Bucuria chocolates Moldova is famous for are already available in all subway stations in the center of Bucharest and the La Placinte restaurant chain is aggressively expanding in Romania.
Moreover, a new coffee shop, Tucano Coffee has opened in Bucharest’s Old Town and its owner, Moldovan entrepreneur Ruslan Cojocaru wants to grow it into a network of 15 to 20 coffee shops in five years.
All three brands entered the Romanian market in the past three years and have pursued an aggressive expansion policy, as the population in Romania is five times higher than Moldova’s and the purchasing power is greater.
Tucano Coffee opened its first coffee shop in Chisinau, Moldova, in 2011. Inspired by a trip around the world, the entrepreneur decided to create a concept and take it the major markets of the world. He took the first expansion steps in Romania and in the United Arab Emirates. He inaugurated the first coffee shop in Bucharest on Calea Dorobanti, near the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, last year.
“Also in 2014, we opened two coffee shops in the United Arab Emirates together with a master franchisee partner,” the founder says. There are eight Tucanos in business at the moment, with two more under construction. Investments stand at EUR600,000 so far, EUR250,000 of which Romania.
The expansion will not end here, as the Moldovan entrepreneur says he has big plans for Romania, a market he believes in. He will pursue direct expansion mainly in Bucharest, with some exceptions such as the Tucano Coffee due to open in AFI Palace Cotroceni in early 2016.
“We opened the first franchised coffee shop in Romania in Coresi Mall in Brasov in the spring of 2015. We will develop by franchising in the cities of the country (other than Bucharest i.e.), because our partners will be able to better manage the business, since they are always there. The test in Brasov proved it, as sales are on the rise.”
He would not provide any figures about the sales of that coffee shop but says Tucano Coffee as a whole will see RON3 million revenue this year. The company manages the directly operated coffee shops and collects the franchising fees. It posted almost RON1 million revenue in 2014, its first year in business.
The most powerful Moldovan brand in terms of revenue, however, is the La Placinte restaurant chain. Moldovan entrepreneur Andrei Tranga opened the first La Placinte restaurant on the Dacia Boulevard in downtown Bucharest in the fall of 2013.
This year he added another brand, Andy’s Pizza. The two brands are already developed on their home market. Two years after entering Romania, the network numbers nine La Placinte restaurants, two Andy’s Pizza and the plan is to continue expansion. With more than ten restaurants opened in less than two years, this is the most ambitious project on the local restaurant market.
The operator of La Placinte and Andy’s Pizza in Romania is Andy’s Pizza, a company that posted RON8 million revenue last year, almost nine times the 2013 revenue, its first year in business on this market.
The oldest and most famous Moldovan brand available in local retail is Bucuria. There are seven stores of the brand in Bucharest, six of which in subway stations in the center of the city (Piata Unirii 1, Piata Unirii 2, Piata Universitatii, Piata Romana and Piata Victoriei) and at the main railway station (Gara de Nord) and one in a subway station (Nicolae Grigorescu) in eastern Bucharest (Titan).
Bucuria chocolates arrive in Romania via Tuta Prima Invest, established in the second half of 2012 and held by Victor Trasca, 27 and Sergiu Tuhari, 26. Tuta Prima Invest posted RON1.5 million revenue in 2014, almost three times the 2013 level.
The three Moldovan businesses therefore posted more than RON10 million revenue last year and may see their revenue grow this year now that they have added new stores and restaurants.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)