Sweet wrappers for Arab parties
The idea by Mirela Goi, which arose to increase her income, is working out. The sweet wrappers made by her on weekends already come to five countries, including the United Arab Emirates.
Marina Sarruf* marina.sarruf@anba.com.br São Paulo – Every weekend, Mirela Goi dedicates a good part of her time to creating sweet wrappers. The idea arose one year ago, when the Brazilian, who is in a wheelchair and dreams of visiting an Arab country, started her work as a hobby to help complete her family income. Motivated by an aunt, Mirela quickly learnt the technique for production of wrappers and set up a blog to promote her work. What she did not expect was for her sweet wrappers to reach tables in Portugal, Argentina, England, Australia an even the United Arab Emirates in little under a year.Press Release
Most of the wrappers are for wedding celebrations
Mirela describes the wrappers as paper flowers for sweets, as their shape is that of an open flower. With a cutting machine and finishing tool, the artisan manages to produce up to 1,200 wrappers per weekend.
With her blog on air, in December 2009, Mirela received her first international order from Portugal. The information for presentation of the blog is in seven languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Arabic. With the growth of demand, Mirela opened a company and started invoicing, as the orders, which were initially small, grew and exceeded 5,000 wrappers.
"I now have regular clients in Portugal. They are retailers who place orders every three months or so," said the businesswoman. According to her, most of the orders are for weddings.
To decorate the sweets at the party, Mirela makes little wrappers of several colours and prints. Last year, the businesswoman sold 300 silver and golden wrappers to a client in Dubai. The wrappers were shipped in boxes, each containing 50 units. Each export goes through the postal service, using the Exporta Fácil system. "The order got to Dubai in around 20 days," said Mirella.
In the Arab market, the businesswoman is already in contact with people in Tunisia, Lebanon, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. "The Arabs love pompous and sophisticated wedding parties. They are going to like my wrappers," said Mirela, who can't wait to have regular clients in the Arab world so that she may travel there to participate in fairs and events. "Maybe this way I will be able to fulfil my dream of visiting an Arab country," she said.
Mirela's dream is to visit an Arab country
Three years ago, much before starting making her wrappers, Mirela planned a trip to Tunisia, to fulfil a dream. However, the trip did not work out. As she was in a wheelchair, the airline did not allow her to travel unaccompanied due to her difficult locomotion. She had polio when she was four months old and lost 80% of the movement in her arms and legs. Mirela is currently married to a Nigerian and has a 1 year and 5 month old daughter. She works at the São Paulo State Electricity Utility (CPFL), as part of an opportunity program established by the company, allowing disabled people to work four hours a day.
Last year, Mirela sold 30,000 wrappers, being 10,000 abroad. In January this year, sales reached 6,000 units. The company believes that this year sales should grow further. Each wrapper costs on average 0.30 Brazilian real (US$ 0.18). Mirela's plan for this year is to collect capital to ship samples. "I have noticed that it is a need in which I must invest. It is an opportunity I have for promotion of my work," she finished off.
Contact
Mirela Goi
Blog: masweetcases.blogspot.com
*Translated by Mark Ament
Sweet wrappers for Arab parties
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