Diego Rojas and Mariano Najles are two Argentine entrepreneurs who ten years ago decided to enter the world of Barcelona restaurants. They founded Las Muns, first as a traditional Argentine food establishment and later as a takeaway empanada chain.
“We understood that to conquer the mass public we had to adapt the original recipes to more European and international flavors, as other cuisines such as Indian or Asian have done,” says Najles. On the Las Muns menu you can find empanadas of all kinds, beef but also Thai chicken, cheeseburgers, curry, olive or mushrooms and camembert. “With this offer, we think that consumers will visit our establishments more frequently than if the food were more traditional.”
The firm began with a model of its own stores located in strategic locations where there was high pedestrian traffic. “The pandemic arrived and we decided to launch the franchise model, which allowed us to reach cities like Madrid, Valencia, Mallorca, Bilbao or Malaga,” recalls the entrepreneur.
Currently, the chain has 45 stores, of which around a third are owned and two thirds are franchised.
In fiscal year 2022, the company invoiced 2.8 million euros and this year it expects to reach 4. If the business of franchise partners is also taken into account, the chain will invoice a total of 7.5 million euros this year. , which represents a growth of 50% compared to the same year the previous year. “The franchise model is in full expansion and will allow us to reach Portugal and Italy in the coming months.”
To carry out this expansion, and continue its commitment to cities in Spain, Las Muns is willing to welcome new partners who contribute between 1 and 2 million euros. “We have opened a financing round,” says the entrepreneur, who recalls that it is a formula used in the past.
In fact, a minority part of the shareholding is controlled by a group of former directors of the company Eat Out (Pans
