Freddos plan is to profit more in Brazil than in Argentina
Valor Econômico
When he was still a smart boy in Belgrano, a typical middle-class neighborhood in the North Side of Buenos Aires, Sergio Gratton, now ahead the largest ice-cream chain of Argentina, amused himself as he went in the ice cream parlor of two Italian cousins who were beginning to spread their handmade ice creams in the Europeanized Buenos Aires of the 70s. "Lately, I'm pretty fanatic for a banana split", says the executive clarifying that, in Argentina, the flavor (banana with chocolate chunks and creamy dulce de leche) has little to do with the meaning of the word in Brazil. But with earnings near US$ 50 million in 2010 and increase in the sales above 20% a year, Freddo will have to get used to the Brazilian accent - Gratton himself has private Portuguese classes every week.
After arriving the country in December, with the opening of a store in the Iguatemi mall of Brasília, Freddo inaugurated two other points of sale in São Paulo and he expects to get to the end of 2011 with seven units. Another eight are planned in 2012, totaling 15 stores, mainly in the São Paulo-Rio-Porto Alegre axis. The interior of São Paulo is also being studied. "We want a balance between mall and street stores", says Managing Director of the chain, founded in 1969. And that is only the beginning. "Within five to ten years, our idea is that business in Brazil be at the same level and then overcome the earnings we have in Argentina", says Gratton.
The process of internationalization of Freddo began in 1990 with the opening in Punta del Este, following Argentines on vacation in Uruguay. Today, it is also present in Paraguay, Bolivia and the United Kingdom. In 2004, the ice cream chain was purchased by the investment fund Pegasus that operates in several segments of the retail in Argentina. Since then, it had been cultivating plans to cross the borders with Brazil. The idea gained strength with the invasion of Brazilian tourists in the country, which became a sort of free advertising for Freddo, often seen near touristic sights and almost always chosen by the people to taste at least one scoop of ice cream.
Finally, it was not possible to avoid the temptation when Iguatemi made a proposal to take the ice cream parlor to some of its malls, such as Brasília and the new shopping center in Alphaville. So far, all ice cream - 30 of the 55 flavors of the catalog of Freddo - is exported from Argentina to Brazil. "The most important thing now is to establish the operation, but we think about producing it locally as of 2013". When that happens, it is likely that Brazilian flavors such as Açai and Brigadeiro, says Gratton, confessing special appetite for the chocolate bonbon, be added to the list that already includes eight varieties of milk sweets. They may not be the only ones. "We want to listen to the Brazilian public, both in our stores and on the social networks", he says.
For the Executive, the image of quality of the Argentine food helps Freddo in Brazil, but the main thing is the "handmade" process of preparation of the ice cream. According to him, the level of vegetable fat is zero in the fruit flavors and from 3% to 5% in the dairy flavors, while it reaches 20% in the industrialized ice creams. "We do not use extracts or base mixes. When we talk about a lemon ice cream, we actually mean adding the fruit and squeezing them", he explains. In view of the optimism with the operations in Brazil, lies the question: Why hasn't Freddo entered the country before, and preferred to settle in other neighbors and even in London? "Nobody can enter the Brazilian market opening only one store. When you enter it, you have to do it for real", says Gratton, during a lunch with Valor.