Froyo in Ecuador: The History, Trends, and Shops

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Source: Greenfrostblog

We’ve noticed many froyo shops opening in Ecuador recently. This piqued our interest in learning more about froyo in Ecuador. First, a bit about Ecuador. The South American country has the 8th largest economy in Latin America and a population of 17.8 million. The largest cities are Guayaquil (2.3 million), the capital, Quito (1.6 million), Cuenca, and Santo Domingo.

Froyo History and Trends in Ecuador

Back in 2012, froyo was still hard to find in Ecuador. Paletas were more common. Yogurt Amazonas, established in 1996, offered fresh yogurt, yogurt paletas (popsicles), and pan du yuca (cheese bread). Flash-forward to today, when there are nearly 30 froyo brands in Ecuador; the largest, Greenfrost has over 80 locations in Ecuador. There are a few international chains as well, notably llaollao and Smooy (both from Spain). We estimate that there are about 150 froyo shops in Ecuador. That means that Greenfrost accounts for over half of the shops in Ecuador.

Yogurt shops in Ecuador emphasize the healthiness of yogurt. Self-serve shops are a rarity. Many shops have one froyo machine and offer one flavor of froyo (plain, natural, original). Paletas are also popular.

Froyo Shops of Ecuador

  • Below Zero: Started in 2010, the counter-serve hand-crafted paletas and froyo brand turned 10 last year. According to Google search, there are 4 locations.
  • Cherbis: Started in 2017, Cherbis now has three counter-serve locatiaos in Ecuador. It looks like each location only has one froyo machine.
  • ChicBerry: Serving all-natural yogurt ice cream (aka, froyo), coffee, desserts, and more, ChicBerry has five locations in Quito.
  • Chilo’s: Started in 2014, Chilo’s now has 7 counter-serve locations in Ecuador.
  • Classic Frozen Yogurt: A new froyo shop that opened in Ambato in 2020
  • Cocolimon: Six self-serve locations in Quito, Ecuador
  • Dany’s Frozen Yogurt & Treats: Dany’s opened in Quevedo in 2017 and moved in 2021.
  • Delicious Frozen Yogurt: The counter-serve froyo shop located in Manta opened in 2017.
  • Delifrost: Delifrost opened in 2017 in Guayaquil and the Facebook page hasn’t been updated since 2018.
  • Froyo Island: The single location Froyo Island can be found in Guayaquil.
  • Froyolove: The single location of Froyolove is located in Guayaquil. Froyolove opened in 2016.
  • Froyos Ecuador: The single location gelato and froyo shop opened in 2017 in Guayaquil. The Facebook page and Instagram account have been deleted, so it may have closed.
  • Frozenland: The counter-serve froyo shop also sells cakes. Frozenland opened in Manta in 2017.
  • Fru was a froyo shop in Quito. The last Facebook post was in 2016.
  • Frutto: The froyo shop in Manta appears to have closed. They sold their equipment.
  • Geladitto: The gelato shop in Guayaquil also makes Stevia sweetened yogurt ice cream. They opened a few locations.
  • Greenberry: A counter-serve Ecuadorian froyo franchise that started in 2015. We think it has five locations.
  • Greenfrost: The counter-serve Ecuadorian froyo franchise, first opened in 2011. Greenfrost now has over 80 locations.
  • Happy Frozen Yogurt: Happy Yogurt is a counter-serve froyo shop that opened in 2018 in Manta.
  • Icebeats: The handmade paletas and yogurt ice cream shop opened in Quito in 2013. Icebeats is eco-friendly. The yogurt ice cream is fat free. We only saw one flavor (plain?) on their website’s online menu.
  • KOS Frozen Yogurt: KOS opened in Ibarra in 2014. It is a counter-serve froyo shop.
  • Llaollao: The Spanish chain currently had one location in Guayaquil. The branch opened in November 2017 and closed on June 30, 2021.
  • Loveyu: Marked as permanently closed by Google, Loveyu was a counter-serve froyo shop that opened in 2013 in Guayaquil.
  • Milos Heladerias: Milos, which launched in 2017, has several counter-serve locations in Ecuador. A few new locations opened this year.
  • Omg Moments: This cafe on Santa Cruz Island serves coffee, craft beer and froyo. The reviews are old so it may have closed.
  • Onyogurth: A counter-serve froyo shop in Manta, Onyogurth created a Facebook page in 2017 and hasn’t updated it since 2017. Is it still open?
  • Pianeta: A new counter serve froyo shop in Manta that opened late last year, Pianeta also serves bubble tea and waffles.
  • Pink Frost: Opened in 2019, Pink Frost serves froyo, milkshakes, brownies, and waffles in Duran. The froyo is counter-serve.
  • Refresh Natural Frozen Yogurt: Opened in 2017 in Quito, REFRESH is marked as permanently closed by Google.
  • Smooy: According to the Smooy website, Smooy, a Spanish counter-serve froyo chain, has five shops in Ecuador.
  • Snowdi: The dessert shop opened in Guayaquil in 2018 and offers keto pastries, jam, and froyo made with Stevia.
  • Sweet Cream: Sweet Cream is a counter-serve froyo shop with two branches in Manta.
  • Sweet Frosty Yogurt: Opened in 2018, the counter-serve froyo shop with one froyo machine is located in Machala.
  • Sweetberry: A counter-serve froyo shop, they haven’t posted anything on Instagram since 2018. Is it still open?
  • Turkey: Counter-serve, started in 2016, now with 12 locations, also offers waffles, liquid nitrogen yogurt and ice cream, and milkshakes
  • YALA Yogurt: Located in Machala, YALA Yogurt opened in 2014. The counter-serve froyo shop has one froyo machine.
  • Yelfrost: Yelfrost, which serves froyo, waffles, crepes, and coffee, currently has five counter-serve locations. A new location opened this month in Babahoyo.
  • Yogurt BACO: Located in Guayaquil, Yogurt BACO might have frozen yogurt. We couldn’t find much information about it.

We created a Pinterest board of froyo shops in Ecuador, so you can see what Ecuadorian froyo looks like: https://www.pinterest.com/froyogirl/froyo-in-ecuador/