A family business from Córdoba sent one tonne of mozzarella and provoleta by air. The shipment will test demand in the UAE’s premium food market.
Argentine family business Lácteos Capilla del Señor has sent its first shipment of lactose-free cheese to Dubai: one tonne of mozzarella and provoleta flown under its Lombarde brand. The company plans to use the trial consignment to assess import procedures and interest among potential customers in the premium dining market.
The producer, based in Villa María in Córdoba province, has exported since 2007. Owner Álvaro Ugartemendía told La Nación that the company shipped more than 600 tonnes of lactose-free products in 2025 and 2026, mainly to Peru, Brazil and Paraguay. If the UAE trial succeeds, the company expects to increase volumes and move to container shipments.
Entering Dubai presents a challenge for a small producer because European cheeses are well established there. The company hopes to stand out with a lactose-free line developed with Argentina’s National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI). Ugartemendía said its process makes the product without adding the enzyme commonly used to break down lactose.
The company’s export history is rooted in its family dairy farm. Ugartemendía is the third generation to produce milk and the first to process it industrially. He said the factory was created to add value to the family’s milk. The owner says the company became the first Argentine firm to ship cheese to China in 2011. It has since sold to South Korea, Russia, Colombia, Venezuela and Chile. Vietnam is its next target.
The Dubai shipment also has a family connection: Ugartemendía’s grandfather supplied milk to Natalio Alba, whom the family identifies as the creator of provoleta, and their farm stood next to Alba’s. La Nación also reports that the company has operated without managers or supervisors since 2018, with employees taking responsibility for their own work.