Uruguay welcomes the summer season with the novelty of new technological tools for the gastronomic sector that come from the other shore of the Silver river: with different objectives and functionalities, but the same goal of contributing to more efficient and comfortable work for gastronomic companies, Argentine software Maxirest and Thinkion They arrive in the country at a time of great activity for the sector.
With the recovery of the tourism sectorthe Uruguayan gastronomic sector also experiences a rebound in activity, especially in the high summer season, when internal movement grows and the number of foreigners who come to spend the summer in Uruguay also increases considerably.
With this background it is that the Argentine restaurant management software He will have his first big test after arriving in the country. Within this category, two particularly stand out: on the one hand, Maxirest, a 30-year-old company looking to officially expand into Uruguay within the framework of its internationalization plan; and Thinkion, a startup that arrived on this side of the Río de la Plata accompanying its Argentine clients, but that already sees new growth opportunities in the territory.
What do these companies see in Uruguay?
Maxirest was born 30 years ago in Argentina and, since then, it has not stopped growing alongside its founder and CEO Aldo Pecile. Offering technological solutions for the gastronomic industry – to improve and facilitate the tasks of all types of restaurants and businesses, from the organization of the room to administrative management – today it has more than 10,000 active restaurants that use its service in the neighboring country.
Uruguay It is the first country within its internationalization plan “sustainable and organic”, as Pecile defined it in dialogue with Ambit. The idea is that the industry itself adopts the tool in a “natural” way, without major marketing initiatives or forcing the adoption of the technology; a work that began to be planned prior to the Covid-19 pandemic — which put a “stop” to the deployment — and that was completed at the end of 2022.
Today they already have 25 restaurants using the software in Uruguay: “Some are Argentines who migrated to Uruguay along with us, and others are native. There is also the case of some Argentines who are opening in Uruguay and they are hiring us,” Pecile explained, noting the process as “feedback.” The projection is to work with 500 restaurants by the end of 2024.
For the CEO of Maxirest, Uruguay was the first destination of international expansion – which already incorporated Paraguay and has as the next step Peru- for several reasons: on the one hand, because the company already had experience in the local sector, 20 years ago, when it had 70 active restaurants. But, in addition, the country was presented as “the first target and technically viable market, lowest cost and also close.” The facilities presented for the installation of new companies in the country were also a key aspect.
In the case of Thinkion, a startup that works, mainly, with customer management systems for gastronomic establishments, its arrival in Uruguay It was out of necessity to accompany his Argentine clients. “The first step to expand was following the first opening of The Milanese Club in Montevideo, which was carried out at the end of November,” the company explained to Ambit.
“By being strategic allies, They required us to be authorized to operate in the country, so thanks to this push we made the necessary configurations and procedures to operate in Uruguay”, they added. At the moment, they are in contact with different restaurants in the capital and Punta del Esteand since December they have also been working with Bacchus Bistro.
Yes ok Uruguay It was rather a market of need rather than a specific objective for the startup, they soon identified positive characteristics of the country for the business: “not only the respect and interest they show us, but also being dynamic and aspiring to improve.”
“We see in Uruguay a very great potential due to its gastronomic poles and its spirit of progress. We aspire for it to become a key ally. Their tourism and the gastronomic offer they offer are ideal for growth and we want to be part of it,” said Thinkion.
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Courtesy Thinkion
The particularities of the Uruguayan gastronomic sector
Of course not only Uruguay, In general, it presents opportunities and advantages for the installation of gastronomic software, but the same area is interesting for these companies. As Pecile explained, “the gastronomic idiosyncrasy It is very similar to the Argentinait is an almost sister market.”
“That is where we see the attraction since with very little localization and adaptation we are already in perfect conditions to provide the service. In addition, it has a dynamic in everything that is seasonal, similar to Argentina, to coastal areas,” explained the CEO and founder of Maxirest.
As another highlighted and fundamental point, he pointed out that “the market is also stable and dynamic”: “They are in constant movement of restaurant openings, renovations, it is a very dynamic sector and, therefore, very attractive,” he considered.
Thinkion, for its part, sees in the Uruguayan gastronomic sector the opportunity to transform it through technology as an ally; and, particularly, its technological solutions. “There are many systems on offer, but we offer not only the functionalities but also the personalized attention we provide and the constant support to help the growth of the premises,” they expressed.
Source: Ambito
