New York Loves Coxinha. The phrase is at the top of the Petisco Brazuca delivery box, a brand created in the city in 2013 and which, since then, has become a reference in the Brazilian savory category in the city. Now, the brand created by São Paulo couple Ricardo Rosa and Vanessa Oliveira is preparing to gain national scale in the United States in mid-2025, with the sale of frozen products.
Petisco Brazuca produces 300,000 snacks a month, all made in an industrial kitchen in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood, in Brooklyn. In addition to online sales and the store located in front of the headquarters, the brand operates three other points of sale in areas with high pedestrian traffic, such as Wall Street and Times Square, in Manhattan, and at Dekalb Market, also in Brooklyn.
Sales are expected to generate revenue of US$2.5 million (R$14.2 million) in 2024.
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Among customers, there is a difference between those who buy snacks on the street and those who order online. “On the street, around 98% of our audience are Americans or other nationalities”, says Ricardo to InvestNews. On the website, most orders are for Brazilian events – there are boxes with 30, 60 or 120 snacks. “Brazilians are our biggest supporters, but the business would not be sustained solely on the saudade market”, explains Ricardo.
“Chicken nuggets are one of the most consumed items by Americans. And this makes it easier for them to familiarize themselves with this new thing”, explains the native of São Paulo, who arrived with Vanessa in New York in 2012 with the plan of going on exchange and studying English. Ricardo, who worked in advertising and media in São Paulo, and Vanessa, who was a banker, had the idea of staying in the city for a year. They fell in love with New York and decided to stay.
The beginning of the venture
To generate income, Ricardo and Vanessa started selling coxinhas prepared by them in their tiny kitchen. In addition to the hours dedicated to preparing the snack, the couple spent hours on the subway making door-to-door deliveries.
Noticing that the business would bring samba, Ricardo spent a year working in restaurants to understand the behind-the-scenes of the food sector. The couple also connected with incubator kitchens, where entrepreneurs exchange experiences, and hired consultants to advise them on health department legislation and ways to build an industrial kitchen.
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In 2017, production stopped being manual: Ricardo and Vanessa invested US$150,000 in the business, including renting the first commercial location and importing machinery from Brazil. “Since then, the popularity of this equipment has caused the price to drop from US$20,000 to US$4,000”, says Ricardo. Hours on the subway are also a thing of the past: today, online order deliveries are made using company cars and vans.
Strategy to win over the Americans
“The pronunciation of Petisco Brazuca is not easy for foreigners”, admits Ricardo. “But if they can talk Daily Breadin French, they can risk our name”, he says, referring to the Belgian restaurant’s global network.
Ricardo explains that the brand’s growth was divided into two stages: the first objective was to become a reference in the drumstick category; the second, to introduce the novelty to Americans, but without spending tons of money to do so. It was necessary to go to the public, find out which events were open to gastronomic innovations.
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To do this, the couple studied the best spots in New York to introduce “cosheenya”, a spelling they use to teach locals. The strategy worked: since 2018, the brand has been present in the main street fairs, such as Smorgasburg in the sunny months and the Christmas markets in Columbus Circle and Union Square, in addition to the Winter Village in Bryant Park, which has just reopened for its 2024 season.
“For the selection of Smorgasburg, the biggest street food event in the world, we competed with a thousand candidates. We were among six finalists. Only three were approved: in addition to us, Viola Cucina, owned by Venezuelan sisters, and The Pizza Cupcake, a brand that received support from investors from the TV show Shark Tank”, says Ricardo.
Ricardo, who created the logo and all of the company’s visual communication, celebrates every time he is approached on the street by Americans by wearing the sweatshirt printed with the Petisco Brazuca drumstick. From the street, the brand now goes to freezers for frozen products. To this end, Petisco Brazuca is looking for a larger industrial kitchen and is already negotiating with national supermarket chains. For now, Ricardo keeps their names secret.
