Emerging Opportunities for Food and Drink in Cuba

2 Min Read By Anthony Coppola

Cigar lovers have recently been rejoicing because for the first time in more than 50 years they can legally bring Cuban cigars into the United States. Make no mistake, America’s Cuba embargo has not been lifted. But the undeniable fact remains: U.S.-Cuba relations are opening up.

For Cubans, American-style fast food has been almost completely non-existent. As relations liberalize, there may be huge opportunities for American franchises.

Two important organizations within the U.S. government have diminished the effects of the Cuban embargo. The first is the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). They are the ones whose regulatory changes have made it easier for Americans to travel to Cuba and have allowed people to bring back up to $400 of items from Cuba including up to $100 of alcohol and tobacco. Unfortunately for the entrepreneurs out there, these items are only allowed for personal use. 

 

Perhaps more exciting to business owners are the…