Olá Ice Cream

Olá is a prominent ice cream brand primarily recognized in Portugal and South Africa, serving as the local identity for Unilever's global ice cream division known as the Heartbrand. Its history is tied to the British company T. Wall & Sons, founded by Thomas Wall, who began producing ice cream in 1922 to provide year-round employment for his sausage factory workers. The brand entered the Portuguese market in 1959 through a joint venture between Unilever and the Jerónimo Martins group.

Today, Olá remains a cornerstone of the Portuguese ice cream market, with a major production facility located in Santa Iria de Azóia. This factory not only supplies the domestic market with iconic local favorites like Perna de Pau and Epá but also acts as a primary export hub for Cornetto cones across Europe. In 2024, Unilever announced a significant global strategic shift to spin off its ice cream business into a separate entity by late 2025 to focus on higher-growth categories, though the Olá brand itself remains an enduring symbol of summer and happiness for its consumers.