Revolutionizing How People Buy Cooking Gas
Upgas | Energy
Brazil's Cooking Gas Market
The cooking gas market is essential in Brazil, serving more than 70% of households — especially lower-income families who rely on 13kg LPG cylinders for cooking. With approximately 68,000 resellers, distribution is widespread, while piped gas accounts for only 15% of residential consumption.
The price of gas cylinders directly impacts low-income family budgets, highlighting the importance of programs like Vale-Gás and price competition among resellers to promote accessibility and sustainability.
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Upgas
Upgas was created to simplify gas purchases, making the market more efficient and competitive. Through the app, users find nearby resellers, compare prices, choose the best option, and pay directly — with total convenience.
For resellers and distributors, the platform offers sales management, logistics with optimized routes, and performance data — improving inventory, pricing, and profitability. This benefits consumers while strengthening smaller resellers by increasing demand.
Our Approach
VX charted a strategic path to understand the specific journey and profile of the gas-buying customer.
Understanding the user
Given the diversity of users who regularly purchase gas, it was essential to map key aspects of their buying journey — including socioeconomic profile, purchase triggers, and technology limitations, particularly the type of mobile device used.
Hypotheses & pre-validation
Based on this understanding, we developed hypotheses to make gas purchasing more practical and affordable. These were pre-validated through user interviews, confirming the most promising assumptions.
Iterative development
In an innovative project like Upgas, we adopted an iterative process — prioritizing essential features for rapid testing and applying agile methodologies intensively to ensure agility and continuous adaptation.
MVP
The first version of the app launched with a focus on basic, high-value features. The MVP achieved initial success but also revealed challenges — such as compatibility issues with certain phone models — and demand for more advanced features.
Continuous evolution
With the app in use, a multidisciplinary team embedded with the client captured and prioritized real user needs, enabling our development team to continuously adjust and expand the product.
Business transformation in a highly competitive landscape
Starting from a local cooking gas distributor and one entrepreneur's vision, Upgas became the dominant player — scaling nationally and aggregating hundreds of distributors serving hundreds of thousands of users.
In a landscape where competing apps are heavily funded, Upgas has stood out with triple-digit annual growth.
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