Pa’Ya to Go: The Story of a Startup that started as a Bakery
By Kiara Rozas
Pa’Ya to Go was founded by David Alfandari in 1998. The startup business started with a small bakery where Alfandari used to bake pan de bonos (typical Colombian cheese bread). At the beginning he had a great impact, people from around the neighborhood were buying pan de bonos, which taste was so good that people used to take long drives just to have pan de bonos. That’s how it all started with word of mouth.
Then, Alfandari saw an opportunity when he realized that he had a huge demand for his product; and he decided to offer new products and pivot. David closed the bakery store and became a manufacturer. Currently, Pa’Ya to Go has 19 different baking products and 25 employees.
With 14 distributors, Pa’Ya to Go has become one of the biggest manufacturers of pan de bono in South Florida. According to Danny, Operations Manager in Pa’ya to go, they make approximately $2 million in revenue.
They distribute their products to supermarkets and convenience stores such as Publix, and 7 eleven. Currently, they are negotiating with Walmart. Danny mentioned that they were able to reach those companies by knocking doors and being perseverant. He said: “Everything is about dedication and always looking forward to take the next step”.
Even tough Pa’ya to go is a small company and they are growing fast, they make sure that they make the right decisions, as Danny mentioned: “We are selling bread, so we must sell a lot in order for us to have profit, and that’s why we must take care of every penny we spend, and always try to make an informed decision”. A great example of that effort is ttheir innovative packing machine. The demand they had was so high that they couldn’t keep up with the packing so they bought a packing machine, which help them to save money and time. Currently, they are sponsoring a group of FIU engineering students in their capstone project, so they can build a machine that will help them create the tequeño “cheese sticks”.
As part of their marketing David and Danny are always attending fairs to attract new customers customers, since the overall goal of Pa’Ya to Go is to expand their market and distribute their products across the U.S.
Overall Pa’Ya to Go is an amazing startup business to learn from. David had previous startups that failed, but the experience he gained is what inspired him to create Pa’Ya to Go. The lesson I got from this startup is that you must keep innovating, take a leap of faith and know when to pivot; and finally, don’t wait for business to knock on your door, but just go for it and look for new opportunities.
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