How passion and consistency lead to success – the story of Piotr Wieczorek, Partner at Foodcom S.A.

Fourteen years ago, I started my career at an international company that had three branches, in Hong Kong, Dubai, and Austria, and originated in Poland. It was a business model very similar to what we have today at Foodcom, i.e. B2B trade. The company dealt with broadly defined electronics, such as smartphones, game consoles, cameras, and other popular devices.

I ended up there on the recommendation of a friend from the trade industry and was introduced to the company owner, who became my mentor. He taught me everything from negotiation strategies and sales tactics to running a business in an international environment. At that time, electronics was a very hot topic on the market, so I had the opportunity to immediately enter the world of high turnover and intensive work, as well as cooperation with the biggest players in the industry.

The most important thing was the ability to reach the customer, identify their real needs, and match them with the product we could offer. Initially, this was in electronics, but the principle is the same in every industry, including food. A customer may need a thousand cameras or a specific food ingredient, and in both cases it’s about matching the offer to clearly defined expectations. Negotiations were also a huge lesson.

In addition, I gained a solid foundation in work organization. From searching for customers, to gaining their trust, to maintaining long-term relationships. These skills are the foundation of what I do today.

I got my first job in trade somewhat by accident. However, looking back after more than a decade, I can see that it was my calling. Previously, I had profiled myself and educated myself in the energy business. It was and still is my passion.

However, fate brought me an opportunity in international trade. My education, namely diplomacy and international relations, was a perfect fit. The opportunity to work in different markets and meet people from different cultures immediately drew me in. Recently, recalling my thesis on gas extraction, I thought that fate had led me exactly where I was supposed to be. I’ve been doing this for 14 years now, and I know I’ll be doing it for the rest of my life.

The circumstances were quite funny. I found out about Foodcom from my friend Mateusz, who is now a Partner and the best trader in the company. At the time, he was working for a large British bank and told me that he was moving into dairy product trading. He told me what it would be like, and I thought it was exactly what I was doing and sounded interesting. I asked him to set up an interview for me. I met with Aleksander, our CEO, and we hit it off right away. The interview lasted literally a few minutes; I liked his vision, and he liked my approach.

At first, I was convinced by the terms and conditions. The commission was ten times higher than at my previous company.

I was also convinced by the potential for growth. Foodcom was a small company at the time, but Aleksander’s vision and Mateusz’s skills gave me the feeling that it would grow quickly. We had a young, ambitious team and we could see how the company was gaining momentum in a short period of time.

The biggest challenge was learning how to work with food products. In electronics, where I came from, it was easier because the product is familiar from everyday use. Here, I had to learn the parameters, storage methods, and expiration dates. I was most interested in cheese trading, so I started developing in that direction.

My first major success was gaining the trust of several large Dutch companies, which entrusted us with the local sale of their products. At the same time, we convinced large Polish companies to sell their products abroad with our help. It was a win-win model. We supported Polish business and at the same time introduced attractive offers to our market.

In the beginning, when we were developing the company, Mateusz focused on selling fat products, and I was in charge of cheese. I quickly became the director of the cheese department and specialized in this area. This segment was growing rapidly, and I also had a knack for people, so many of the current employees are people I recommended and brought to the company myself.

Just before the pandemic, we saw an opportunity in plant-based products. I decided to move away from dairy completely to focus fully on developing this segment. It turned out to be a bull’s-eye. Plant-based products quickly gained in importance, and we began to enter new sectors.

During this time, I became increasingly comfortable in my role as a manager. Leading teams, supporting people, developing junior staff, and promoting them to new positions gave me enormous satisfaction.

I have also always enjoyed “hunting.” Meeting new people, convincing them of our vision, and looking for new solutions and markets. This is one of the skills that largely contributed to my becoming a partner in the company.

I think it was a combination of several things. First of all, full commitment. From the very beginning, I decided that I would not engage in any side businesses or investments. I put all my energy into Foodcom, believing that it would be the best solution for me. And it worked.

I also had a clear goal – to become a partner within a specific time frame. I am one of those people who write down their goals, plan, and consistently pursue them. It was one of those moments that confirmed that this strategy works. Within the set time frame, I acquired shares and became a Partner. Now I am setting new goals and we are going for more wins.

Our office is in Malaga, on the Costa del Sol. The location is fantastic. The city is growing rapidly, it’s great for tourism, and recently large companies such as Oracle and Google have moved here, and Netflix is building a huge hub. There are also direct flights to Miami and New York, so Malaga is becoming a bit like the new Dublin in the world of big tech.

This gives us the opportunity to do business in this part of Europe. What captivated me the most is that our team in Malaga is made up of real go-getters, they are ambitious, hungry for success, and hard-working. They are constantly on the phone, doing business, fighting. On top of that, they are well educated, speak many languages, are young, and fit our requirements perfectly.
Spain is also an easier market than Poland. People are willing to trust each other, many companies are family-run, and having local employees from different provinces and cities on the team makes it easier to build relationships – sometimes they are connected by a football team or a shared hobby. This helps a lot in building a business.

The Spanish language also opens the door to the whole of Latin America for us. In Malaga, we have representatives from various countries in the region, which allows us to operate in Spain and Portugal, as well as plan expansion into Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, and Argentina. Being here on the ground makes it much easier to develop and scale these directions.

Of course, 100%. We even had a funny situation at the beginning: when our traders from the main B2B business saw how the platform worked, they quickly realized that it could be serious competition for them. There were even concerns that it could replace some of their traditional work in the future, so naturally they started thinking about changing careers.

And it’s hardly surprising. Today, we all shop online. We buy on Allegro, order through Liska, book our hairdresser online. The Spanish market is very modern in this respect, and consumers are keen to use e-commerce. With our background and experience, we can make a really strong entry into this area.

Actually, it’s people. I consider my greatest success to be my ability to see potential in people and create space for them to develop. This has brought me much more in my professional life than the business I have managed to acquire.

Of course, I could talk about convincing customers or winning contracts, but that’s my daily bread. For me, the real success is building long-term relationships that often turn into friendships and are based on a lot of trust. I have a knack for spotting good people, the kind who later become our loyal, committed “soldiers” or “commandos,” as we sometimes jokingly say in the team.

I met one of the best employees I work with today at a music concert, another at a boxing match. And I know that this is just the beginning of such stories.

First and foremost, mutual trust. Added to this is a complete focus on achieving goals, support in difficult moments, and the ability to manage crises quickly. Business culture is also important; it is an absolute must.

There is no room here for games or social engineering. What counts is culture, i.e. the ability to be polite, control your emotions and keep them in check, even in stressful situations. I try to look at everything from a long-term perspective, both in terms of people and emerging problems.

My main goal is to develop the office in Malaga and build its strong market position. Spain fits perfectly into our business model, so I have a solid foundation to believe in the continued success of this branch.

I want to strengthen the team as much as possible and then select my successor from among the current traders. I am confident that I will prove myself in this role, and when the plan is implemented, I will be ready for the next step.

The next targets in our strategy are the United States and Asia. I hope, and am confident, that one of these places will become the next base where I will build a team and transfer the model proven in Spain to a new continent.

Have clearly defined goals and pursue them consistently. Treat failures as lessons and maintain a positive attitude, because it opens many doors.