Aki Goes to Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

The world's most famous beach is now on Aki. Here's how we launched in Copacabana and what it means for the future of the platform.

2026-02-28 — Aki Team

Copacabana needs no introduction. Four kilometers of iconic beachfront, millions of visitors per year, and a vendor culture that is as much a part of Rio's identity as Carnival or the Cristo Redentor. Launching here was a dream — and a responsibility.

The Scale

Copacabana has one of the densest concentrations of informal vendors in Brazil. From the famous mateeiros selling iced mate to the women carrying handmade bikinis, from the corn-on-the-cob roasters to the elaborate açaí stands — the variety is extraordinary. Our task was to bring all of it onto one platform without disrupting the organic energy that makes the orla special.

Working with the Community

Before launching, we spent six weeks on the ground in Copacabana. We walked every block of the beachfront, talked to vendors, listened to their concerns, and learned about the existing informal hierarchies and territorial arrangements that govern the beach economy. We built the activation around what we found — not on top of it.

Launch Week

We launched during Carnaval week, when Copacabana was at maximum capacity. Over 200 vendors went live in the first week. Within 48 hours, the Aki app was being shared in local WhatsApp groups, recommended by tourists at the iconic Copacabana Palace hotel, and mentioned in two travel influencer posts with a combined reach of 400,000 followers.

What Rio Means for Aki

Copacabana is our most visible activation to date. It validates the model at the highest level of scale and visibility. If it works here — and it does — it can work anywhere in Brazil, and eventually anywhere in the world where a beach economy and an informal vendor community exist.

This is what Aki is for. This is why we build corridor by corridor.