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

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

Although he loves cooking, he has never dedicated himself to it professionally. He warned that there was a segment of the business that could be exploited when he invited his friends to his house and they liked what he was doing and asked him to buy.

It started with no initial investment, “very slowly and growing.” He designs a plan for where he wants to go, analyzes which products he likes best, and the types of customers he reaches.

“There is room for workmanship; The concept I use is ‘born in Argentina, made in England’ because consumers value the freshness of the product used, that it has traceability; They want to know which farms produce vegetables. They are willing to pay a little more for it,” he summarizes.

Pedutto was trained in packaging techniques to advance his business; It 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 of such marketing,” he said.

“What makes me most proud is that everything is made at home – he continues – and I introduced Argentinian food to the English hinterland; In London it’s easier to get there, but inside they don’t really know it. First, we tasted it and that way the local people started accepting the product.”

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

In addition to preserves, upon request, the company produces Santa Fe alfajores, empanadas and several specialty cakes. The name “Bacanas” refers to “porteño”, which suggests that what is dominant is “quality”.

Although he had received offers to expand his business, his decision was not to do so: “It wasn’t for me, I would have fallen into the same lines of what I was trying to differentiate myself from. “My home complies with all the requirements imposed by the State, which carries out inspections, and this work scheme 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 drink competition – for its chimichurri and was a People’s Choice finalist for “Best Food Producer” in Hertfordshire/BedfordShire.