Modern butcher shop with refrigerated display cases full of meat products, a freezer in the center, and a person serving a customer at the counter. — His company, VBS, already operates six branches in Neuquén and Río Negro | La Derecha Diario

Camara — His company, VBS, already operates six branches in Neuquén and Río Negro | La Derecha Diario

From Córdoba to Vaca Muerta: cheaper meat with an innovative business model

A company from Córdoba supplies vacuum-packed meat in Patagonia and is already planning further investments

08/08/2025 16:11:00h

Editorial Team

1,200 kilometers (746 miles) from its origin, a Cordoba-based company changed the map of meat consumption in Patagonia. Martín Vázquez, from Bell Ville, set up a business that today supplies the Vaca Muerta region with quality meat. He did so with an innovative concept: clean butcher shops, with no blood and no knives in sight.

His company, VBS, already operates six branches in Neuquén and Río Negro.It employs 60 people and aims to grow with a strategy based on volume and affordable prices. The initiative takes advantage of the lifting of sanitary restrictions that previously prevented the entry of bone-in meat.

Three men pose smiling inside a modern butcher shop with white tiled walls and display cases filled with cuts of meat.

Diego Barakat, Martín Vázquez, and Stefano Sanfilippo at a Mercado de la Carne store in Neuquén | La Derecha Diario

From the Cordoba countryside to Patagonia, vacuum-packed

The project started with a strategic advantage: consolidated family business ties in the sector. Vázquez joined forces with Stefano Sanfilippo and Diego Barakat, who have experience supplying oil companies. This is how "Mercado de Carne" was born, with the logistical support of Abasto Evasa.

The butcher shops operate under a clean, modern model with no direct handling. All the meat is sold vacuum-packed, in heavy, sealed cuts. The offering is up to 30% cheaper than the local average, which allowed the company to compete effectively.

Supply comes from slaughterhouses in Córdoba, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, and Entre Ríos. Logistics is key: the main operating cost is freight, which the company manages with its own fleet.

People lining up at the entrance of a butcher shop with price signs and a motorcycle parked on the sidewalk

This is how "Mercado de Carne" was born, with the logistical support of Abasto Evasa | La Derecha Diario

VBS and the focus on volume, not margin

Half of its sales go to the wholesale channel and 40% to its own butcher shops. The remaining 10% supplies the Neuquén government. The company reaches key areas such as Añelo, Cutral Co, San Martín de los Andes, and Bariloche.

With a clear business vision, VBS prioritizes sustained growth and efficiency. Expansion is planned without franchises and with its own structure. In the coming months, new branches will open, targeting strategic areas.

Additionally, the company plans to open a butcher shop in Córdoba to take advantage of the end of sanitary barriers. The goal is to meet the demand for premium cuts such as Tomahawk or T-Bone.

Two young men pose in front of meat display cases in a store with signs that say premium and export.

It employs 60 people and aims to grow with a strategy based on volume and affordable prices | La Derecha Diario

Future projects: private label and Cordoba-based slaughtering

Plans include adding a new deboning cycle in Córdoba. The first two cycles are already operating in Neuquén. This step would allow the company to move forward with a private label featuring custom slaughtering and packaging.

Although the company still depends on suppliers for sourcing, it works with slaughterhouses that process cuts under its own label. The goal is clear: to position itself as a reference in premium meat, with its own identity and from the productive interior.

➡️ Argentina