Barracuda – a hotel group that mixes Bahia’s breeziness with Swedish elegance

0:13Hello and welcome to the Monaco Weekly. I'm Fernando Augusto Pacheco, and on today's show I head to the beautiful seaside town of Itacaré, in the northeast of Brazil. There I had the pleasure to speak with Brazilian hotelier Juliana Peguoto, CEO and co-founder of the Barracuda Hotel Group.

0:37Juliana Peguoto, CEO and co-founder of Barracuda. It's a place that I had the pleasure to visit. So very nice talking to you, Juliana. My first question to you, I know we're both from Sao Paulo here, but you have a very long experience with the wonderful city of Itacaré, right? Can you tell us about the beginnings? I mean, where did this kind of, how did you fell in love with Itacaré? And now, of course, Barracuda as well. So actually, it is kind of love story because I was a designer in Sao Paulo. So I worked as a designer for a few years, but at that time I was very young and I really wanted to have other experiences in life.

1:22So I was kind of open to see where I should go and what I should do to find my real purpose in life. So I came to Takaré actually for vacation, you know, to stay one week in 2004, October 2004. I know it sounds crazy, but I met my husband the day after, you know. So he's a local guy. His name is Daniel. He's a local guy. So he was born here, you know. So he has been living his whole life here in Itzacare. And right away, you know, we were together. We were discovering so many nice things together. And I started learning about another way of life, you know. So for me, it was very tough to leave after one week because I just want to discover more.

2:12So at that time, since I was a designer, I was thinking about maybe going to Europe or doing something else outside Brazil. But at that time, I said, why not stay in Brazil and learning more inside my country? Because the philosophy, the way of life in Itacaré is so different from São Paulo. that is so respectful for the nature, for the people. And I just love to live this journey. It's a very special city, indeed. I have to say, I've only been once and I was like, wow, you know, the beaches, the nature, you know. But also it's very nice that you have a space like Barracuda, which is now a very respected hotel, but also very connected to the environment.

3:01I know, for example, I was reading a statistic, Is this true that 80 % of your stuff is made from locals, right? Yes, because, you know, after a while, I was leaving the roots of Itacaré. I have a local family. And the only way to go was to co-create, to collaborate with the community. So actually, the sustainability we see in Barracuda, it was not an afterthought, you know. It was actually the pillar and the decision-making, you know, fact. that I was bringing with me all the way until now. So the only way for me to develop a hospitality project was to collaborate with local people to be able to offer the best of Itacaré because they are the real host and the real protagonist of this story.

3:51And at the same time, I was sure that I was going to give back to the community, the community that was so nice with me. I welcomed you to the city itself. So, very. Remind us, Juliana, when did Barracuda actually opened as a hotel? I know I want to talk also about the expansion. You have another one called Barracuda Boutique, but tell us about the first one. When did it open? This one, the Barracuda Hotel and Villas, opened in 2020. However, Barracuda Hotel and Villas is the way it is because of Barracuda Boutique, you know. So everything started when, in 2005, me and Daniel, we met a Swedish group of friends.

4:33And they were passing in Itakare because of surfing, nature. They really wanted to find this, like, you know, retreat, you know, to be here two, three times per year. So they fall in love with Itakare and they start dreaming about having a house for themselves, you know, to be here a few times of the year. So we together, we understood that we could do something, you know, very special together. But actually nothing started to be a business, you know. So I think this is also part of our DNA where we started from a dream and in a very organic way, we end up by doing a hospitality project because it was the only way to make this happen and also sustain this for the future.

5:19So it took many years for us to develop this project. So Barracuda Hotel and Villas took 15 years to be built, not the construction itself, but for us to mature our project. We found that plot in the Fisherman Bay and we said, let's build a small house, a small guest house for ourselves to be able to live Itacaré while we mature and build our dream on the hill. So we opened Barracuda Boutique in 2013. And for many years, until 2020, when we opened Barracuda Hotel and Villas, we were experiencing Itacaré in this small guest house, which we call Barracuda Boutique right now. So the idea there was really to understand, you know, what we want to do and how we want to do.

6:10So it was like a lab. we were very focused in sharing the best hospitality to our group and to our guests but at the same time do this in co-creation with the local community so after a few years we look at the original project for the villas, for the houses and then we were sure that we should include a barracuda boutique hotel in the middle of the houses to be the heart and the soul and to sustain this for the future And then we understood that what we were doing was actually a very unique and independent hospitality project. And Juliana, I want to ask as well, you mentioned the Swedish investors.

6:54So in terms of design and perhaps even culturally, do you see Barracuda as kind of when Bahia meets Sweden as well? And what does that mean to you? Yes, for sure. I think I found myself being a bridge between Sweden and Bahia. So what I try to do is really to, you know, to consider the fusion of both cultures in everything we do. You know, so in terms of architectural design, we use Brazilian materials, Brazilian designers, Brazilian artisans, but in a more minimalistic, elegant way. So for sure, the Swedish lifestyle and also design, it's a signature in everything we offer to our guests. And both quite laid back, I guess, right?

7:57Bahia and Sweden, they have the Fika, right? And Bahia, of course, you know, has the fame of being quite relaxed and appreciating life. Yeah, there is, we have even a t-shirt in our little shop in the hotel with the word, I don't know if I will spell 100 % correct, but free Luftslieb, you know. So it's this like living outdoor. So it can be a picnic, it can be a coffee, it can be a trail, but really enjoying the outdoor life, the simplicity. And I used to say after many years living with Swedish and Bahian that actually both cultures give a lot of value to the essence, but the language they speak is completely different.

8:48So the challenge is to create a common language between both cultures. But actually, both, you know, people, both cultures really likes the essence of everything. One curiosity, I mean, when it comes to your guests at the hotel, I mean, are there a lot of Brazilians or do you see actually a lot of foreigners, perhaps from Sweden? Do you see any interesting, you know, what countries actually go and visit Barracuda? It is a cocktail of people. And this is what we like. When we opened Barracuda Hotel in Villains 2020, then, you know, the dream became a big project. And we are very ambitious, ambition in a good way.

9:32And we understood that we wanted to create a destination itself. So we want people, you know, in many places know that we are here, you know. So we are positioning Barracuda globally right now. So we really want to put this in the map. And little by little, we see more foreigners coming. So a lot of Europeans, they connect right away with the concept, the whole project. And now more and more Americans are also discovering Barracuda, which is super, super nice. We have a mix of Brazilians and international travelers. Nice cocktail, as you said. And talking about cocktails, you know, I've been to Baracu.

10:15I did not stay there, but I did eat there and I had a great time. I think food is quite a big deal there as well. So tell us about the food offering. Like everything we do, we try to do with local resources and also in a way that we build resilience in the systems. So we work a lot with local fishermen, local farmers. Mainly we have 100 % of the cooks in Barracuda from Itacaré. And most of the ingredients comes also from Itacaré. So it's quite simple, the food, but it's super fresh and it's super healthy in the end. Our main goal is to generate well-being through everything we do. So food is a really important part of the whole experience.

11:04If I was there at the bar right now on a nice summer evening, what should I drink there, Barracuda? Oh, if it's not a coconut, which is super simple, but it's the best, you know, non-alcoholic drink. That's also very good. I'm tempted. Yes, our guests, they really like the combination of the cocoa honey, we call mel de cacao in Portuguese, and the gin, you know. So if you mix the gin with the cocoa honey, it becomes a very, very nice and fresh cocktail by the pool. And Juliana, I just want to see, looking ahead, are you excited? You know, as I said, you told me about this organic expansion of Barracuda.

11:47But how do you see in terms of even hospitality in Brazil as well? Because you want to put Itacaré on the map as well. Some people still don't know this magical place in Brazil. So how do you see next year for Barracuda? We took a decision in 2021 to do an extension of the hotel because inside we have 26 hectares of rainforest where we are using only 10 % of the area for our project. We still had at that time five plots more inside the same area. So we are building 19 suites more. They are very special. They are around 90 square meters, very integrated with nature. It's very special for couples.

12:34And we are also launching right now, in 10 days, a very beautiful villa. A very beautiful villa that will have its own name. And this is going to be super special. It's a masterpiece. So it still has the same pillars as the other Barracuda villas, sustainability, design, textual and hospitality. But we kind of elevate all these pillars when we did this new villa. Out of curiosity, when will this expansion happen, the extra 19 suites? The 19 suites will be ready in the end of 2026. So probably it will be available for booking early 2027. I think after we finish the new suites and we launch this new villa, then the project here in our area is complete.

13:28So we want to go together with other very beautiful and sustainable projects in Brazil in order for us to support the destination and develop as a touristic place, but always connected to sustainability and the beauties of Itacaré. That's fantastic. And Juliana, I was thinking here, another connection between Sweden and Bahia is good music, right? I think that's a good point. That's a good connection there. Yes, we have very nice owners. So all these villas that we have around the hotel, they are private owned by the Swedish families. We build everything together. So the owners really likes to come.

14:11So it's a very special community, but they are super happy to open their villas to our guests. It's a very special and unique development, for sure. Fantastic. Muito obrigado, Juliana. Foi um prazer. It was a pleasure talking to you. Thank you, Juliana. For more information on the hotels, go to thebaracuda.com.br. I can't wait to go there soon. I'm Fernando Augusto Pacheco. The show is edited by Elliot Greenfield. Thank you for listening.