We’ve learned a great deal in our research to find out whether Guatemala will be Guatemala’s next great market, and we hope you have too.
We’ve seen how a young, urbanizing population could be key for an international bakery brand, how Guatemala’s GDP numbers may not be as rosy beneath the surface as they appear at first glance, how Finagle could benefit from both low and high unemployment, how Guatemala’s social security outlook behooves any new business, seen the attractiveness of Guatemala’s surprisingly stable inflation rate, and many other facts, figures and implications of the Guatemalan way of life, and the business environment it provides.
In our research, most of the macroeconomic factors we studied painted a reasonably positive picture of Guatemala as an emerging market in which to do business. The deeper we dug, the more it seemed as if an investment in Guatemala now could pay huge dividends in the medium and long-run.
Unfortunately the microeconomic factors we examined did not reflect this same positivity. As it turns out, bakeries are everywhere in Guatemala. To a relatively poor, relatively uneducated population, nothing is more important than sustenance, so whether you’re in a remote Mayan village in the mountains, or the central business district of Guatemala City, the one thing there is never a lack for is baked goods.
As an emerging market we wholeheartedly recommend Guatemala as a worthy investment for many companies looking to expand, but for those of us in the baked goods segment, our time and money is best spent elsewhere.
Until next time,
Jesse Husid and Garrett Reeb.