Three enterprising daughters. Telma and Helga graduated in zootechnics. Diana opted for economics. Today, they are partners with their parents in a business with 159 employees and 24 million euros of revenue.

“As an agricultural entrepreneur, my father always had the dream of transforming the milk from his cows into value-added dairy products. There were many times when, as a family, over Sunday breakfast, we sketched out on paper napkins the project that would become Quinta dos Açores,” says Helga Barcelos.

In 2008, the Barcelos Group had three companies: Francisco Helvídio Barcelos, dedicated to milk production; Maria José Barcelos, dedicated to fattening animals for meat and importing and exporting cattle; and Açorcarnes, dedicated to cutting and selling meat.
“The new project under development would introduce a new business area: the dairy processing industry and it was time to create a brand more focused on the sector. In 2012 we decided that Quinta dos Açores had the potential to be the Group’s main brand and it also became our major commercial brand,” says Diana.

The sisters assure us that Quinta dos Açores has evolved: “Initially, Quinta dos Açores was created to designate the company that would develop the dairy industry project. Later it became the company responsible for all industrial meat production. When we launched the dairy products on the market in 2012, the country was going through a major economic crisis, and we had great difficulty finding shelf space for our products. We had to think of an alternative way to publicize the brand’s products and make it easier for them to reach the end consumer. This is how the Quinta dos Açores restaurant concept came about, to show and taste our cooked and combined products with other outstanding products from the Azores, with special emphasis on ice cream. The restaurant has created greater proximity between the brand and the consumer,” they add.

“As a group of companies, we are present throughout the value chain and we tell a story, with knowledge of the cause, from the production of the raw material to its transformation and subsequent marketing. We are also a group of companies and a family brand and, as such, we always try to put a very personal stamp on everything we do. We believe that one of the differentiating factors is also our love and respect for representing the various islands of the Azores. We position ourselves to be a brand for all Azoreans,” they guarantee.

The Quinta dos Açores restaurant concept was replicated 10 years ago in 2014 on the island of São Miguel. “It’s an extension of our home and fosters this feeling that we are an Azorean brand. We also opened the Ice Cream Shop in the Angra Marina area. We currently have a presence on the national market in various supermarkets (El Corte Inglês, Sonae, and Lidl) and in stores selling products from the Azores. Increasingly aware of what the Azores are and how we produce here, the national consumer shows, year after year, greater interest in regional products. We believe that if there are no limitations associated with their personal budget and they have easy access, Azorean products are part of their food basket,” said the Barcelos partners.

The Barcelos Group believes that gastronomy cannot be dissociated from tourism in the Azores: “with good meat, good fish and good dairy products, it is undoubtedly an excellent attraction and complement to the natural beauty of our islands. Of our products, tourists love to try the typical Azorean flavors in ice cream, such as Dona Amélia ice cream, Queijada da Graciosa, Meloa de Santa Maria PGI, Pineapple from the Azores/São Miguel PDO, Chocolate with São Jorge Cheese or Banana Split,” they say.

The Barcelos sisters believe that being an entrepreneur in the Azores is an added challenge. “Among other factors, I would highlight the costs of insularity, the costs and constraints associated with import and export logistics, the scale of the regional market, and the difficult access to and ability to retain qualified labor. Growing exports is always an important objective for the brand,” they say.
Quinta dos Açores brand products are exported to mainland Portugal, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark. In 2023, they also exported to England, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

From Made in the Azores-in Açoriano Oriental newspaper, Paula Gouveia-director

PBBI Fresno State, on behalf of the Jordan College of Agricultural Science and Technology, as well as all of the partners in the exchange program between California State University, Fresno, and the University of the Azores, thanks the Barcelos family for allowing our four students to do a month-long internship at this amazing company.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.