"Portugal is the great gateway to Europe". This is what Boali's CEO, Rodrigo Barros, says, who is preparing the entry into the national market. The restaurant group, which claims to be based on healthy eating, arrives with the 'help' of the player Deco, who came to play for the national team. 

In an interview with Notícias ao Minuto, Rodrigo Barros admits that Portugal is an important market for the company's internationalization, a "great gateway". 

However, he adds that the Brazilian group wants to focus on the national market and is committed to adapting the offer to the Portuguese public: "We want to get here and be a network for the Portuguese, with respect for the local market". 

The Notícias ao Minuto also spoke with Deco, who spoke of the importance of being part of Boali's arrival in Portugal, considering that "it is very special" - you can read the conversation with the former player and current sporting director of Barcelona here. 

We want to enter Portugal but without disrespecting the local market. We want to get here and be a network for the Portuguese

What led Boali to bet on Portugal?

It is important to say that Portugal is a very dear country to us, because I am a Portuguese citizen and I have always had this goal of bringing Boali to Europe, looking at Portugal as a gateway.

Before coming to Portugal, we started a relationship in the USA, two years ago, with the world's largest food distributor, CISCO, which gives us the opportunity to come to Europe. This way we achieved a very high standardization in distribution. Coincidentally, Deco's son, Pedro, is a big Boali customer in Brazil. He eats more at Bolai than I do. [Laughs]. We started to build this relationship and Deco had already brought an agency to Portugal. I went to him and told him that there was an opportunity to take Boali to Europe and Portugal.

We have a projection of 20 operations for the next two years, 30 in the next three and five years. After those two years, we will look at the European market as a whole. Portugal is the great gateway to Europe. 

The goal is to have stores in the city and in shopping malls? 

It is important to say that we founded Boali in 2015. It's been nine years as a company, but before that we were Salad Creations. As a total company, it's been 17 years. I don't know how many companies there are in the world with 17 years of experience, but I guarantee that a company with all these years already has a lot of learning. 

For us, coming to Portugal is something we want to respect. We want to enter Portugal but without disrespecting the local market. We want to get here and be a network for the Portuguese, with respect for the local market. We want to make adaptations in the product offer to the Portuguese taste. 

What makes us different is the way we execute our purpose: to universalize access to healthy food, transform habits and do good through food

Does the fact that Deco is involved in Boali's arrival in Portugal show that there is a greater concern among players about healthy eating? 

I think that this is even a more global behavior, of society. If we look at the last 30 years, the evolution of the consciousness of the level of consumption has only increased. The tendency is for it to increase more and more. Today, if we go to any major platform, be it Spotify or YouTube, one of the most relevant topics is health and food. There is a lot of talk about sleep and physical activity, but also about food. More than in sports, it is a global behavior of society. 

We will arrive with a very affordable food for the daily life of the Portuguese. We are talking about a bill between 10 to 12 euros

How will Boali differentiate itself from the competition? 

What makes us different is the way we execute our purpose: to universalize access to healthy food, transform habits and do good through food. In other words, to have a healthy and democratic food. There is a thought that healthy food is expensive. This will not be true for Boali.

We will arrive with a very affordable food for the daily life of the Portuguese. We are talking about a bill between 10 to 12 euros so that the Portuguese can consume and eat well. In addition, we have our standardization capacity. The food that the Portuguese eat in Lisbon will be the same in Porto and in the Algarve. It will be the same food, the same dishes and the same products. In other words, they can travel to Portugal and eat safely. 

For the next two years, we have in mind 20 operations, so we are talking about around 150 jobs

What can you offer differently on your menu? 

The best-selling dish is the 'create your salad', because people like to mix the ingredients they want. When we think about our portfolio, 37% of sales are salads. Then 33% of sales are wraps. We have two large categories, and then we have our bowls, with a rice base, and we add protein: salmon, chicken, meat and vegan. And there are also the crepes, which are very popular in Brazil. And we also have the sandwiches, with three recipes, which I believe the Portuguese market will like, because there is a habit of eating sandwiches. It is a menu that will cover from the youngest to the most mature. 

We do not work with fried foods, there is nothing fried and we do not have an exhaust fan. This is not only good for the employees, but also for the shopping centers

In terms of recruitment, what are Boali's plans for Portugal?

For the next two years, we have in mind 20 operations, so we are talking about around 150 jobs. That is, direct jobs. Today, in Brazil, Boali has a lower 'turn over' rating than the country's fast food. What does that mean? That the workers stay with us for a long time. Why does this happen? Because they have room for progression and a very clean operation.

When someone goes to a food production, they get very tired throughout the day. In our case, no, because we do not work with fried foods, there is nothing fried and we do not have an exhaust fan. This is not only good for the employees, but also for the shopping centers, which love our type of operation. Because it doesn't smell. That's an important thing.

These are the three main focuses of Boali's launch in Portugal. Lisbon, Porto and then the Algarve

In addition, we have the Boali university. Here I like to draw attention to the fact that it is a training job. People have training on a weekly basis. We are going to invest heavily in the training of these 150 jobs, not only for them to work at Boali, but also thinking about the future. We are going to invest in the knowledge of all employees. The qualification base that we are going to give will bear fruit for people in the post-Boali life. This training is one of the big differences that Boali will bring to the Portuguese market. 

You recently mentioned Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve. Are these the most interesting locations for Boali? 

We have mapped 26 commercial points throughout the country. Our visits are starting here in Lisbon, we are going to Porto this week and next week we have meetings scheduled in the Algarve. These are the three main focuses of Boali's launch in Portugal. Lisbon, Porto and