Betsabe Pedutto is from Rosario, and has lived in London since 2003, in Hartford – 30 minutes from the English capital. He founded the logistics company that eventually sells and is dedicated to the production of “Argentinean” preserves and artisanal empanadas and alfajores. He is the creator of Bacanas, a brand that is sold in grocery stores.

“We started with a van and I sold it with eight and eight employees,” he said. We did so well, I sold it to another company where I stayed for a few months,” Pedutto said in an article published by the newspaper La Nación. “I sold the company because my baby was born and I wanted to have more time; in 2019 I started with Bacanas,” he recalls.

Although he loved to cook, he was never a pro. He warned that there was a business segment that exploded when he invited friends over to his house and they liked what he did and asked him to buy.

It started with no initial investment, “very slowly and growing.” He did devise a plan for where he wanted to go, analyzing what products he liked best and the types of customers he was reaching.

“There is room for artisanal; The concept I use is ‘born in Argentina, made in England’ because consumers value that fresh produce is used, that they have traceability; they want to know on which farm they grow vegetables. They are willing to pay a little more for it,” he concluded.

Pedutto is trained in packaging techniques to advance its business; has four permanent products: chili chimichurri, classic chimichurri, pickled eggplant and kumquat. All of them are sold in specialty food stores. “That’s part of the concept that marketing is like this,” he said.

“What I am most proud of is that everything is made in-house – he continues – and that I introduced Argentinian food to the interior of Great Britain; in London it’s easier to get, but in the interior they don’t really know it. First of all, we carried out tests and in this way the locals received the product”.

The brand logo tries to reflect the type of woman where Pedutto is reflected in 46: entrepreneur, mother (daughter Valentina 4) and involved with sustainability. She always participates in the business women’s group.

Apart from preserves, on request produces alfajores from Santa Fe, empanadas and some signature cakes. The name “Bacanas” is a wink “from Buenos Aires”, he says the dominant one is “quality”.

Although he has received offers to grow his business, his decision is not to: “This is not for me, I will fall in the same line as what I am trying to differentiate myself. I have my house complied with all the requirements imposed by the State, which conducts inspections, and this scheme of work allows me to be a mother and do business”.

‘Bacanas’ won a star at the Great Taste Awards – the UK’s most prestigious food and beverage competition – for its chimichurri and was a finalist, by public vote, as ‘best food producer’ in Hertfordshire/BedfordShire.