Roberto Heredia and his story of bib entrepreneurship in Bucaramanga

His drive and desire to learn is what mainly characterizes him, he left Venezuela in 2019 after the acute crisis and cstarted selling ice cream in Bucaramanga, Like every pandemic, he had nothing to eat and managed to find daily sustenance for his family.

Then he worked for a month on a farm doing what he studied, but he was fired, he tried to get into the construction field and while working he saw a man on a bicycle selling Peto, a corn-based food, typical of the Caribbean Coast.
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He became curious about this business and began working for a man selling the product. Unfortunately, one day when he was handing out the drink There was a shootout in the Colorados neighborhood and he received a stray bullet in his leg.
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​Another inconvenience to continue being the head of the household of three children and his wife. Little by little he recovered, but the shooting prevented him from continuing to sell biking.

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After so many setbacks in finding daily food, he decided to become independent and create his own Peto recipe. Although at first it was complex to offer the drink in certain places in the commune 1 of Bucaramanga As a result of the territoriality, it acquired several clients due to the particularity of the flavor of this traditional food.

His mind has no limits, even though he is a person of limited resources and has what he needs to live, He is a driven and motivated man.. His vision is limitless, as he ensures that his product will soon be distributed in Supply Center, universities and several companies.

“I couldn’t continue pedaling like before on the tricyclehelp arrived from UNHCR and I bought a motorcycle, I said: I have to do something, I bought the fox and started. I also sold churros at one time, but there was a lot of competition, I liked the breastplate for that reason, because older people who know how to cook don’t know how to make breastplate, that’s why I decided to stay with the business, because there isn’t much competition, my goal is to patent my recipe,” he said in TIME.

He strategically changes routes to offer food, avoids visiting the same area for three days and thus makes himself missed by his customers. His best earning days are on Sundays when he goes to the spas.

The sugar, cinnamon, 700 grams of corn, powdered milk, liquid milk and costeño cheese are more or less 50 9-ounce glasses (the cup that sells the most on the street).

Sales depend on the mobility of the day, Don Roberto believes that there is traffic congestionsince this generates purchases at traffic lights, the fortnight also helps him and on those days he produces more quantities of wahoo.

“I try to ensure that it is not the same area every day, I stop going for three days so that they miss the bib, and that way I know that that sale is guaranteed on the fourth day. The hard days are Thursdays and Fridays and the best days are Sundays because that day I go to the spas, they go out cold and it makes them have a hot drink,” he said.

With few materials she raises her children, but with the assistance of the world food program of the united nations organization, unreceived a large benefit to be able to move his business forward. They gave him a gas stove, the possibility of attending classes to change his vision and perspective of his business.

Furthermore, he was benefited with a cash transfer assistance for six months that became 500 thousand pesos every 30 days who considered it as a ‘Gift from God’, He used that money to improve the mechanics of the motorcycle, to pay the rent, buy groceries and materials and utensils to cook the breastplate.

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​“It is a blessing, it guides me where it is and where to go. I appreciate the training. It opens my mind to registering the business, and for my bib to compete so that it can be given to children in schools. I want to carry out the bib proposal, instead of eating a dog, eat bib, it’s more nutritious.” .

His aspiration is for his business to be called ‘Peto the Santanderean’, in honor of his youngest son who is Colombian.

He has the idea of ​​continuing to make recipes based on the bib, Think about making a cake and bread. He says he is running several tests and asking neighbors about the taste of his new sales plans.

“The monopoly of the breastplate is held by all the guajiros, my son is going to take care of that, I have the aspiration that not only the departments of Colombia know about it, but also outside the country.”

Roberto and his family decided to leave Venezuela mainly for their son because he daily needed medications and treatments that were no longer provided in that country.

“Here the doctors have sent him treatments and medications. His diagnosis is severe mental retardation, he comes from Venezuela with severe epilepsy, he must have permanent treatment. He needs occupational therapy.”

He assures that he has had several difficulties regarding competition from those who sell wahoo, but to avoid problems he does not go through the same areas as his opponents.

“They don’t want to see me there in their area, but this is not micro-trafficking, it is food, because I have the right to go wherever I want, the authorities do not prohibit me.”

His motorcycle, which he acquired with the help of UNHCR, is a little old and has several mechanical failures, which is another challenge, since Sometimes it is damaged and you have to stop your work and find money for its repair.

“Sometimes I get a puncture, a tire is damaged and that’s where the sale ends, it’s time to go get it repaired, that limits the distance to sell everything.”

Another challenge It is the sun that is very strong and since his product is hot, people prefer something cold on hot days, taking into account that he goes out to sell at 2:00 pm (his best time is at 6:00 pm)

A different breastplate:

Low in sweetness, it’s not a cloying pinafore, good cinnamon and diced coastal cheese, one uncovers the pot and you notice the pieces of cheese in the pot, people like that detail, they like the piece of cheese, the corn , the competition took away the cheese.”

The UN offers food assistance that includes support six-month economic program for vulnerable and migrant populations.

“The population is shaping up, and in the case of employability they have to meet the requirement and that is to have the ppt active, we give them courses to strengthen entrepreneurship,” said Juan Carlos Guayacán Contreras, UN programs associate.

He indicated that in Bucaramanga they are attending 500 people a year and the city is an important niche that promotes integration.

The two stages of aid offered by the World Food Program are: Training stage and seed capital.

The first consists of the development of key theoretical and practical topics that were implemented through training that strengthened sales skills, use of finances, brand positioning and digital marketing, among others. These training tools allowed you to position your product in the market, improve your sales and generate savings alternatives.

Seed capital is the delivery of seed capital including equipment and kitchenware tools that will allow you to optimize time, increase productivity and keep your health in good condition, the objective of identifying these tools as priorities sought to potentialize your business.

Finally, Don Roberto says that, teamwork, faith in God and resilience They are the three key choices you have to move your family forward.

“I always tell God that I am the donkey, let him direct me, after every downhill there always comes an uphill, we are already seeing the exit of the tunnel, little by little we are gaining allies,” he says, proud of his life story.