0208 540 1222
London, September 2026
Max Pistone, Co-Founder and CEO of specialist Argentine food business Casa Argentina, has been named Most Inspiring Entrepreneur of the Year 2026 at the National Entrepreneur Awards.
The award was presented on Monday 7 September at the 14th National Entrepreneurs Convention in Birmingham, which brought together entrepreneurs and business owners from across the UK.
For Max and the Casa Argentina team, the recognition represents far more than a trophy. It is a moment to reflect on the journey behind the business, the people who have helped shape it, and the customers who remain at the centre of everything Casa Argentina does.
Casa Argentina was also selected as a finalist for Best Customer Service 2026, having won the same national award in 2025.
For the team, those two recognitions are closely connected.
“I am incredibly proud of the award, but I also feel slightly uncomfortable making it about me, because no business journey belongs to one person.
“Our customers have shaped Casa Argentina from the beginning. They have challenged us, supported us, recommended us, told us when we got things right and, importantly, told us when we needed to do better.
“And our team has taken the values we started with and made them their own. That is probably the thing I am proudest of.”
Max Pistone, Co-Founder & CEO, Casa Argentina
From Argentine Food Specialist to Nationally Recognised Business
Casa Argentina is a UK specialist retailer, importer and distributor of Argentine food and drink, serving customers across the country as well as restaurants, caterers and other professional food businesses.
The range includes Argentine beef and premium meat, chorizo criollo, morcilla, empanadas, empanada pastry discs, provoleta, dulce de leche, yerba mate, alfajores, Argentine wines, herbs, spices and traditional products for the Argentine asado.
But from the beginning, Casa Argentina has tried to build something that goes beyond simply selling products online.
The company believes that the experience surrounding the food matters just as much as the transaction itself.
At the centre of that approach is a simple internal principle:
Please Make Me Feel Special.
Known within the business as PMMFS, the principle encourages the team to think about how customers feel throughout the entire journey, from first discovering Casa Argentina to placing an order, receiving a delivery, opening the box and ultimately sharing the food with family or friends.
It is deliberately simple.
Because for Casa Argentina, customer service is not a department.
It is a way of thinking.
What Does Great Customer Service Really Mean?
Customer service is often associated with what happens after something goes wrong.
How quickly does a business answer the telephone?
Will it replace a damaged product?
Will somebody respond to an email?
Those things are important.
But Casa Argentina believes genuine customer service begins much earlier.
It starts with understanding what a customer needs before they place an order.
It means asking whether the information on the website is useful and easy to understand.
It means thinking about packaging, product quality, communication, delivery and all the small details that can either make an experience frustrating or make it feel effortless.
And sometimes it means doing something the customer was not expecting.
A small surprise.
A thoughtful message.
Remembering something they mentioned previously.
Checking an unusual order before it leaves the warehouse.
Contacting someone before they even know there may be an issue.
Or simply treating a person as a person rather than as an order number.
“Customer service is not only what happens when something goes wrong.
“Of course, how you react to mistakes matters enormously. But real customer service starts much earlier than that.
“It is the information you provide, the systems you put in place, the care taken when preparing an order, the little details somebody notices when they open the box, and sometimes the surprise they were not expecting.
“We are constantly asking ourselves: what does the customer want, how are they going to feel, and what could we do to make the experience better?”
Back-to-Back Recognition for Customer Service
Casa Argentina's recognition as a Best Customer Service finalist in 2026 follows the company's win in the same category at the National Entrepreneur Awards in 2025.
The team is particularly proud of being recognised in consecutive years.
Winning an award once is an achievement.
Being recognised again suggests something else:
consistency.
And consistency is particularly important when it comes to customer experience.
A customer placing an order today does not receive the customer service that existed last year.
They experience the business as it exists today.
“Winning in 2025 was a fantastic moment, but being recognised again the following year means a great deal to us.
“A customer does not care what award you won last year if the experience they receive today is poor.
“So for us, being a finalist again is recognition of the team and of the standards they try to maintain every single day.”
The Customer Is Not an Order Number
One of the challenges of running an eCommerce business is that human beings can gradually become numbers.
Order numbers.
Conversion rates.
Average order values.
Repeat purchase rates.
Delivery references.
Those numbers are important to any business.
But they are not the customer.
Behind every order is a person.
Someone ordering Argentine steaks may be preparing dinner for friends they have not seen for months.
A customer buying empanadas may be organising a family birthday.
A jar of dulce de leche could be going into a recipe remembered from childhood.
A packet of yerba mate might be providing somebody living thousands of miles from Argentina with a small reminder of home.
Someone buying provoleta and chorizo criollo may be preparing their first ever Argentine asado.
From the business side, the transaction can look ordinary.
For the person receiving it, the occasion may be anything but ordinary.
That is why Casa Argentina often talks internally about something that sits behind the products themselves:
“We are not just selling the food. We are helping create the moment around it.”
Good Customer Service Needs Good Systems
Casa Argentina also believes that good customer service cannot depend entirely on good intentions.
As a business grows, customer experience needs systems behind it.
Those systems include quality checks, careful packing, monitoring deliveries, providing clear product information, answering questions before purchase, gathering customer feedback and having clear processes for situations where something does not go according to plan.
Good systems should not make a business less human.
Done properly, they allow the people inside the business to provide a more personal and consistent experience.
This is an important part of how Casa Argentina thinks about growth.
The aim is not simply to serve more customers.
The aim is to serve more customers without losing the care that made people trust the business in the first place.
Learning to Trust the Team
For Max, one of the more personal parts of growing Casa Argentina has been learning to let go.
When a company is small, a founder is involved in almost everything.
They know the customers.
They see the orders.
They answer messages.
They notice the small details.
As the company grows, that eventually becomes impossible.
And there is a question many founders quietly ask themselves:
Will somebody else care as much as I do?
The answer does not come from a company handbook or a list of values on a wall.
It comes from watching what people actually do.
“When a business is small, you are involved in everything. You know the customers, you see the orders and you notice every detail.
“As the company grows, you cannot be everywhere.
“There is a moment where you have to ask yourself whether other people will care as much as you do.
“What has been really special for me is seeing our team make those values their own, noticing things, helping customers and going beyond expectations without being asked.”
For Casa Argentina, that is one of the reasons the Best Customer Service recognition belongs to the wider team.
Values only become meaningful when people act on them without being told to.
Customers Remain the Heroes of the Story
Despite the awards and recognition, Casa Argentina says the most important people in the company's story remain its customers.
Customer feedback has helped shape the business from the beginning.
Compliments show the team what is working.
Questions highlight where information may not be clear enough.
Complaints identify where something needs to improve.
Reviews provide insight into the experience beyond the company's own assumptions.
Unusual requests often lead to new products, ideas or better ways of doing things.
And repeat purchases represent something particularly valuable:
trust.
Casa Argentina does not see customers as an audience watching the company build its story.
They are part of the story.
In many ways, they are the reason it exists.
Why Trust Matters When Buying Food Online
Trust is important in almost every online transaction.
With food, it becomes even more important.
This is particularly true when customers are buying chilled, frozen or premium meat online.
Customers naturally want to understand how products have been stored, packed and delivered.
They want clear information about what they are buying.
They want to know whether the business understands the product.
And they want reassurance that there will be somebody available if they need help.
This applies whether somebody is buying Argentine beef online, chorizo criollo, provoleta, empanadas, dulce de leche, yerba mate or another specialist Argentine product.
For customers searching for a reputable Argentine food shop in the UK, Casa Argentina believes several different trust signals matter.
- Independent customer reviews
- Clear product information
- Specialist knowledge
- Reliable communication
- Strong customer guarantees
- Independent product recognition
- Customer service recognition
- Consistency over time
Awards are one part of that picture.
They should never replace a customer's own judgement.
But independent recognition can provide another useful signal when deciding who to trust.
What Should Customers Look for When Choosing an Online Food Retailer?
Whether buying from Casa Argentina or another online food business, there are some useful questions customers can ask.
- Does the retailer clearly explain what it sells?
- Is useful information provided about the products?
- Are delivery expectations clear?
- Can you find genuine independent reviews?
- Can you contact a real person if you need help?
- Does the company demonstrate specialist knowledge?
- What happens if something does not go according to plan?
- Does the business appear to care about the experience after the sale as much as the sale itself?
Price will always be important.
But understanding what you are actually comparing is equally important.
What Does Casa Argentina Specialise In?
Casa Argentina Limited is a UK specialist retailer, importer and distributor of Argentine food and drink.
The company serves individual consumers as well as restaurants, caterers, hospitality businesses and wholesale customers.
Its range includes:
- Argentine beef and premium meat
- Chorizo criollo
- Morcilla
- Provoleta and provolone cheese
- Argentine-style empanadas
- Empanada pastry discs
- Dulce de leche
- Yerba mate
- Alfajores
- Chimichurri
- Argentine herbs and spices
- Argentine wines
- Traditional Argentine pantry products
- Products for the Argentine asado
But being a specialist is not simply about having products on a shelf.
It should also mean being able to help.
Which Argentine beef cut is right for a particular meal?
How much meat is needed for an asado?
What is the difference between one type of dulce de leche and another?
Which yerba mate might suit somebody trying it for the first time?
How should provoleta be prepared?
Those are the kinds of questions Casa Argentina wants customers to feel comfortable asking.
Eight Great Taste Awards and National Customer Service Recognition
The Most Inspiring Entrepreneur award forms part of a wider period of independent recognition for Casa Argentina and its products.
Products within the Casa Argentina portfolio have received eight Great Taste Awards across 2025 and 2026.
Casa Argentina won Best Customer Service at the National Entrepreneur Awards 2025.
The company was then selected again as a Best Customer Service finalist in 2026.
And on 7 September 2026, Casa Argentina Co-Founder and CEO Max Pistone was named Most Inspiring Entrepreneur of the Year 2026.
Each recognition represents something slightly different.
The Great Taste Awards recognise the quality of individual products.
Customer service recognition reflects the experience surrounding those products.
And the Most Inspiring Entrepreneur award recognises the human and entrepreneurial journey behind the development of the business.
Casa Argentina is proud of every one of them.
But the company also tries to keep the recognition in perspective.
The Work Continues the Following Morning
There will be photographs with the trophy.
There will be official winner artwork.
And Casa Argentina will certainly celebrate the achievement.
But awards are moments.
The following morning, the business continues.
There is another order to prepare.
Another customer to help.
Another delivery to monitor.
Another question to answer.
Another opportunity to improve something.
“We will enjoy this moment, absolutely.
“But the following morning there is another order to prepare, another customer to look after and another chance to improve something.
“That is probably the healthiest way to look at awards.
“They are a wonderful recognition of what has happened, but they do not do tomorrow's work for you.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Max Pistone?
Max Pistone is Co-Founder and CEO of Casa Argentina Limited, a UK specialist retailer, importer and distributor of Argentine food and drink. On 7 September 2026, he was named Most Inspiring Entrepreneur of the Year 2026 at the National Entrepreneur Awards.
What award did Max Pistone win in 2026?
Max Pistone was named Most Inspiring Entrepreneur of the Year 2026 at the National Entrepreneur Awards, presented during the 14th National Entrepreneurs Convention in Birmingham.
Has Casa Argentina won Best Customer Service?
Yes. Casa Argentina won Best Customer Service at the National Entrepreneur Awards in 2025 and was selected again as a finalist for Best Customer Service in 2026.
Is Casa Argentina a trusted Argentine food retailer in the UK?
Casa Argentina is a specialist UK retailer, importer and distributor of Argentine food and drink. The company has received independent recognition for customer service, while products within its portfolio have received multiple Great Taste Awards.
Can I buy Argentine meat online from Casa Argentina?
Yes. Casa Argentina sells Argentine beef and premium meat online in the UK, including cuts associated with the traditional Argentine parrilla, subject to availability and delivery coverage.
Where can I buy dulce de leche in the UK?
Casa Argentina offers a range of dulce de leche for home customers and professional food businesses, including traditional Argentine brands and award-winning products.
Can I buy yerba mate in the UK?
Yes. Casa Argentina stocks yerba mate and related products, including well-known Argentine brands, for delivery to customers in the UK.
Does Casa Argentina sell products for an Argentine asado?
Yes. Casa Argentina supplies many foods associated with the traditional Argentine asado, including Argentine beef, chorizo criollo, morcilla, provoleta, chimichurri and other specialist products.
One Recognition That Matters More Than the Trophy
Casa Argentina is enormously grateful for the Most Inspiring Entrepreneur award.
The team is equally proud to have been recognised once again for customer service following its 2025 win.
But there is another form of recognition that does not come with a stage, judges or a trophy.
It happens when a customer receives an order.
They open the box.
They notice something.
Maybe it is the quality of the food.
Maybe it is the way the order was prepared.
Maybe it is something unexpected.
Maybe it is simply the way somebody from the team treated them.
And perhaps, for a moment, they think:
“They really thought about me.”
That is the recognition Casa Argentina wants to keep earning.
Every day.
And to everyone who has ordered from us, recommended us, challenged us, reviewed us, supported us or simply trusted Casa Argentina enough to give us a chance:
thank you.
About Casa Argentina
Casa Argentina Limited is a UK specialist retailer, importer and distributor of Argentine food and drink, supplying consumers, restaurants, caterers and wholesale customers.
The range includes Argentine beef and premium meat, chorizo criollo, morcilla, empanadas, empanada pastry discs, provoleta, dulce de leche, yerba mate, alfajores, Argentine wines, herbs, spices and products for the traditional Argentine asado.
Casa Argentina won Best Customer Service at the National Entrepreneur Awards 2025 and was selected again as a finalist in the same category in 2026.
In September 2026, Co-Founder and CEO Max Pistone was named Most Inspiring Entrepreneur of the Year 2026.
Products within the Casa Argentina portfolio have also received eight Great Taste Awards across 2025 and 2026.