Lucciano’s Opens First Morocco Shop, Plans 15 Locations
Argentina’s renowned ice cream chain Lucciano’s has just opened its first shop in Morocco, in Casablanca. To adapt to the Moroccan market, it has removed two products from its menu, including its tiramisu ice cream, which contains alcohol. The brand plans to open fifteen locations in the kingdom.
Tiramisu did not pass the test of adapting to the Moroccan market. Christian Otero, co-founder of Lucciano’s, explains that the ice cream recipe contains alcohol, which is incompatible with halal requirements. The brand has also decided not to sell an ice pop shaped like a pig. These are two changes to a product range that remains largely the same as the one offered in Europe and Argentina.
These decisions accompany the opening of the brand’s first African ice cream shop, in Casablanca. In an interview with Argentine daily La Nación, Christian Otero says the project began about a year ago, when a Moroccan group specializing in restaurants discovered the brand in Europe and proposed bringing it to the kingdom.
Founded in 2011 in Mar del Plata by Daniel Otero and his son Christian, Lucciano’s now has around 130 shops worldwide, including 104 in Argentina. Its international expansion accelerated with the opening of its first European location in Rome in 2022, followed by openings in Spain, Chile and Uruguay.
Fifteen ice cream shops planned in Morocco
The group’s ambitions go beyond this first opening. Its Moroccan partner plans to develop a network of fifteen locations over the next three years. Casablanca will serve as the starting point for this expansion, which is expected to include Marrakech and Rabat.
The local partner already has several businesses in the restaurant sector, including the Little Mamma chain, whose associates include Moroccan international goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. It will oversee the development of new Lucciano’s shops in the kingdom.
To support the project, the first Casablanca location has two production areas. On the ground floor, a laboratory allows customers to watch the ice cream being made. In the basement, a larger-capacity production unit has been set up to supply future shops.
The new location, whose opening Lucciano’s confirmed on its official website, is on the corner of Rue de Restinga and Rue de Dadès in Casablanca.
