Bom Sabor was born before it even had that name. In 1955the grandfather of the current vice-president, Marcio Appel, arrived in Brazil after the Second World War “with nothing”, but with an entrepreneurial spirit and a vision about the future of packaging. “My grandfather saw that in Europe medicines were already sold in packs while here in Brazil in small bottles. Our first customer was the Melhoral pill”, says the VP.
From packaging machines for medicines to leadership in the food sachets market, the company has experienced seven decades of changes. Many of them imposed by the country’s own history.
According to Marcio, in the early 90s, the company’s main product was packaging telephone cards. With the arrival of the phone card, the business disappeared from the map. “Overnight our main product simply ended. Entrepreneurship in Brazil is a very extreme sport. So, the company had to reinvent itself several times. We started with medicines, went through cosmetics until we reached what we are today”, he recalls.
It was Marcio’s mother who initiated the company’s biggest turning point when she created the Bom Sabor brand in 1994, focusing on individual food sachets. “With the end of telephone tokens, my mother said she no longer wanted to depend on a few customers. At the time, we were already making food sachets for other companies and big brands. So, we invested in this sector for good”, says Marcio. Today the company serves more than 8 thousand customers and is a leader in the sachets segment, such as kechup, sugar, sauces, and already has around 80 Skus in its portfolio.
The businessman participated in the program From Zero to Topwhich tells the stories of successful companies, and explained how Bom Sabor reinvented itself, professionalized the business and accelerated after the pandemic.
sachet empire
From pharmaceutical packaging to becoming a national leader in food sachets, Bom Sabor accumulated customers, managed to enter large chains and is now investing in regional expansion and customized products. The scale is impressive: “We produce 400 million sachets per month… almost two for every Brazilian. In one year, there are around 5 billion units”, reveals the company’s VP.
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Professionalization came with the input of a private equity fund, governance, advisory board and industrial modernization.
The pandemic period, in fact, turned a decisive page. Restaurants closed, but the company supplied hospitals. “We serve many field hospitals. Our team never stopped working. It was there that we saw Bom Sabor’s purpose: to feed millions of people”, says an emotional Marcio.
The post-pandemic result was surprising. The company has more than doubled in size since then. At the same time, the company verticalized production, invested in quality and achieved international certifications, which opened doors to large accounts.
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Today, Bom Sabor supplies chains like Bob’s and negotiates with companies like Nestlé, BRF and JBS, in addition to expanding its offering to customized sauces and its own line.
The future points to family consolidation and a long-term vision. “Our dream is to reach the fourth generation”, says the executive. IPO is not in the immediate plans. “We are very serious and don’t do anything crazy to grow.” The agenda now includes regional expansion, mainly in the Northeast, and strengthening the portfolio.
To find out more details about Bom Sabor’s entrepreneurial journey, see the full episode on . The program is available in its podcast version on the main streaming platforms such as , , , and
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About From Zero to Top
The Do Zero ao Topo podcast is a production of InfoMoney and brings, every week, the stories of prominent women and men in the Brazilian market to tell their story, sharing the biggest challenges faced along the way and the main strategies used in building the business.
