68 • May | June 2026 • abasto.com BY HERNANDO RAMÍREZ-SANTOS F orty feet up, perched on sca- ffolding in New York, Rafael Riera was painting a mural when his father saw him and made a decision that would change his life. It wasn’t just the risk. It was the wasted potential. “Come here, I want to introduce you to someone,” he said. That “so- meone” was Bob Unanue. And that encounter would mark the begin- ning of a career spanning more than three decades at Goya Foods. Riera didn’t know it then, but he was coming down from the heights to enter a different kind of terrain: sales, where the fall doesn’t hurt the body, but it does hurt the spirit. From Brooklyn to the Highest Recognition Rafael Riera started at Goya in 1993 as a sales trainee in Brooklyn. Within a few months, he already had his own route. In less than a year, he was lea- ding the same team where he started. Today, at 70 years old and with more than three decades at the com- pany, he was honored with the Don Prudencio Unanue Award. During the gala the company held to celebra- te its 90th anniversary last March, Riera received the highest award Goya Foods bestows upon those who embody its values of integrity, exce- llence, and commitment. “I had no idea,” he says of the mo- ment he heard his name. “It was a very humbling experience… I was surprised.” The School of Persistence Before Goya, Riera ran a sign busi- ness in New York. But his true calling was always sales. “The first thing you have to sell is yourself. Once you sell yourself, the rest is history.” That philosophy became a daily practice. Especially when he faced one of his biggest challenges: convincing a client who for years had refused to sell Goya products in his store. For nearly four years, Riera persis- ted with the same product: capers. “Every time I saw him, I’d bring The Salesman Who Never Gives Up him a jar. He’d keep them without sa- ying a word.” Until one day, the client relented. “He told me, ‘Because of your per- sistence, I’m going to try it.’ And he approved it.” For Riera, that victory defined his career. Not because of the sale, but because of the lesson. “Never give up. That’s the most im- portant part of sales.” Growing with the Community Riera has witnessed firsthand the growth of the Hispanic market in the United States. “Back then, you’d walk into a store and there were four feet of product. Today there are sections of 40, 60, 80 feet.” That change wasn’t a coincidence. For him, Goya Foods understood so- mething key: the diversity within the Latino community. “Goya created a niche for every cul- ture: Colombians, Dominicans, Salva- dorans… It all starts with the palate.” From Brooklyn to managing natio- nal accounts like Walmart, Kroger, and Restaurant Depot, Riera has been at the forefront of that expansion. A Life on the Move On the verge of considering retire- ment, Riera doesn’t see himself sit- ting still. “For me to retire… what am I going to do? I have to stay active.” A father of five and a grandfather, he maintains a disciplined routine and a clear mindset. “This is a 24-hour job. There’s always a challenge to solve.” But beyond the numbers, there’s something that defines him. “Trea- ting people with respect. Just as you’d like to be treated.” The Sky Is Still the Limit There’s a phrase that has sta- yed with him since his first day at Goya. “Bob Unanue told me: ‘The sky is the limit.’” Riera turned it into a mantra, a method, and a legacy. “The im- portant thing is to keep growing, serving, strengthening relations- hips, and working with purpose.” And if he has made one thing clear in over 30 years of his ca- reer, it is that for him, selling was never just about closing deals. “Do things with excellence. As if they were for yourself.” That has been his true product. And that, he definitely knew how to sell. Rafael Riera made persistence his best strategy, and today he receives the highest recognition from Goya Foods • FOOD INDUSTRY