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" We saw an opportunity to position the most recognized Colombian brands in the United States and we have been focusing on that ever since. Today we operate in more than 20,000 stores where we distribute products such as panelitas, arepas, chocorramos, mazamorra, arequipe (caramel) and more than a hundred SKU&rsquo s that previously could only be bought in Colombia,&rdquo says Julio Barberi, president of Barberi International and a native of Colombia.
The rapid growth and ability to expand the product portfolio was driven by several factors one of them being the availability to participate in at least a dozen Business Matchmaking Forums organized by PROCOLOMBIA, becoming one of the companies in the U.S. with the highest participation rate in this type of event.
" The first Matchmaking Forum we attended was at the Miami Intercontinental Hotel in 2004. It was truly a great experience: we met with several vendors and we started doing business with Colombian companies that we still buy from to this day,&rdquo says Julio Barberi.
After this meeting, Barberi has been a part of other events in Bogota, Cartagena, the Coffee Cultural Landscape, Houston, Chicago and New York, where they have linked with suppliers from around the country. " We have business relationships with companies like Pasabocas Patty (plantain chips), Pronal (cheese snacks), Bavaria / Mundiproductos (Pony Malta), Colombina (candies and cookies), Súper de alimentos (Supercoco), Doña Paula (canned), Fruticol (snacks), Colfood (panela *a type unrefined sugar cane product), Alpina (arequipes and oats) and many others. The experience in the Business Matchmaking Forums has been extremely beneficial and a crucial growth tool,&rdquo states the president of Barberi International.
