(Photo: Jolpe/Wikimedia) Anyone who visits Belo Horizonte and does not enter the Central Market cannot say that they have already visited the city. Founded in 1929, this market is a gastronomic and cultural center that offers, among its more than 400 stores, artisanal cheeses, sweets and the most typical dishes of Minas Gerais.Between one cheese bread and another, a dish of pork or liver with gelatin, a traditional lemonade or a dose of the best cachaças from Minas Gerais, each visitor has the opportunity to discover how lively and relevant the market is. between
This authentic experience of BH's daily life and its constant hustle and bustle are a different birthday gift. Celebrating 95 years, one of the city's main postcards will have a new official sponsor. In an unprecedented partnership with the KTO bookmaker, it will also include a more extensive calendar of events, signage modernization, content for social networks and naming rights actions.
This agreement is the first of its kind on the market. It aims to further enhance the history of the shopping mall and its importance for Minas Gerais culture and tradition.
“The Central Market is a case of management that harmonizes the traditional and the contemporary”, states Ricardo Campos Vasconcelos, President Director of the Central Market. “We will celebrate this moment by starting the centenary in 2029,” he said.
The investment in the arrival of KTO from Minas Gerais to the central market reinforces investments that the company has already made in the state. Investing increasingly in Minas Gerais, the platform has been a strong supporter of local content creators and recently became a sponsor of the Minas Tênis Clube basketball and volleyball teams.
A partnership with Mercado Central guarantees KTO access to certain commercial properties. Among them, exclusivity in the segment and emphasis on organizing events on site.
“KTO is very proud to contribute to the preservation and appreciation of one of Belo Horizonte’s greatest heritage sites. This movement further reaffirms our commitment to Minas Gerais and the people of Minas Gerais”, highlighted Cassio Filter, the company's Country Manager in Brazil.
Another example of recent investments in the Belo Horizonte hypercenter are the negotiations for the rights to use the name Mercado Central, the revitalization of the hypercenter. The area is undergoing a recent process of recovery and occupation of previously almost abandoned sites.
The movement has occurred since 2018, when Mercado Novo began to receive new and more modern establishments on the upper floors, which had been vacant for years. After the pandemic, the same situation worsened around Praça Raul, which is close to the two markets. The bars in this region attract young people from Belo Horizonte, always eager for something new.
The business is similar to that of neighboring Minacentro, which shares a block of Avenida Augusto de Lima with Mercado Central. In June, the traditional event space in Belo Horizonte signed a naming rights agreement with a Minas Gerais company in the tourism and corporate events sector, known as Beefly Minascentro.