It is more than a store that sells Portuguese preserves. It's more than a snack bar. It is more than a shop selling traditional Portuguese products and objects related to the sea and sardines. Maria do Mar is a place where a little bit of Portugal is sold.
Maria do Mar has two stores – the original, in Lagos, and the second to open, in Portimão, on Rua Direita – and is the result of the enormous willpower of a woman – businesswoman Ana Costa Franco – who, in 2012, became got out of the real estate business and decided to bet on a completely new sector for her.
«I didn't create this canning shop concept, it already existed in other parts of Europe and even in cities like Lisbon. But I thought: will it work in the Algarve?».
And is this entrepreneurship? “Entrepreneur is also taking something that already exists and remaking it in our image”, she emphasizes, convinced.
Businesswoman Ana Costa Franco was one of the guests at the August Beta Talk, the conversation about entrepreneurship that, last month, took place on the terrace of the Municipal Theater of Portimão, with a view over the city and the river as a backdrop. A conversation in the open air, on a warm summer night, accompanied, during the break, with appetizers from Maria do Mar and good Algarve wines.
It was during this Beta Talk that Ana shared her experience. With the impulse of her husband, Pedro Costa Franco, Ana launched herself into a world that she claims to have "discovered": "we had no idea that in Portugal there was still so much pickling, with such beautiful packaging."
Bearing in mind that canned fish is a «product of Portuguese excellence and a tradition unfortunately almost lost in the Algarve», Ana Franco thought that «it made perfect sense to go after that tradition».
But the opening of the first store, in Lagos, in April 2012, was not an easy journey. "Canning companies are more export-oriented and mass-selling, not selling in small quantities to a store like ours." But this difficulty was eventually overcome.
In Lagos, what Ana Franco has not yet managed to overcome is the impossibility of her shop being also a tavern, a place for tasting preserves, in tapas accompanied by a good glass of Portuguese wine. This aspect, which was planned from the beginning, for bureaucratic reasons, ended up only being realized in the second Maria do Mar store, which opened in October 2012 in Portimão, in a partnership with friends, namely Pedro Estorninho and his wife.
The businesswoman, who guarantees that the two stores, in Lagos and in Portimão, have been a success, adds that “the business started with as little money as possible. It took some imagination and creativity, because I was the one who decorated the Lagos store with family pieces, even restoring some furniture».
«Next, I went looking for microcredit, for some equipment and to build stock. I was very well received at the banks, due to the fact that I am no longer a hairdresser, but it is an innovative business», explains the businesswoman.
More than selling preserves, selling icons
Things went so well in Lagos that, six months later, Maria do Mar opened her second store in Portimão, but here she also has a tavern area for snacking. By the way, those who want to know the delicacies of this special tavern can take the opportunity, until October 13th, to taste the sardine tiborna with a glass of red wine, which is part of the Petisco Route that is taking place in Portimão.
«Given the crisis, maybe this would not be the best time to open a store and then another, six months later. But if we think about it like that, when would be the right time?». Because, Ana Franco insists, «being an entrepreneur is not easy, it never was and probably never will be!».
With this certainty, the businesswoman got down to business and has been consolidating her Maria do Mar, which from the beginning realized that it could be much more than a «grocery with canned goods on display for sale».
«There is a huge space that we can explore in terms of merchandising, from the image of preserves, from a certain vintage image of cans. We are currently planning this, even with the help of Zinc, the design company that has already helped us define our image».
However, Ana Franco, responding to customer requests, especially foreigners, has already started to sell other products linked to the image of canned foods, from the sea, in her store in Lagos. «Sardines for tourists are an icon of Portugal», he adds. And that's why it has already started selling sardines on cloth, which have been selling very well. But there are other ideas under development, such as black and white photographs of Algarve canning factories, old posters of some brands.
«There are customers, mainly foreigners, who buy certain cans, with very beautiful packaging, and they tell me: this is so beautiful that I won't even eat it. Therefore, it is necessary to “invent” other objects that they can buy, based on this image». Basically, he explains, among preserves, tinned oils, fleur de sel, wines, everything Portuguese, objects related to the sea and preserves, what Maria do Mar's customers buy is more than a can of sardines. «It is the image of Portugal!».
Expand the Lagos store and expand the brand
As for future plans, for now Ana Franco wants to expand the Lagos store and add a tavern aspect to it, which so far has not been possible to open due to a question of licenses, which is almost resolved.
Afterwards, it is open for brand expansion. «I can't say that Maria do Mar will only stay in Lagos and Portimão. We are open to people joining the Maria do Mar brand to open stores in other parts of the Algarve. But it will not be through franchising».
To enable this expansion with partners, “we already have a plan in place to provide people with a very concrete idea of investment values. For us, the bet went well and things are moving at your pace».
Having two stores in very close cities, Ana Franco explains that «the type of customer in Lagos has nothing to do with that of Portimão. In Portimão, curiously, we work a lot with residents, especially in winter. Here, the Portuguese welcomed the idea better, they joined right away. There were even people who went to our store on Rua Direita to offer us things, like empty cans from old factories. They identified themselves with this business. In Lagos, most of the clients are foreign tourists».
And what has been the biggest challenge throughout this two-year journey? Businesswoman Ana Costa Franco replies that she was getting microcredit. «When we want to go down a slightly different path, difficulties arise all the time. But you have to be persistent, you have to believe and be willing. Being an entrepreneur involves, in fact, a lot of pain», concluded Ana, playing with words.
Today there is another Beta Talk
Today, Monday, September 16, in Portimão, there will be another Beta Talk, during which two entrepreneurs whose persistence and ability to bring their projects to life will be the motto for another entrepreneurial evening.
From 19 pm, the Café Concerto do TEMPO – Municipal Theater of Portimão will be a meeting point for an inspiring conversation with Pedro Águas, founder of “We Make Productions”- Advertising Agency and Audiovisual Content Producer, and João Amaro, the executive dreamer from the project Algarve get-together, a restaurant and cultural entertainment recently opened in Vila Adentro in the city of Faro.
Admission is free and good conversation is guaranteed!
Photos of: Etic_algarve/Duarte Costa (except for the last one)
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