Many people grew up with ice creams like Frigopie, Drácula, or Twister. These are true summer icons that shaped the childhood of several generations. However, few people know that behind these products there were real technical challenges that put development teams to the test. One of the brains behind these successes was Joan Viñallonga, an ice cream developer at Frigo for decades. Now, already retired, he has decided to tell everything… even what was forbidden.
Enemy number one: humidity
The key to the problem lay in a basic incompatibility: the chocolate factory hated humidity, and ice cream is largely made up of water. Every time they tried to apply the chocolate coating, it would peel off, crack, or simply not stick to the surface of the ice cream.
This was a real headache for the brand, which was making a big bet on a new and ambitious product. “Frac was one of the most complex products to develop,” Viñallonga admits. “The use of chocolate in this type of ice cream was completely new and, therefore, also a risk,” he adds.
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A forbidden… and decisive act
With no solutions coming from the internal team, Viñallonga made a risky decision. It was one that could have cost him his job at the time. “Now that I’m retired, I can finally tell it without fear,” he says, laughing. He tells it in detail.
By breaking the company’s internal rules, Viñallonga went to find the chocolate supplier and invited him to the Frigo factory to see in person what was happening. “It was strictly forbidden for anyone from outside to enter the factory, but we did it anyway, early in the morning so as not to raise suspicion.”
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The moment of truth
The supplier watched live as the chocolate layer was applied to the ice cream… and the solution was immediate. “I still remember his face,” Viñallonga states. “He saw it clearly right away: we were determined to make the chocolate layer as thin as possible, but we needed a few more microns so it could grip the air particles in the ice cream.”
That observation changed everything. They adjusted the thickness of the coating, and finally the chocolate adhered perfectly. Frac hit the market successfully… and soon after, the famous Magnum was born, which would take over the format.
If today millions of people enjoy Magnum without thinking about what is behind it, it’s because someone —Viñallonga— dared to break the rules. He did it with conviction, putting innovation ahead of procedures. “Frac is the ice cream that excites me the most,” he admits. Rightly so.
The final secret
The detail that changed everything was a small technical adjustment that was forbidden at the time: modifying the thickness of the chocolate so it would stick better. It was a decision based on intuition, experience, and… a clandestine act. “They couldn’t punish me because I was already retired, so I’m finally telling it: disobeying saved the ice cream for me.”
