Businesswoman, chef and TV presenter Maru Botana shot to fame in her native Argentina. 30 years ago, she opened her first of six patisseries in Buenos Aires. Aiming to expand into new markets, she decided to take her business global. With the help of Santander, she set up shop in Barcelona, and is now thinking of where to go next. 

Maru Botana is a celebrated pastry chef in Argentina. In the 90s, she was the face of popular TV programmes Todo dulce, Maru a la tarde, and Sabor a mí. But what really put her on the map were her patisseries in Buenos Aires. She opened the first one, Magic Cakes, three decades ago, and hasn’t looked back.

Her patisseries had so much success in Argentina that she decided to try her luck overseas.  Though New York and Miami were top of her list, she finally chose Barcelona, Spain. The TV star’s thinking was that the Spanish and Argentinian people had similar tastes. 

Santander’s local teams worked closely with the company to help it land on Spain’s shores. We advised Maru on the key aspects of growing an SME internationally, including market research, searching for premises, and launching the business. Our strategic alliances and funding were also pivotal to get the project off the ground in Barcelona.

Today, the story of this businesswoman and chef is a further example of our commitment to SMEs and entrepreneurs the world over. Our global scale enables us to form a solid business group, while our local leadership in several markets gives us the knowledge to help people and business prosper.

Supporting internationalization

Santander has been supporting companies that wish to import, export or set up operations abroad for over 160 years through tailor-made products and services. Our international team of experts offers a tailor-made service in several languages, as well as business opportunity through local units and strategic alliances.