Located in the Havana municipality of Playa, this company of 39 workers, who have a great sense of belonging, operated as self-employed from 2015 to 2022, the year in which it became a MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) after the alliance of five partners.
Joel Begué, administrator and main shareholder, explained to Prensa Latina they sell sweets and bread made with shortcrust pastries, fat shakes, flaky and fermented pastries.
In addition, they offer high quality tartlets, muffins, leonesas, pancakes, pies, cakes, ham and cheese rolls, croissants, crabs, palm trees and breads: hamburger, baguettes, country with flax and sesame seeds, whole wheat, a great variety for customer delights.
They also have authorization to market other foods and beverages that are not manufactured by the MSME.
We import 80 percent of the raw materials used such as flour, chocolate, sugar, yeast and drinks. Many of these products are already on the market because they are purchased from companies based in the country, he commented.
In this regard, he added that they obtain them through importers such as Consumimport, Cubaexport, Alimpex and Serloven. The latter is the one we are using the most because it fits our needs, he pointed out.
According to the manager, the remaining 20 percent of the raw materials they use are inputs, boxes, cartridges, products they acquire in agricultural markets and through other forms of management producing cheese, yogurt, ham, chorizo, among which the MSME Vista Hermosa S.R.L. and the Sabino Pupo agricultural cooperative.
Assukkar products are billed in national currency at the sale point, with a five percent discount on all products, except drinks and cigarettes, for community high school students and people over 60 years of age.
They also do business with other firms of their type on the island such as Dulccisimo, Tentaciones, Tropicana, Bambole, Kdulce, and have signed contracts with state companies such as the Cuban Fund for Cultural Assets and Cimex.
Begué pointed out that they sell through the Supermarket and Cubisla digital platforms, while they are working on creating their own website to make direct sales, at better prices and that will increase income.
Currently we only have this location, which we have expanded. We are processing another one in order to have a second point of sale and increase storage capacity. This would allow us to do the contracting first-hand and buy larger volumes of raw materials at cheaper prices, which in the end will have an impact on offering better prices to the population, he said.
For entrepreneurs, the financial issue is a challenge because the capabilities available to them, though increased, are still limited. One of the reasons is that they invoice in Cuban pesos, a currency that is not ideal for imports.
They are currently in the process of quality certification by the laboratories of the Ministry of the Food Industry, and in terms of safety they guarantee it through Servicios de Seguridad Integral S.A. (Seisa).
Joel Begué stressed that the company has been growing and among its achievements is also having its accounting certified by the Canec S.A. Economic Consulting. We are satisfied with what we have achieved and we always have new goals to achieve, he said.
We do serious work, we respect standards established by the Government and we are identified as a site of quality products, with high standards, that adapts to changes and the needs of customers, who are the reason for our work, he stated.
ef/ro/mbz/may
