After the pandemic, Patroni, a Brazilian company with more than 30 years of experience in retail and food, comes out of a period of resilience and begins a cycle of recovery and growth: with plans to internationalize to countries like China and Portugal.
Today, the Franchising Brasil participant — the result of a partnership between ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and ABF (Brazilian Franchising Association) — has around 190 stores across the country, two units in Orlando, in the United States, and an annual income of around BRL 335 million.
“We are happy to be able to hire back all those employees that we had to lay off in 2020. Our perspective for 2022 is a 20% growth in revenue, compared to 2019. We also intend to open three new international operations and another 18 stores in Brazil”, says Patroni’s director of operations, Valmir De Morais Canuto, with enthusiasm.
The Patroni Group is a reference in franchises in the food industry and has three business models, segmented for each market and public profile. The “Classic” model is an option with a strong emphasis on dishes and aimed at consumers searching for a competitive price. The “Premium” franchise, on the other hand, has a more elaborate menu of pizzas, pastas, meats and snacks, and is open in the morning, afternoon and evening. There is also “Casa do Dom”, a casual restaurant that operates in large spaces, and which has a delivery system.
The chain also launched “Patroni Pizza Mobile”, a new low-investment franchise format, which consists on a mini pizzeria mounted on an autonomous, sustainable vehicle with cutting-edge design and equipment.
Patroni franchises abroad
In 2019, Patroni took its first step in the internationalization process, opening two units outside Brazil, both in Orlando, United States. The franchise’s debut abroad was a success, with excellent public acceptance. “The opening was wonderful, the realization of a dream for us! So that everything went well, we assigned our best professionals to accompany the entire process, we carried out intense training and follow-up over a longer period than normally occurs in Brazil. It was a great experience and an example for the brand”, explains the director.
Operations in Orlando have a menu very similar to the one in Brazil, but thought out with great care and affection to serve both the Brazilian public, who lives or travels to the city, and the North American public, which has different habits and culture. The menu features the famous Parmigianas, delicious pizzas, and products more geared towards the locals, such as six pizzas with exclusive flavours and appetizers, such as “meat balls” and the popular “Mac and Cheese”. According to Valdir, all this care and the adaptation to the US public is what makes the company’s excellent acceptance level of if its operation abroad.
Canuto also says that the brand has prospects of taking flights in other countries: “Our key markets for growth are the US and Europe. Portugal must be the first European country where we plant our flag. We also intend to expand into Asian territory. We are in advanced conversations with the Chinese market and will soon announce the news”, he concludes.
About Franchising Brasil
Franchising Brasil is a joint project of the Brazilian Franchising Association (ABF) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), which aims to support the internationalization strategy of Brazilian franchise chains and their international trade promotion. The initiative was conceived to promote this recognized business model in the main international markets.