What's an effective way to promote a food product in BA?

[expat0tree]

LOL, thanks for the hilarious read.... What everyone is saying is absolutely true technically regarding “what could happen if...” scenarios.

I think if your plan is to just be a small at-home type business, and you are catering to a specialty group of people who rather than be envious of your work (extremely common in Argentina) will appreciate it and depend on you for it (Which, in the case of very specialized services, namely ones that are hard if not impossible to copy/replicate, which sounds to me is your case) you shouldn’t have a problem.

I’m actually a bit surprised by how intense folks have been on this forum with you about this. Again, everything they’ve cited is completely true, but it’s very much more a do as I say and not as I do. I know of even high-end restaurants who get their desserts from individual vendors such as yourself, and I know for a fact that they are in the same situation as what you manifest.

What you mentioned before about trust and establishing a rapport is huge here, for good and for bad. That local arrogant bakery lady who snickered at you about her month-old cheesecake probably is cushy as could be because she has had her customers for decades.
With regards to advertising, what Steven said is right anywhere you go the more that you advertise the more you expose yourself to everything, so perhaps keeping it low key and word of mouth based is best.
I think what most if not all self employed people do is try out what they plan to do to see if they can actually live off it after paying the amount that you’d need to pay each month for monotributo and then go “official” .

Thanks for the insight Daniel, this is probably one of the most encouraging responses I've got thus far, yes I'm looking into becoming a monotributista eventually, once it picks up a bit more.

 

[Weyland]

They look delicious! I'm not worried for you, I think the chances of anything bad happening are extremely low.

Do look into FB + Instagram ads that are targeting you immediate area, within 1km.

 

[steveinbsas]

So far I'm able to maintain a small volume of orders from people on Instagram, but most of them don't like the idea of having to drive all the way to Floresta to pick up their cake. I definitely need to promote the product locally somehow, word-of-mouth like you say is timeless and very important. Thanks for the reminder.

Did you know that someone in Floresta is already selling a variety of tortas on Mercado Libre, including a couple types of cheescake without sugar or flour?

They also sell what appears to be better quality bras and panties.

They have a 100% positive rating, but they only show a total of 84 sales in the past five years.

That's only 16 sales per year, at least on Mercado Libre.

I'm guessing that many (if not most) of those sales were for women's undergarments. Obviously, it's impossible to know the exact percentage.

All of the clothing is available for delivery to the entire country.

All of the tortas must be picked up in Floresta.

Just food for thought.

Torta Sin Harina Ni Azúcar !! De 16 Cm Apto Dieta Cetogenica - $ 48.000

La Torta Cheesecake mide aprox 16cm, rinde hasta 6 porciones y tiene aproximadamente menos de 7Ch por porción, está hecha con harinas de Almendras y Coco de nuestra propia elaboración (Lo que le da el sabor único y exclusivo a todas nuestras preparaciones). Endulzada con edulcorante. Apta dieta...

articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar

 

[expat0tree]

Did you know that someone in Floresta is already selling a variety of tortas on Mercado Libre, including a couple types of cheescake without sugar or flour?

They also sell what appears to be better quality bras and panties.

They have a 100% positive rating, but they only show a total of 84 sales in the past five years.

That's only 16 sales per year, at least on Mercado Libre.

I'm guessing that many (if not most) of those sales were for women's undergarments. Obviously, it's impossible to know the exact percentage.

All of the clothing is available for delivery to the entire country.

All of the tortas must be picked up in Floresta.

Just food for thought.

Torta Sin Harina Ni Azúcar !! De 16 Cm Apto Dieta Cetogenica - $ 48.000

La Torta Cheesecake mide aprox 16cm, rinde hasta 6 porciones y tiene aproximadamente menos de 7Ch por porción, está hecha con harinas de Almendras y Coco de nuestra propia elaboración (Lo que le da el sabor único y exclusivo a todas nuestras preparaciones). Endulzada con edulcorante. Apta dieta...

articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar

Steve,

Ha! The person in the link seems to use "endulzantes" which I categorically stay away from because the idea of true keto is to not rely on any type of sweetener, especially because argentina's food industry is so under-regulated that suppliers can package and repackage just about anything without proper labeling, and they do just that, so you would never know the true content and quality of your sweetener product. Many of the sweeteners are higher on the glycemic index than white sugar (I can explain in detail for those who are interested), thus totally defeating the point of omitting sugar. I also don't like the fact that my competitor puts so much water in the topping that you can see the strawberries through the solidified gelatin. Besides, because they are adding sweeteners, ultimately the customer would not know if it's an actual sweetener they are tasting or if it's plain sugar, whereas my cakes are simply fruity with no sugar, yet rich and sweet enough to enjoy. Competitor defeated!

 

[FrankPintor]

Hi, does anyone have a recommendation for cheesecake or ice-cream cake in Buenos Aires (Palermo, if possible).

I understand Fedor isn't active, his Instagram page doesn't exist anymore. I was able to get some good cheesecake from Le Pain Quotidien, but they don't bake to order. And I haven't been able to find ice-cream cake (except for the mass-produced ones in supermarket freezers).

 

[antipodean]

Wagashi – Pastelería Japonesa

wagashi.com.ar

They deliver city wide and only make to order.
Never too sweet and always more delicate in flavors and textures for those who prefer that over sugar-bombs. Plus they look amazing. Japanese cheesecake is more like a sponge cake however but I think they have western style ones too.
The only real marketing they seem to have is within the community and a heavy presence on Instagram, which is very successful for them.

 

[FrankPintor]

Wagashi – Pastelería Japonesa

wagashi.com.ar

They deliver city wide and only make to order.
Never too sweet and always more delicate in flavors and textures for those who prefer that over sugar-bombs. Plus they look amazing. Japanese cheesecake is more like a sponge cake however but I think they have western style ones too.
The only real marketing they seem to have is within the community and a heavy presence on Instagram, which is very successful for them.

Thanks! I ordered a box, should be delivered Friday if I understand their delivery scheme, if it's good we'll order more.

 

[FrankPintor]

Wagashi – Pastelería Japonesa

wagashi.com.ar

They deliver city wide and only make to order.
Never too sweet and always more delicate in flavors and textures for those who prefer that over sugar-bombs. Plus they look amazing. Japanese cheesecake is more like a sponge cake however but I think they have western style ones too.
The only real marketing they seem to have is within the community and a heavy presence on Instagram, which is very successful for them.

Well, the box arrived, the cheesecake passed the test (as you said, it's more spongey), so we'll be ordering more.

Ordering was hit and miss, apparently orders made through the website aren't being passed on to the right people, there was also no response to email, only via Whatsapp (number on the website).

 

[antipodean]

Well, the box arrived, the cheesecake passed the test (as you said, it's more spongey), so we'll be ordering more.

Ordering was hit and miss, apparently orders made through the website aren't being passed on to the right people, there was also no response to email, only via Whatsapp (number on the website).

Glad you enjoyed!
Should have mentioned that orders are indeed via WhatsApp. If you do it via Instagram and hit the link it pre-writes the Whatsapp order with your selection.