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Some friendships end in a beer. Frèto is one of them: three friends from L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a discarded rugby ball, and the unwavering desire to share with others what they experienced together. Théo, Robin, and Loïc grew up together, united by a shared passion: rugby. Then their studies took them in different directions. Rugby ended, but their friendship didn't: it moved from the field to the table, driven by a single conviction—to sell not a product, but an atmosphere, a place that brings people together.
“Basically, we wanted to create a place where people feel good,” Loïc sums up. Ice cream was initially just a pretext, a pretty wrapping paper for a project. But given Théo and Loïc’s eight seasons as ice cream makers, and a father-in-law who was a trained artisan ice cream maker, it became the obvious choice. What was supposed to take three years to build, according to the initial plan, happened from day one: Frèto would be a producer, not just a seller.
The name resonates and is understood without translation: "brother" in Catalan, a friendly embrace in Provençal, tactile, warm, and deeply rooted. The identity is Mediterranean down to the smallest detail, unabashedly Provençal. And this establishment takes the industry's standards very seriously: Artisan Glacier, Collège Culinaire de France, Confédération Nationale des Glaciers de France (whose annual audit is renowned for its rigorous standards), Frèto ticks all the boxes that truly matter.
April 2022: the doors open on the quays of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a combined shop and laboratory, for what will become a local institution. "L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue has an insular feel; we're very patriotic," the team remarks. This local pride is even reflected in the menu, deliberately limited and changing with the seasons: no strawberries in winter, never any Spanish strawberries, impeccable traceability, and fresh fruit, period. In early 2023, expansion becomes necessary: the waterside terrace grows from 50 to 100 seats in six months. In 2024, the laboratory becomes independent under the name La Fabrique , and the first collectives join the adventure. Twenty-five people work at Frèto today in peak season, driven by a selfless service, close to the Japanese omotenashi: "we never say 'you're welcome', only 'with pleasure'".
2026 marks a milestone: Frèto is expanding to Aix-en-Provence, "an elegant city that shares our values, focused on the Provençal art of living." But this isn't a race for expansion. "We're not dreaming of the Champs-Élysées," Loïc clarifies. "We've already opened the iconic flagship ice cream shop; now we only want to create smaller branches, extending our reach without diluting our brand." Each future location will tell its own story, without ever losing the essence of its identity.
Ultimately, the brand's true promise lies in a single image: the terrace as a social laboratory, where people who don't frequent the same restaurants, hotels, or shops mingle, but who come for the same ice cream. Eating ice cream is necessarily about being in the present moment: it's impossible to scroll through your phone with a spoon in hand, and once the moment is over, it's over. The company's merchandise sums it up bluntly: Here and now . A philosophy that one of the managers encapsulates with the phrase: "We prefer to be recognized rather than known."
Frèto
22 bis quai Rouget de l'Isle, 84800 L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
4 Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
https://maisonfreto.fr/
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