behind Cocco’s Gelato. The charming, green ice cream cart has been pulling up to restaurants and cafes all over the city, serving inventive flavors like peanut butter fudge Oreo, Italian rainbow cookie, and pistachio with house-made nut paste. They’ve been spotted at Paffuto, Enswell, Scampi, and Bar Palmina, and have several pop-ups lined up in the coming weeks. Next on the calendar: On August 16th, Cocco’s will collaborate with bakery pop-up Dear Jean at Cartesian Brewing; then, on August 23rd, they’re taking their gelato down the Shore to Kismet Bagels in Ventnor, New Jersey; and on August 27th, they’ll be slinging scoops at Cellar Dog. (They regularly post their pop-up schedule to Instagram, if you want to keep track.)

In addition to pop-ups, they’ve also been supplying businesses like La Sera Dolce & Cafe with their handcrafted gelatos, and stocking the freezers at places like Mighty Bread and Herman’s Coffee with pints and ice cream sandwiches. They’ve even making appearances at weddings where they offer custom flavors for the couple.

Even though they don’t have a storefront (they’ve only been in business since December 2024), the roving gelato company has made a splash in Philly’s ice cream scene, drawing a dedicated following of ice cream enthusiasts who line up for scoops of their irresistible gelato. Here, the Coccos share how they went from online dating to starting a business, the inspirations behind their whimsical flavors, and what the future holds for their rapidly growing ice cream venture.

Matt and Jenica Cocco, co-owners of Cocco’s Gelato, in BLDG39 / Photograph by Gab Bonghi

Let’s start at the beginning. How did you meet?
Jenica: We met about eight years ago on a dating app. In my profile, I said I was an ice cream connoisseur, and in his profile, he said his favorite part of his job was making gelato. So his first question to me was what my favorite flavor was. I told him coffee Oreo — and then on our third or fourth date, we made the flavor together, which was really fun. A couple of years later, we got married. Matt’s been making gelato ever since, but this is my first time with my hand in the business as well.

How did Cocco’s Gelato come about?
Matt: I grew up in the pizza business, and then in 2011, my family opened a gelato shop next to our pizza shop. [Matt’s dad, Michael Cocco, opened Cocco’s Pizza in 1978.] That’s how I learned to make gelato — my mom taught me. In 2022, we sold everything — the pizza business and the gelato business. My dad wanted to retire, and we decided it was time after COVID. After that, I got a job with an Italian company, selling gelato ingredients across the Midwest and the Northeast to gelaterias and bakeries. Then, I met a gentleman who was opening a restaurant in Center City, and he needed someone to help start his gelato program. [Matt previously made the gelato at 2024 Best of Philly winner Vita.] I was there for a year before Jenica and I decided we should start our own business.

I’ve always noticed a gap in the market with good wholesale gelato and events. The idea was to sell to restaurants and catering companies and offer a curated experience with flavors to fit their menus and then do the events on the side, where we can get creative and do some fun stuff, like with pop-ups and weddings. Once I knew Jenica was in, I was like, “Okay, you know what, this would be really fun.” With her background, she’s really good at social media and marketing and enjoys it. You need that in this industry, and she’s really talented at it, so that’s definitely the reason why we’re growing.

Jenica: I do the social media marketing and help with the event coordination and admin work, but I’m also an occupational therapist, and I work in an elementary school. I’m off for the summer, so I have been in the kitchen picking up pints and working a little bit on the production side just for the summer months.

Matt: She’s the idea person. I get this block in my head sometimes, and I’m like, “What should we make?” Jenica’s always the one either coming up with the idea or being like, “Let’s see what our followers want.”

Cocco’s Gelato / Photograph by Gab Bonghi

What were each of you doing before you met and started Cocco’s?
Jenica: I’m originally from Massachusetts. I moved to Philly 10 years ago for grad school. I went to Philadelphia University, which is now Thomas Jefferson University, for occupational therapy, and then I’ve been working in the elementary school setting ever since. I really love it. I do some content creation on the side, which is how we made a lot of our connections in the food scene. After 10 years, I now call myself a Philadelphian. I feel like a local.

Matt: I grew up in Delaware County. I’ve been in the area my whole life. I moved to Philly and went to Eastern University and studied entrepreneurial studies. I graduated in 2014 and then basically came into the family pizza business to run it with my mom, my dad, and my brother. I ended up moving to Roxborough with one of my best friends, which was kind of a strange move because it was really far from the shop. But then, I met Jenica.

What sets Cocco’s apart from other gelaterias in Philly? Obviously, you do a lot of pop-ups where you make bespoke flavors.
Jenica: We really like to collaborate with other businesses. For example, when we popped up with Pafutto, we did really Italian flavors [including Italian rainbow cookie, ricotta lemon, amarena cherry, and frutti di bosco sorbetto]. With Enswell, and we have some more unique savory flavors. We’re doing an heirloom tomato, and we’re pairing a blueberry gelato with their cornbread. We’re making a Champagne sorbetto to pair with oysters. We like to just fit the theme and the menu of the place where we’re popping up. We like to be inspired by what they’re doing.

Matt: I think what makes us different too is I love seeing people’s ideas. I love making people’s ideas come to life.

Cocco’s Gelato happy hour at Enswell / Photograph by Calvin Leon

How do you come up with your gelato flavors for pop-ups?
Jenica: It totally depends on the pop-up. Some people just want to host us, and it’s mutually beneficial; their customers get to meet us, and our customers get to meet them. They give us full creative control, and we pick some flavors. And then, some processes are more collaborative, where they want to work together on either a flavor or incorporate gelato into one of their menu items. We’ll sit down to talk about their theme and their menu and come up with something fun together.

How do you source your ingredients?
Matt: Right now, we get milk from a dairy in Delaware, so it’s local. Everything else depends on the item. Some stuff I’ll get from Italy. I use a lot of fresh fruits, especially seasonal things, like I just got a bunch of sour cherries just from a local orchard at the Clark Park Farmers’ Market.

As far as pistachios, I make all of our nut paste in-house, so I’m not actually buying any of that pre-made. I roast and grind the pistachios for hours to get the finest consistency to make our own pistachio butter. That stuff’s really expensive, so making it in-house means I can control the quality. I can make the paste stronger than it would be usually, for example. When you know where something’s coming from and you’re starting with the raw material, you can control it every step of the way.

Which flavors are particularly popular?
Jenica: Pistachio is classic. I think we try to have pistachio on the menu at least a couple times a month. We try to always do a sorbetto for our non-dairy friends. Peanut butter flavors have been really popular lately, too, so we’ve been doing a lot of peanut butter fudge Oreos, and we keep getting requests for that.

While we’re on the topic, which are your favorite flavors?
Jenica: My favorite is coffee Oreo. I try to put that on the menu as often as I can.

Matt: I’m kind of the opposite. Sorbettos are my favorite. I love cherry. I’m more of a water ice/sorbet type of person. I do like gelato a lot, but I like making it more than eating it — and if I’m going to eat it, I like trying some more interesting stuff.

What does the Cocco’s operation look like?
Matt: We have a commissary kitchen in Delaware County right outside of the city. It’s actually one of our old pizza shops. I deliver our gelato in a 14-foot box truck, so that allows us to have a little more space to park. There’s also room for expansion in the building we’re in. We wanted to set up in the city originally, but having the room to grow just made sense.

Matt Cocco scooping gelato at a pop-up at Enswell / Photograph by Calvin Leon

Speaking of growth, how do you see Cocco’s expanding? Do you have any plans to open a storefront?
Matt: It’s definitely not off the table. I feel like we’d need someone else to come along to take that on. I could see it happening, just because it’s the number-one question we get. Every person that comes up and buys gelato asks, “Where’s your brick and mortar? When are you opening?” It’s tricky because it’s a tough business to do brick and mortar. It’s very seasonal. The idea of having the wholesale business and the pop-ups is to diversify, keep your overhead pretty low, and not have to worry about renting a building and whatnot.

Jenica: I could see us getting multiple gelato carts before opening a storefront. So, being able to do a farmer’s market and a pop-up in the same day, or a private event while we have a gelato cart at a beer garden for a season, for example.

You mentioned gelato being more of a seasonal business. How do you keep business going year-round?
Matt: We diversify by making gelato for private events and with the wholesale business. Events carry through the year, as well as having seasonal flavors.

Jenica: The gelato cart is a great addition to any winter wedding, fall wedding, or holiday party. The outdoor summer pop-ups may slow down, but the wholesale and the private events will definitely continue.

How do private events like weddings work?
Jenica: We have an event flavor list with 50-plus varieties you can choose from, but if a couple has a flavor they’re interested in us making for their wedding, we’re happy to do so. Our website has that list and all the information you need, with our packages, pricing, and the venue requirements for the size of the cart.

A pint of stracciatella gelato / Photograph by Gab Bonghi

And where are you currently selling your gelato wholesale?
Matt: We do the gelato at La Sera Dolce & Cafe on 16th and South. At Mighty Bread, we sell cookie sandwiches and pints. We also sell at Farina Di Vita and now Herman’s. The idea is to get pints into more places and spread some brand awareness.

Jenica: We’re on quite a few dessert menus in the city, which is very fun.

What’s your secret to success so far?
Jenica: I think we really try to listen to our customers, like the same way we listen to businesses. We talk to our customers a lot about what they want to see. I’ll poll people on Instagram about flavors, and we take requests. For example, someone reached out asking about our gelato for a private event, a birthday, that’s on the same day as one of the pop-ups we have this weekend. I told them that I’m sorry, we can’t do that day. But they happen to be in the same neighborhood that we’ll be in, so they plan on bringing the birthday girl over. So I asked what flavor they’d like, and we put that flavor on the menu.

Matt: It’s about making everyone feel special.

As a small business, what are some hurdles you’ve faced so far?
Matt: I don’t think I expected to grow as quick as we have been. I’m realizing we need more help, like I need a delivery driver. I’m realizing that we’re going to need to hire a lot sooner than we anticipate it. I need a lot more milk than I thought I was going to need. We’re just busier than expected, which is a great, great, great, great problem to have.