A brother from Barcelona or an English butcher: who created Frigo ice cream?

With the arrival of warmer weather, a series of curious posters have appeared on the billboards that fill the subway, buses, and kiosks in Barcelona. "I'm not a fan of this," can be read in the middle of all the ads. The answer flashes into the minds of those who look at them: the solution to the enigma is Frigopié, Calippo de limón, and Dracula, respectively. These are three of the most popular ice creams from the Frio brand. Unilever. Within the ice cream segment, apart from Frigo, the corporate giant controls Magnum, Cornetto, and Ben & Jerry's, among others. Officially, Frigo's website explains that the history of the heart-shaped brand begins in 1786 in a butcher shop in St. James's Market, London. Eureka to increase revenue in the summer: swapping sausage rolls for refreshing ice creams," the company explains. The story continues in a heroic tone, describing how "thanks to many years of hard work and ingenuity" they have been able to create "some of the most popular ice creams among consumers around the world." They are sold to more than 50 countries, but under different names. This is the case in Spain, where it is marketed under the name Frigo. You can always identify Wall's ice cream thanks to our legendary heart logo."

And the Catalan origin?

The Frigo website focuses solely on the history of Wall's, Unilever's oldest ice cream brand, because today both Wall's and Frigo share the heart logo. However, Frigo already had a history before being bought by the multinational in the mid-1970s and had nothing to do with any carnivore. 1927. At the helm were brothers Joan and Josep Rimblas. They had just arrived from Cuba, where their family had gone to make their fortune during the Indianos era. They were responsible for running Industrias Frigoríficas de la Alimentación, the company they founded and which became popular under the name Frigo. In the 1960s, sales of the ice cream they produced soared. In 1972, with the Franco regime already in its final stages, Frigo signed agreements with Disney to incorporate collectible items into its ice creams and made its debut in the world of television commercials with the Frigolandia campaign in 1970, an annual turnover that would be equivalent to around €30 million today. This caught the attention of the multinational Unilever, which bought it. Another name worth mentioning about Frigo's success in Spain is Joan Viñallonga. He started working at the Frigo factory in Poblenou in 1976, now under the tutelage of Unilever.