Vacalín continues with B2B business as its core. But from 2019, she started a big expansion with her boutiques, Vacalín de Fábrica. The plan includes factory expansion, e-commerce integrated with Tiendanube and PedidosYa and the goal of exporting to the European Union
The Rodriguez They have been in the dulce de leche business for almost 100 years; first, with distribution, and later with producers. your company, Vacalinhas become a giant in this field with its B2B leg as provider of various industries, from alfajores to ice cream and bakery products. But today they are the great-grandchildren of that Spaniard who started it all they seek to promote the dairy company's new vertical: its boutiques. They already have 34, this year they plan to open 10 more They plan to reach 100 branches by 2028.
"We have always been a B2B business and we still largely are today. But now we also want to be in B2C", account Juan Manuel Rodríguezcoordinator Factory coverthe company's network of sales points. his grandfather Ernestoestablished Dairyman Vacalin in in 1973 and then his father Ernest (m)he took the reins and continues today as president.
It's dulce de leche core of your business and assure that they have a third market share of this product. Its factory, located in Bartolomé Bavio, in the district of Magdalena, produces about 32,000 tons per year. The company also has in its portfolio with cheeses, ice creams, butter and cream, with which it also supplies raw materials for other companies.
However, in 2011, Ernesto Rodríguez (h) decided to open his own store. "The brand made a foray into retail in the 90s, albeit with a low level of awareness. My dad had the idea for the stores because I wanted a place where the customer could see all of the brand's products and to be able to be close to consumers, without intermediaries," comments Juan Manuel.
From the factory to the gondola
The first step was inside silver. The following year, the company opens its second branch, in Mataderos, where it has its distribution center. Then the project was wait to 2015 when he returned to the ring, this time, under a franchise scheme. "In the meantime, we opened a few more of our own stores to continue learning. But the stores helped us strengthen our brand image and, as a result, other distributors and supermarkets seemed to be interested in our products in his gondola," says Rodríguez.
Premises of Factory cover they spread over CABA and zones north, south and west of the province of Buenos Aires. Today there is 34 branchesbetween 100 and 150 square meters (m2), of which 27 are franchises, and seven are owned. "We wish we could go inside. We are looking for a way for logistics because selling frozen, chilled and dry products is a big challenge.", explain.
However, the major growth of the project has occurred since in 2019when separated this unit from the dairy company, formed its own team and expanded branches with third party products.
"Of course, we want to sell a lot of Vacalín products. But on the store side, it's important to increase your traffic and we're working on that", assures Rodríguez. Dairy farmers, they added meats, pastries, drinks, pasta, pickles, dressings and cookies. "These are products for small and medium-sized enterprises that are not available in large supermarkets. The idea is that if you take mozzarella, you can also buy pre-pizza, sauce and ham," he explains.
Right now Vacalín products account for 60% of each store's saleswhich have a ticket an average of $3,500.
an unexpected protagonist
Regarding mixedAlthough the brand is known for its dulce de leche, it does not operate its own gondolas. Cheese stars in 30% of operations with mozzarella and creamy al top. "Those two give us sales, but we also have others, e.g Brie, neufchatel and burrataRodríguez points out. Then comes ice cream (15%), dulce de leche (10%) and tandem cream-butter-milk with 10 percent..
Next month, implementation e-commerce for his paw retail. "The idea is to open between two and three stores per month have it available," he predicts. It's an integration made along with storecloud and Order now, which will allow to stock updated in real time of the nearest stores so that you can shop and in turn have home delivery.
The Rodriguezes expect to open between seven and ten stores in 2023 and maintain the ratio between franchises and own stores. "Our challenge is to reach 100 stores within five years," he projects. This plan includes payment for increasing production in your industrial warehouse.
Europe, the next step
Four years ago Vacalin completed a USD 12 million investment in its factory. Now he wants to increase the volume again to produce more and export. On the one hand, in five months he hopes to have the expansion of his dulce de leche sector ready, which will allow him to increase volumes by 15% this year.
secondly, in cheeses and ice creams, a fivefold and threefold increase is expected, their production. Within the cheese sector, it tends to reach 4% of market share. However, this last project will be operational only in in 2024.
Today, exports represent only 2% of its production and mostly these are shipments of dulce de leche, with occasional shipments of powdered milk. "In dulce de leche, we are automated and competitive for export. In cheese and ice cream, we are not. For this reason, we need this reconversion and then we will be able to export," he says.
One of the markets that Vacalín is targeting is the European Union and therefore plans to certify its plant this year to be ready if needed.
Source: Cronista
I am Jason Root, author with 24 Instant News. I specialize in the Economy section, and have been writing for this sector for the past three years. My work focuses on the latest economic developments around the world and how these developments impact businesses and people’s lives. I also write about current trends in economics, business strategies and investments.
