Loving Llaollao
What’s not to love about Spain’s bestselling Llaollao, the number one European frozen yogurt brand in the world? Every creamy spoonful, topped with fresh fruit and sauce, is both tangy and sweet, refreshing and yes, actually good for you!
I love this frozen yogurt so much that I even know the average waiting time in the queue at Robinsons Magnolia, SM Aura, Glorietta 2, SM Mall of Asia, etc. In the beginning, it was a love affair with a medium cup topped with a double serving of Biscoff sauce and nothing else. Then, somehow lured by that pistachio green color, I succumbed and ordered my medium cup with one Biscoff sauce topping and one pistachio. Even before being swept away by the Dubai chocolate craze, I switched to all pistachio sauce and now that’s the new love of my life.
Erika Dee, daughter of seasoned restaurateurs Rikki and Beng Dee, is the COO of llaollao Philippines. Growing up in the restaurant business, it was natural for her to fall in love with the work. She knew since she was a kid that she wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps.
“They would bring me on rounds,” she recalls. “I would go to the office, to the stores, and we would do food tastings together. It always excited me, and I knew it was the direction I was going to take. In college, I even opened my own restaurant inside the Ateneo campus! So right after college, it was an obvious decision to join the family business and grow with the brands.”
Instead of feeling pressured to live up to the success of her parents, she says, “I’m very inspired to do as much or even better than them. They’ve given me all the necessary tools so I’m already a step ahead. With all the lessons they taught me, it excites me to build a brand such as llaollao.
“Every dinner, we actually discuss business, not necessarily our business but everyone else’s business!” says Erika with a smile. “It’s an open discussion where we talk about failures and we talk about successes. We talk about working hard, starting at the bottom and working your way up. We discuss being very focused on what you’re doing, knowing your market and always loving your brand. We’re happy to discuss life, business, everything together!”
In keeping with her affection for the brand, Erica celebrated Llaollao’s 100th store with a super fun day of healthy lifestyle activities at the atrium of SM MOA. The space was transformed into a pistachio green oasis, a getaway complete with a layover, pickleball court, dance floor and lounges for aromatherapy massage. To make this escape even sweeter, we were given adorable mini suitcases filled with active lifestyle essentials. We had our choice of a personalized passport holder or a luggage tag, in yummy llaollao shades of green or Biscoff browns.
“Welcome to llaollao’s chillout place here at the Mall of Asia,” Rikki Dee told me. “We came across the brand in Europe, in Spain particularly, then we spotted it again in Singapore. We decided it was time the Philippines had llaollao.”
My daughter Tatin and I enjoyed countless servings of mini yogurt shooters sprinkled with Biscoff, mini cup versions of their swirled frozen yogurt, and tiny servings of fresh fruit drizzled with chocolate. The best part about llaollao is that it’s a guilt-free indulgence being high in calcium but low in calories and fat. We looked forward to tasting its latest offering, llaollao in a brioche.
Before that dessert could be wheeled out, we witnessed the ribbon-cutting ceremony performed by Steven Tan, president of SM Supermalls; Carol Sy; Erika Dee and Pedro Espinosa Martinez, CEO of llallao Spain. Pedro happily shared how he met Rikki and Erika Dee eight years ago on his first visit to Manila, and being impressed by their energy and passion.
He is very proud of their achieving 100 stores, only the third country to do so after Spain and Malaysia. Erika then called on the franchise holders of the 100 stores to come up on stage to be recognized and share in the celebration.
Before we could join the exercise activities, we had to digest a delicious spread of fresh juice and canapes, together with a buffet of healthful salad and salmon, paella and a rather good lechon (considering I just attended a Cebu lechon festival), plus roast beef all catered by Kai. I was not surprised to learn that Kai is one of the restaurants belonging to Rikki and Beng Dee’s FooDee Global Concepts.
We started off with the aromatherapy and hand massage using the pili-based products of Pili Ani. There were three scents: eucalyptus & ginger, citrus, or mint. Tatin chose the eucalyptus, designed to remove stress and appropriately called Stress Away.
We also went over to their booth, which was across an inflatable kiddie pool filled with white balls and brioche-shaped inflatables. There was even a slide in the shape of that iconic green Llaollao spoon! This thoughtful setup kept kids happily entertained. When we got to the Pili Ani booth, we spun a wheel to win Pili Ani products. I won pots of Natural Radiance facial moisturizer, which was just perfect for me!
Then Erika introduced their new creation. “Honestly one of the most exciting products we’ve ever launched! Imagine our signature creamy frozen yogurt, wrapped in a warm buttery brioche. It’s the first time we’ve created something you can hold in your hands. It’s portable and as comforting as it is indulgent. What makes it special is the contrast — warm, yet cool, soft, yet invigorating, familiar yet completely unexpected. It’s a new way to experience llaollao, and it reflects the direction we’re taking as a brand, moving into a more lifestyle space where wellness, indulgence and design meet. And today, you’ll get to experience it the way we envisioned it at the llaollao wellness lounge.”
She also announced, “Next month, Llaollao is releasing our take on the Dubai chocolate craze. In October, we are happy to announce our partnership with Universal for its special edition of Halloween minions. To add to that, this activation right here will be available at the Dessert museum for a year starting Aug. 20!”
We had fun doing the dance exercises and pickleball sessions. Tatin has played pickleball before but this was my first time to try the sport. I was surprised that I didn’t do too badly, though I did hit one ball that barely missed the Guess boutique. It’s a good thing these pickleballs are made of plastic!
Hanna Carinna Sy, SM Supermalls assistant vice president for marketing, said, “Personally, I love Llaollao. Everywhere we go, to every SM store with a llaollao, you’ll always see a line and I’m always so impressed! Sometimes I contemplate if I’m going to line up. Most of the time I would because it’s really satisfying. I’m happy with the way that llaollao has grown with us and I’m hoping for many, many stores from them. It’s healthy and refreshing, especially with the weather. Sometimes you just want a little treat for yourself!”
“We’ve always been about sustainable concepts,” said Erika. “We want to always give our market affordable luxury items. Llaollao is one of those, a quality product but reachable. In this business, there are always going to be challenges, competitors popping here and there, and copycats. You have to build your brand to be strong enough to compete with all those new ideas. You also have to be open minded, to see what the market wants at this moment because tomorrow it might be a different thing already.”
I asked her about the best part of her day and she answered with a big smile. “Best part of my day is still going home to my kids! It’s interesting, when I gave birth two years ago, that’s the same exact time I was growing the brand. It was exciting, you need to be able to balance. I was breastfeeding, then going to my meetings, then back to breastfeeding, then off to another meeting! But with technology now, it’s quite easy because I can instruct my team online. At the same time, if I’m needed in the office, it works the same way. I can see my children in live videos.”
At the Llaollao wellness lounge, it was great that my daughter and I could enjoy all the frozen yogurt treats, then join another dance exercise session to burn off the calories in a fun way. I happily look forward to more llaollao stores opening across the country because that means, for a fan like me, my favorite healthy indulgence is that much more accessible.
