The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2012–2025
Grupo Hungry grew to R$17M by refusing delivery apps and selling atmosphere
São Paulo's Hungry bars tested apps, found chaos and low margins, and built full tables on in-person experience.
Grupo Hungry
The solution
The Grupo Hungry's three botecos in São Paulo—Garota da Vila, Bar Jobim and Garota da Chácara—look like any busy Brazilian bar except for one detail: no delivery riders out front. The founders, André Silveira and Mariele Horbach, deliberately refuse iFood, 99Food, Rappi and every other app.
Their reasoning is direct: the product is not food, it is atmosphere, conversation and experience—and none of that arrives well in a box. They tested delivery apps during the pandemic and found low margins, dishes losing quality in transit, and a kitchen made chaotic by juggling table service and delivery orders.
The contrarian bet worked. The bars are full, revenue grows about 15% a year toward a projected R$17 million in 2025 (with a R$22 million target for 2026), and the founders plan to open one new unit per year from 2026 with direct control—franchises and delivery both remain out of the question.
Why it worked
- Delivery diluted the room experience that is the actual product being sold
- App orders wrecked kitchen flow and service quality for the tables
- Avoiding apps protects margin instead of paying away a share of every order
- In-person loyalty and word of mouth filled tables without paid acquisition
- Slow, self-controlled expansion kept founders close to customers and quality
What can be applied
If your offer is experiential, refusing the convenient channel can be the differentiation—protect the core experience and its margin instead of chasing channel revenue.
Aftermath
The group is investing 2025 in internal restructuring, team training and a menu reworked around classic Rio botecos, with new units planned in São Paulo from 2026 and possibly minority partners—while keeping delivery and franchising off the table as a matter of identity.
Sources
- 'Temos aversão ao delivery': a rede de botecos de R$ 17 milhões que lota sem vender por aplicativo
- Grupo Hungry cresce sem delivery e aposta em botecos cheios de experiência
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