llaollao Has A 'Copycat'. And It's Called ll.la.lo Malaysia
llaollao Malaysia cheekily responded to the new froyo business with a meme.
llaollao has a new competitor in town.
And oddly enough, the new business has a name that looks similar to the Spanish frozen yogurt (froyo) franchise.
It is called ll.la.lo Malaysia
Instead of a lime green brand colour, ll.la.lo Malaysia uses a mix of baby blue and turquoise hues.
But the font chosen for the logo has rounded corners, resembling llaollao's logo.
Interestingly, by copy-pasting the name from its Facebook page to a document, it is found that the spelling of the shop does not contain a single 'L'.
Instead, it is spelled 'ii.ia.io malaysia' if the name is in small caps.
According to II.Ia.Io Malaysia's Facebook page, the froyo store was first open to customers last Tuesday, 22 March
It is located on Jalan Memanda 7/1, Jalan Ampang in Ampang.
The store is currently running a 50% off promotion and its operation hours are 11am to 10pm.
Based on the photos published, it has most of the same toppings as llaollao, such as Oreo crumbs, chocolate cookies, candies, caramelised oats, and fruits.
It is unsure whether they serve Lotus Biscoff crumbs as toppings, which llaollao is known for, but the photos suggest that it has a similar topping.
All and all, ll.la.lo Malaysia looks and feels like llaollao, from the setup of the outlets to the designs of the cups and menu items.
If you did not know, llaollao is the number one European franchise of frozen yoghurt in the world, according to its website.
The company was born in 2009, and it has since reached over 270 locations globally.
The business in Malaysia is owned by Woodpeckers Group Sdn Bhd, whose director is Tan Kai Young, reported The Edge.
On Woodpeckers Group's website, it is said that there are more than 70 llaollao outlets in Malaysia.
After one of II.Ia.Io Malaysia's Facebook posts went viral, llaollao Malaysia uploaded a meme that can be seen as a response to the new froyo business' plagiarism
With no caption, the satirical photo shows a personified llaollao cup slapping another cup labelled 'copycat'.
The photo is in reference to the incident at the Oscars yesterday, 28 March, where actor Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife's appearance.
"How to pronounce your name?" asked a Facebook user, but the local brand did not reply to the inquiry.
"Why be creative when you can be 'paraphrastive'?" said a netizen, while another added in jest that, "Only haters will say this logo and the idea copy from llaollao."
