Havanna
Product brand
UnclaimedArgentine confectionery manufacturer and café franchise operator best known for alfajores.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Havanna is an Argentine food manufacturer and café-chain operator whose identity is closely associated with alfajores, a traditional confection made from filled and coated biscuits. The company began in Mar del Plata in the late 1940s, when baker Benjamín Sisterna joined forces with Demetrio Elíades, owner of Confitería Havanna, and Luis Sbaraglini. Their initial objective was to produce alfajores that could compete with the established Gran Casino brand in the resort city. Havanna registered its brand in 1947, and its first products were sold in January 1948 from a refurbished former confectionery that had been converted into a factory. The founders developed the chocolate alfajor formula that became the basis of the company’s reputation. Additional varieties were introduced as demand grew, and the brand benefited from Mar del Plata’s large seasonal tourist population. By the 1950s, Havanna operated eight stores in the city. Its products became popular souvenirs for visitors and gradually acquired a broader association with Mar del Plata and Argentine food culture. During the 1960s, Havanna overtook Gran Casino as the leading alfajor seller in the city and later acquired that competitor’s business. Following the deaths of Sbaraglini in 1963 and Elíades in 1966, the company passed to descendants and shareholders. A major ownership change occurred in 1998, when Havanna was acquired by the Argentine investment firm Exxel Group. At that time, the business operated two industrial plants in Mar del Plata, a network of stores in Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires, and a substantial manufacturing operation. Exxel Group expanded the chain beyond its original home market, but the Argentine economic crisis of 1999–2002 placed the company under heavy financial pressure. In 2003, after debt increased substantially, Exxel Group sold Havanna to Grupo de Desarrollo y Gestión, commonly known as the DyG Group. Under DyG ownership, Havanna pursued international expansion, particularly across Latin America, while also establishing points of sale in the United States and Spain. The business developed beyond packaged confectionery through the Café Havanna concept, a branded café and franchise format serving coffee alongside alfajores, cookies, brownies, cakes, chocolate products, and dulce de leche desserts. This format provided direct retail access, reinforced the brand’s association with hospitality and tourism, and helped Havanna continue expanding even as parts of the Argentine restaurant sector faced difficult trading conditions. Manufacturing capacity was expanded with the opening of a new plant in Parque Industrial de Batán near Mar del Plata in December 2016. The facility was intended to increase production capacity and support the company’s domestic and international operations. By the late 2010s and early 2020s, Havanna had become a large franchise-led consumer brand, with hundreds of subsidiaries or sales locations across Argentina and overseas markets. Its commercial model combines industrial production of confectionery with franchised cafés and branded retail outlets. The company remains most strongly identified with alfajores, but its broader proposition encompasses Argentine café culture, dulce de leche-based desserts, gift products, and destination retail.
History
Havanna’s origins lie in the Argentine baking and confectionery trade of the 1930s and 1940s. Benjamín Sisterna, who had worked in bakeries in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, first collaborated with Luis Sbaraglini on a short-lived alfajor brand called Santa Mónica. Sisterna later moved to Mar del Plata, where he met Demetrio Elíades, the proprietor of Confitería Havanna, a Cuban-themed establishment in the city centre. The three men decided to establish a business focused on alfajores and to challenge Gran Casino, then a leading local producer. The Havanna name was registered in 1947. Production began in January 1948 in the former Confitería Havanna after the premises were renovated as a factory. The company’s chocolate alfajores became its defining product, and later variants broadened the range. Mar del Plata’s importance as a holiday destination gave Havanna an effective early distribution channel: visitors purchased the products as gifts and took them to other parts of Argentina. The brand consequently became associated both with the city and with a nationally recognizable Argentine specialty. Havanna had eight Mar del Plata stores by the 1950s. During the following decade it strengthened its position in the local market and surpassed Gran Casino. Havanna subsequently acquired Gran Casino’s business. The deaths of Luis Sbaraglini in 1963 and Demetrio Elíades in 1966 led to the company being managed by descendants and shareholders rather than by the original founding partnership. In 1998, Havanna was sold to Exxel Group for approximately US$85 million, according to contemporary descriptions of the transaction. The company then produced millions of dozens of alfajores annually at two Mar del Plata plants and operated stores in Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires. Exxel Group used the acquisition to expand Havanna beyond its original regional base and open stores in additional Argentine locations. The Argentine economic crisis that developed between 1999 and 2002 severely affected the business. By 2003, Havanna had accumulated substantial debt, and Exxel Group sold it for approximately US$5 million to Grupo de Desarrollo y Gestión, or DyG Group. Under the new ownership, the company pursued a more international growth strategy. It established commercial operations and points of sale in Latin American countries including Brazil, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador, and Venezuela, and also reached markets such as the United States and Spain. Retail cafés became a central part of Havanna’s business model. Café Havanna outlets combine coffee service with sales of the company’s packaged and freshly served confectionery. Typical café products include alfajores, lemon cookies, brownies, cakes, chocolate desserts, and dulce de leche specialties. The format was particularly important because it allowed Havanna to operate as both a packaged-food producer and a branded hospitality business. Much of the network was developed through franchising, including outside Argentina. The company invested further in manufacturing infrastructure during the 2010s. A plant opened in December 2016 at Parque Industrial de Batán near Mar del Plata, with the stated purpose of increasing capacity. By this period, Havanna had a substantial franchised-store network in Argentina and was producing more than 100 million alfajores annually according to published descriptions. Reports from 2020 described approximately 370 locations or subsidiaries, with most in Argentina and the remainder abroad. Havanna’s continuing identity rests on the combination of heritage, alfajores, dulce de leche, tourism-oriented gifting, and café retail.
- 2020
Large domestic and international network
[1]Published accounts described Havanna as operating roughly 370 locations, including about 250 in Argentina and 120 in other countries.
- 2016
Batán plant opens
[1]Havanna opened a new industrial facility in Parque Industrial de Batán near Mar del Plata to expand production capacity.
- 2003
Sale to DyG Group
[1]After the Argentine economic crisis and a significant increase in debt, Exxel Group sold Havanna to Grupo de Desarrollo y Gestión.
- 1998
Acquisition by Exxel Group
[1]Exxel Group acquired Havanna and began expanding the brand beyond Mar del Plata.
- 1960
Havanna overtakes Gran Casino locally
[1]During the 1960s, Havanna became the leading alfajor seller in Mar del Plata and acquired the Gran Casino business.
- 1950
Early Mar del Plata retail expansion
[1]By the 1950s, Havanna had expanded to eight stores in Mar del Plata and was becoming a prominent tourist-associated brand.
- 1948
Commercial production begins
[1]The founders began selling Havanna alfajores in January from a refurbished former confectionery converted into a factory.
- 1947
Havanna brand registered
[1]The Havanna alfajor brand was registered in Mar del Plata before commercial production began.
Products and positioning
A heritage Argentine confectionery and café brand built around premium-style alfajores, dulce de leche products, tourist gifting, and a recognizable café experience.
Confectionery · 1948
Havanna alfajores
Havanna’s core product line consists of filled biscuit confectionery, especially chocolate-coated alfajores associated with the company’s original Mar del Plata recipe. The range has expanded beyond the first chocolate variety into multiple formats and flavors. Alfajores function as everyday confectionery, café accompaniment, and tourist or gift products, making them central to both the brand’s manufacturing business and its retail identity.
Café and franchise retail
Café Havanna
Café Havanna is the company’s branded coffee-store format. Outlets serve coffee and other beverages alongside Havanna’s packaged products and a broader menu of cookies, brownies, cakes, chocolate desserts, and dulce de leche specialties. The format extends the brand from food manufacturing into hospitality and provides a franchise-based route to domestic and international distribution.
Desserts and confectionery
Dulce de leche and chocolate desserts
Havanna’s café and retail assortment includes desserts built around chocolate and dulce de leche, including cakes and other sweet preparations. These products support the café experience and complement the company’s signature alfajores, reinforcing its positioning as an Argentine confectionery and café brand rather than a single-product manufacturer.
Brand decisions
2016
Investment in Batán manufacturing plantStrategyBackground
Havanna needed additional capacity to support growth in alfajor production and its expanding franchise and export network.
Action taken
The company opened a new plant in Parque Industrial de Batán near Mar del Plata.
Aftermath
The facility was expected to increase production capacity by approximately 50 percent and support the company’s domestic and international operations.
2003
Sale to Grupo de Desarrollo y GestiónM&ABackground
The economic crisis in Argentina from 1999 to 2002 caused major difficulties for Havanna and increased its debt burden.
Action taken
Exxel Group sold Havanna to Grupo de Desarrollo y Gestión, also known as DyG Group.
Aftermath
DyG Group used the business as a platform for wider Latin American and overseas expansion.
Reported sale price. Approximately US$5 million (2003)
1998
Sale to Exxel GroupM&ABackground
Havanna was a well-established Mar del Plata confectionery business with manufacturing plants and stores in the city and Buenos Aires.
Action taken
The company was sold to Argentine investment firm Exxel Group, which pursued expansion outside Havanna’s original regional market.
Aftermath
The brand expanded its Argentine store network, but later encountered severe financial pressure during the national economic crisis.
Reported acquisition price. Approximately US$85 million (1998)
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