Federico is a beneficiary of the PFAM who uses his own funds to acquire capital goods, expand the premises of the beneficiaries of the aforementioned Program and others. This initiative is aimed at micro-enterprises in the food, beverage, cosmetic, perfume, household and related sectors.
The Program has Non-Reimbursable Competitive Funds for Obtaining Establishment and Product Registrations, for a reference amount of Gs. 50 million on average. This year, some 50 micro-enterprises agreed to purchase fixed assets, building adaptation, professional services, fees and agencies, with “La Estación-Pizzas” being one of the beneficiaries.
“We started by offering catering for events, and we go to companies and homes, for different events, whether corporate or family, with thin-crust pizzas for the grill. We also sell vacuum-packed frozen pizzas at different points of sale, one of them being the Biggies chain in about 25 locations, and the goal is to expand to other locations, taking into account that they have more than 100 points of sale,” he said. the dynamic microentrepreneur.
Federico already aims to reach different commercial chains in Asunción and Greater Asunción, and to later advance to other parts of the country.
“Officially we have been in the business for three years, but the idea is about 4 years old, and it was born with my family. With my brothers we are constantly working and we have the support of my parents. This is how we identified an underserved segment in grilled pizza catering. When people wanted to celebrate an event, they opted for the asado, not finding other options. For this reason, we thought that pizza could be a good option, and it was very well received by customers”, he recalls the beginnings of his flourishing entrepreneurship.
“Fede”, is a young Marketing graduate by profession, and a born entrepreneur by conviction, and remembers that at school he carried out several projects that sought to generate solutions either through products or through services.
“I consider myself an enterprising person, always looking for new options for the business, seeing what they do in other countries, cities, in terms of what can be done to offer, mainly to solve problems, and that is why it had a very good acceptance of this undertaking. We found the solution for people who did not know of other options to celebrate their most important events. Our main objective is to provide convenience, that is what we sell through pizza”, he highlights.
THINK BIG
From the PFAM, a program to which he agreed, Federico said that it helped him too much, in addition to the prize he won, which consists of capital goods or adaptation of the premises, he valued the technical assistance provided. “I see the great value of the people within the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and of the associations that are working, because they are aware of the entrepreneurs, they seek how to help us, and they are aware of us,” he declared.
“One learns from people who have been in the field for years, and we also learn from colleagues, because we are several entrepreneurs from different cities and different fields, who assist in networking. I feel supported by the MIC, and I always comment on the warmth of its staff, since we applied and throughout the process, for all of us who compete, and once we win, even more so. It is a long-term alliance that in the end benefits all Paraguayans, and as entrepreneurs, in addition to fulfilling our dream, since one begins dreaming, it is to generate jobs for Paraguayans, and dignify them. It is a joint work that goes for a long time. For this reason, we motivate other entrepreneurs to think big because there are opportunities here, at the country level, as well as internationally”, he stressed.
Federico said that he is 100% dedicated to the business, because he knows the competition and knows the importance of marketing to differentiate himself from other products. In addition, he is in charge of promoting alliances and sales strategies, in order to position the brand, using social networks and also launch events. “We know that there are other pizza companies nationwide, and the marketing part is very important and how we differentiate ourselves. One of my main tasks is to think about alliances and sales strategies, to position the La Estación brand. This is how we give a lot of focus to social networks, mainly Instagram, but also when we have a milestone, a new product launch or some achievement, we hold events where we invite many people, so that they get to know and taste the pizzas. , to then comment on the products by word of mouth, which is always important”, he revealed some of his promotion and sales tactics.
CONSTANT LEARNING
The microentrepreneur, an example of entrepreneurship, maintained that in the beginning, culinary art was not a well-known field for him, but he learned in the day-to-day work and from the hands of expert people, taking a liking to him.
“I am learning. Obviously when you’re working all day, you get a taste for it and learn. We have one person, a gastronomy technician who works with us, and it becomes much easier when we have people who have a lot of knowledge. We are five in my family and between two or three members we work more actively. However, we have four people who are working, two of them in production and a delivery manager, and depending on the events, we have the workforce of key personnel for the catering service (grills, cooks). It all depends on the event we have”, added the young owner of La Estación.
He indicated that after accessing the PFAM, they hired two more people in the business. “We are preparing to enter new markets and create new marketing plans”, he highlighted in this regard.
From the customer segment, he commented that there are two, those for the catering service, and the one that corresponds to those who like to take the product to enjoy with the family. “The catering is more festive, it is focused on young people aged 25 and older, who are generally the ones who celebrate their birthdays and/or different events. As for frozen pizzas, the item is focused on families, as a rich and tasty option and above all economical to share in the family nucleus, ”she stressed.
“The world of frozen foods is huge, and we are very focused on that. Today they are pizzas, but in the future we will surely have different top quality products. Currently, we are focused on being able to scale with the business to reach more points in the country, and once we have acceptance, we want to target different countries in the region”, he added.
PFAM, INTENDED FOR MSMEs
The PFAM is intended for micro, small and medium-sized companies that must meet certain basic requirements: minimum seniority of 1 year in the Single Taxpayer Registry (RUC); have the current MIPYMES Certificate or Certification of Associative Organizations of MIPYMES, issued by the Vice Ministry of MIPYMES; property in the name of the individual or legal entity, excluding in cases of request for investment in improvement and/or adaptation of infrastructure of the establishment; rental agreement and/or assignment of usufruct, for a period of at least 2 years, for cases of request for investment in equipment, machinery; not have judicial and police records, among others for the contestants to the program.
