By: Logan Pierce – SeaPRwire – A Chilean multi-brand platform that worked at home is now being stress-tested in the United States. The founder has moved to Georgia with his family. The first candidate for export is a water-conscious car-wash concept. Living in the market is the current phase. Actual sites or franchise agreements will be the proof.
On 7 October 2026 Rodrigo Berthet, founder and CEO of Grupo Blascool, announced a new personal and professional chapter in the United States after more than thirteen years building businesses in Chile’s retail, brand and service sectors. He is now living in the United States with his family and is exploring the U.S. market while considering potential future expansion opportunities for EcowashCar. The approach follows the philosophy he has applied throughout his career: identify opportunities, understand markets in depth, test business models through actual operations and then create the conditions required to scale them. Grupo Blascool has become a platform that covers brand development, distribution, non-food retail, retail real estate and investment. It combines experience across different market sectors with the aim of converting that knowledge into new growth opportunities. Berthet stated that the company wants to replicate the successful model with the brands already inside the group and with any others that choose to join. That goal, he said, is backed by knowledge and experience. Earlier he founded Loops, a pet-products and accessories business whose goods were sold through retailers including Walmart, Tottus and Easy. The company was later acquired by Starfood, a milestone in his Chilean retail career. EcowashCar began in 2014 as an automotive washing and detailing concept that prioritised water conservation among other goals. Berthet joined as a partner in 2019. Since then the initiative has evolved as a growth model linked to retail real estate and as a platform for evaluating new expansion opportunities. Experience gained in Chile prompted him to look toward the United States. Residence in Georgia allows him to learn the characteristics of the U.S. market firsthand and to assess the conditions needed for a potential future expansion. He said the group can match and improve upon the profits achieved in Chile. The Chilean operation functioned like a laboratory. Market and labor conditions in the United States, he stated, are ideal for growth and for creating hundreds of jobs through franchisees that can improve people’s quality of life. His presence reflects a long-term outlook focused on understanding the market, identifying opportunities and laying the groundwork for future international projects. Over the years Grupo Blascool has worked with brands including STABILO, UHU, HALLMARK, JOVI, COLOP, DELI, IBI Craft, Multiverso, Palms and Argos, as well as licensed properties including Pantone, Disney and The Little Prince, with presence in various Southern Cone markets. The company’s model seeks to determine what each business needs in order to grow: who its consumers are, which channels are appropriate, how the brand should be positioned, what operational structure it requires and where scale opportunities exist. Berthet said investments are grounded in sound reasoning, measured commitments and execution informed by market knowledge and experience. The group works from a proven model in order to move forward with confidence. Berthet is forty-two. He holds a degree in Business Administration and a Master’s in Finance from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, graduating in 2008. During his university years he completed an academic exchange in France. Before entrepreneurship he spent three years at Walmart gaining experience in retail, category development and consumer behavior. In April 2013 he founded the venture that later became Grupo Blascool and has since devoted more than a decade to developing, operating and scaling businesses. For Berthet the international ambitions of EcowashCar form part of a broader strategy: demonstrating how knowledge, business models and experience developed in one country can become tools for building and scaling businesses internationally. Grupo Blascool seeks to strengthen that vision and to continue developing a platform capable of supporting brands and companies through new stages of growth. From Georgia he is focused on understanding the U.S. market and evaluating opportunities that could, in the future, bring the experience developed in Chile to new international settings. The stated vision is to evolve from a portfolio of brands and businesses into a platform with international expansion potential.
The commercial filter is concrete. Watch for the first public announcement of a U.S. EcowashCar site or a signed franchise agreement. Until that appears the move remains a market-study phase rather than an operational expansion.
Author bio: Logan Pierce, financial and business commentator focused on cross-border retail models and founder-led internationalisation.