A Ronkonkoma business is turning creative flavors into a nationwide success story. Mike Gambuzza, owner of Carlo’s Gourmet Italian Ices, started the company 24 years ago after buying a small Italian ice shop in Farmingdale.

“I loved the fact that I could create new flavors,” Gambuzza said. That creativity helped turn a storefront into a wholesale business. After customers began asking to sell his products, Gambuzza moved into a warehouse operation that now ships Italian ice and ice cream to more than 20 states, including Alaska, and to Puerto Rico.

A former bartender, Gambuzza says creating new combinations has always been part of the fun. Carlo’s now offers more than 100 flavors, including lavender mint, pineapple coconut, mango habanero and tiger’s blood, a mix of strawberry, watermelon and coconut. But he says rainbow remains the longtime fan favorite.

The company, named after Gambuzza’s grandfather, now has eight employees and continues to be a family business. His three children have grown up learning the trade, earning the nickname “next generation ice makers.”

You can try many of Carlo’s Gourmet Italian ices and ice cream flavors locally at Ice Palace in Oakdale and Tina’s Ice Cream in Patchogue.

“If you said to me 24 years ago that I would still be doing this, I would say no way,” Gambuzza said. “But I love the excitement of getting into a new state and creating new flavors people haven’t created yet.”