Victoria Galera
Maria Andrea Massoni
Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina
Aleandra Scafati
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Matías and Emanuel are convinced of the need to make local communities inclusive, resilient and sustainable in order to reduce the social gap of inequality and are very much aware of the role that bars and meeting spaces play in society.
Also, the gastronomic activity can generate huge impact, both positive and negative.
The founders of El Botellón focused on the positive impacts while reducing the negative ones when developing this project: “People are demanding more responsible and conscious companies. At El Botellón we are committed to cultural development and environmental protection, without neglecting product quality”, said Co-Founder Matías.
El Botellón is based on the concept of expansive culture and in doing so has developed the following areas of expansion:
Matías and Emanuel have always been concerned with the social inequality gap. Therefore, when the homemade beer business started to grow, they realized they could do much more and involved the people in the process. Matías explained it this way: “For us, the concept of expansive culture, is transversal and can change lives. We continuously work in developing community. What takes place in our bars is a result of the people that come in, inhabit these spaces, connect with the ideas and propose new projects. For example: the design of the biodigester, the radio programas, the art exhibitions, among many other activities, were somehow proposed by members of the community as clients of El Botellón".
More than 200 hours of different artists were recorded, together with more than 10 radio programs and over 30 artists that presented their work at the gallery.
One of the most important milestones in this history was the certification as a B Company in 2019.
The community is empowered, and as such, El Botellón is expanding the business to other places.
This Beer Social Club started operations in 2017. By 2020, they reached a 20% profitability, even with COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns for the gastronomic sector.
El Botellón obtains its revenue from the gastronomic service they offer at the bars, commercial ads, and from their franchise model. They also still sells beer for other clients on wholesale basis.
A first franchise was opened in La Plata in December 2019 and they also have two forthcoming ones, in Córdoba and in Mendoza.
The innovation has a clear social impact approach, since it offers the community a free space to empower people on their artistic, musical and entrepreneurial proposals.
Also, they include employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
In order to promote cultural change and reinforce this kind of business experience, they created a Best Practices Manual for the gastronomic and hospitality sector which includes topics of gender diversity, environment and circular economy. This was done with support of other organizations, including the local municipality.
In terms of environmental impact, they lead by example. They have a program for recylcing that up to date has recovered 1,900 kg of cardboard, 1,800 kg of glass, 500 kg of plastics, and 2,500 liters of water through the rainwater harvesting system installed at the bar that it is use for cleaning and watering plants. Also, they have a sonometer for meassuring the noise inside the bar to make sure the sound is not harmful for the clients.
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El Botellón BSC (Beer Social Club) is an Argentinian company founded in 2017 by two friends, Matías and Emanuel, who began manufacturing and selling homemade beer in glass bottles and ended up developing a social enterprise for cultural expansion, while still selling beer.
El Botellón organizes its business in three main pillars: a radio, an art gallery and an entrepreneurial laboratory.