Grido Opened its First Ice Cream Shop in Peru, the Fourth Market Abroad for the Cordoba-based Firm

Its international sales represent 6% of the volume produced in Córdoba. 

A year ago, Grido began sending ice cream to Peru to be sold in supermarkets and other points of sale, including sticks, chocolates, frozen cakes and other variants. The idea was to try how an ice cream made in Cordoba works in a neighboring country, but with some cultural and food differences compared to Argentina.

When he began to receive the first positive feedback and understood that his ice cream could be liked, he began to evaluate the possibility of developing his ice cream parlors as he did in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, through franchises assumed by families who are in charge of the operation of the ice cream parlor.

One of the people they contacted bought the ice creams, gave it to her family to try and, as they liked it, she decided to be part of a new format in Peru.

The challenges of introducing merchandising to Peru

If exporting is not a simple activity, it is even less so to send ice cream, which requires a powerful cold line.

According to the manager, the products are transported by truck to Valparaíso (Chile) and from there they are sent by boat to Lima (Peru).

In this way, the logistics issue ends up having a very important impact on the cost of the products. If in markets such as Chile and Uruguay, the export cost represents 20% of the product price, in Peru that percentage reaches 50%.

It is for this reason that the company is evaluating other alternatives for transporting the goods, such as making the entire journey by truck.

Another key aspect is to have a strategic ally that allows you to do the storage and distribution of the products, because in order to supply the franchises, in addition to the temperature that the merchandise needs, you also have to have dry products.

In this context, he signed an alliance with the company Axionlog, which offers logistics and food service services.

As for tastes, according to the manager, they will not make any big changes for now. They will change the names of some flavors, such as banana for banana.

The other key aspect is that they will increase the financing they offer to franchisees to sustain the investment involved in opening a store. While in Argentina and in the rest of the countries they offer a support that reaches approximately 60% and 70% of the amount to set up an ice cream parlor, for the Peruvian market they will give a support that reaches up to 80%.

“It is a market that we are not sure how it works, that's why we want to leave the franchisee alone and support him in everything possible”, said the Grido foreign trade manager.