Venchi’s newest gelato flavor is aiming to make customers feel like stars — both in taste and presentation. The Italian chocolatier and gelateria has teamed with luxury fashion brand Golden Goose to launch “Stardust,” a limited-edition caramel gelato infused with chocolate chips and topped with a star-shaped chocolate coin.
The collaboration, which debuted at the Forward Golden Goose store in Milan, will be available in Venchi Chocogelateria locations worldwide through Sept. 8, 2025. New Yorkers can get a taste during a special Golden Goose store tour stop in SoHo and at their Garden City store in Roosevelt Field Mall.
Omar Mendez, store manager for Venchi, said the new flavor was designed to blend the craftsmanship of Italian gelato with the star motif central to Golden Goose’s brand.
“For Stardust, it’s a very nice caramel gelato,” Mendez said. “We add some of our signature chocolate chips, and we top it with chocolate stars on top.”
Golden Goose, like Venchi, is rooted in Italian heritage. Venchi was founded in 1878, and Golden Goose emerged more than a century later as a globally recognized fashion label known for its signature star logo.
“We wanted to collaborate with Golden Goose because of their global appeal, a well-known clothing brand,” Mendez said. “Just like we have stars in our gelato, their main logo is the star. It made perfect sense to combine the two.”
The name “Stardust” reflects both brands’ emphasis on celebrating individuality and inspiring creativity. The golden caramel base delivers a rich, smooth texture, while the chocolate chips add a crunch that plays against the creaminess.
“When someone comes in, whether it’s their first time or they’ve been here before, we let them know we have a new flavor available,” Mendez said. “We’ll offer them a taste and tell them about the collaboration with Golden Goose.”
While Stardust is scheduled to leave the menu Sept. 8, Mendez said the flavor could be extended depending on its popularity.
“For now, it’s slated to be a limited-time offer,” he said.
Venchi is no stranger to signature creations. In the Roosevelt Field store, pistachio gelato remains one of the most popular flavors.
“It’s a very high-quality pistachio,” he said. “All of our ingredients come from the same factory in Italy. Then there’s cremino, a hazelnut gelato with a layer of chocolate spread on top, which is also very popular.”
The chocolate chip gelato, known in Italy as stracciatella, has also inspired the Stardust base — only with a caramel twist.
“The Golden Goose version is like our stracciatella,” Mendez said. “But it has caramel, and, of course, the star-shaped chocolate coin on top.”
Presentation plays a major role in Venchi’s experience. The gelato is served in co-branded cups or cones, and waffle cones are prepared on-site daily.
“The waffles are made fresh, as well as the gelato,” Mendez said. “Ninety percent of our ingredients come from Italy.”
Only perishable items like milk or fresh fruit purees are sourced locally. The rest — from the nuts to the chocolate — travels from Venchi’s Italian headquarters to ensure consistency.
The collaboration with Golden Goose is also about more than flavor. The companies see it as the start of a shared journey in reimagining Italian excellence through a modern lens. By combining artisanal gelato with a fashion-forward aesthetic, they hope to attract a cross-section of customers.
“Gelato already makes people happy,” Mendez said. “When you add that touch of creativity and design, it becomes a whole experience.”
As the summer winds down, Stardust gives customers one more reason to linger over a cone or cup — and perhaps snap a few photos for social media. For Venchi, it’s another chapter in a long history of Italian indulgence, now with a golden star on top.
