Helacor S.A.
Grido Helado
TypePrivate
IndustryFood
Dairy
Founded2000 (2000)
FounderOscar Santiago and sons
Headquarters
Ferreyra, Córdoba [1]
,
Argentina
Area served
Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Peru [2][1][3]
Key people
Sebastián Santiago (Director)[4]
ProductsIce cream, gelato
OwnerSantiago Family
Websiteargentina.gridohelado.com

Helacor S.A.[5][6] (mostly known for its trade name Grido Helado) is a chain of ice cream parlors established and based in Argentina. It was founded by Oscar Santiago and his sons, opening its first store in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, in 2000.[7]

As of Jan 2022, it has 1,900 parlor franchises distributed in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile,[3] and Peru,[2] with plans to expand to Brazil, Bolivia, and China.[8][9] Grido produces 82 million kilos per year,[4] being the largest ice cream chain not only in Argentina but in South America.[1]

History

Roots to the creation of the company can be traced to the 1920s, when Lucas Santiago sold ice creams by Laponia,[1] a popular ice cream brand manufactured by Chocolate Aguila.[10] Years later, Santiago founded "Marvic", their first own ice cream firm, which has its parlor in Córdoba city. After learning about the business with their first experience, the Santiago family founded Grido in 2000 as a franchise business. The name "Grido" is the Italian translation of "scream". The first option for a name had been "Criko" but it was changed when the founders realised it was already registered by Nestlé.[4][1]

A pot of Grido ice cream

The same year of its foundation, Grido had expanded to ten parlors, increasing to 50 stores one year later, all of them in Córdoba city. Within ten years, Grido had more than 900 franchises, and the increasing demand forced the company to move its production to a largest plant in the city of Ferreyra, Córdoba. Expansion included boundary countries such as Uruguay and Chile.[1]

With the opening of a parlor in Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego Province, Grido Helado became the first company to have stores all around the country.[11]

Since its inception, Grido focunsed on offering ice cream at low prices, stating that before their founding in 2000, ice cream were too expensive in Argentina.[1]

The Grido's expansion to international markets started in 2006 when the business started operations in Chile.[12] In September 2011, Grido started operations in Uruguay, opening five parlors in the country.[12] The company was the main ice cream parlors chain in Latin America by then, with net incomes of US35 million.[13] [3] Grido's expansion plans reached Peru in 2022.[2]

References

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