# On the wings of innovation: how Uni Soluções is taking the airlines' recipe to the supermarket shelf

From supplying in-flight snacks to standing out on store shelves, the company born in a family garage is investing R$ 28 million in a new factory and targeting R$ 43.7 million with functional drinks and high-performance food lines.

- Section: Business
- Published: October 19, 2026
- Address: https://ceoone.com.br/en/article/on-the-wings-of-innovation-how-uni-solucoes-is-taking-the-airlines
- Em português: https://ceoone.com.br/artigo/nas-asas-da-inovacao-como-a-uni-solucoes-esta-levando-a-receita-das-co.md

![Vagner Gomes, founder of Uni Soluções, in a lab coat and cap on the factory production line](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/nas-asas-da-inovacao-como-a-uni-solucoes-esta-levando-a-receita-das-co-foto.webp)

Photo: Alessandra Carvalho

## Key points

- Founded in 2008 by Vagner Gomes in a garage with R$ 25,000, Uni Soluções supplies snacks to GOL, Azul and LATAM.
- The company is investing R$ 28 million in a new factory: snack kit production goes from 60,000 to 280,000 a day, and staff from 148 to up to 860 people.
- It enters retail with Yapp zero-sugar sodas, Strom energy drink and 20 to 35 g snacks; the goal is R$ 43.7 million in revenue in 2026, up from R$ 38 million.

If you have flown in Brazil with airlines such as GOL, Azul or LATAM, you have almost certainly tried Uni Soluções snacks without noticing the name behind the packaging. Founded in 2008 by advertising professional Vagner Gomes in the small space of a family garage, with initial capital of just R$ 25,000 and support from his parents and brother, the company turned the lack of standardization in corporate kitchens into a nationwide opportunity. It started by creating pioneering single-serve tapioca solutions that ensured zero waste for partner businesses and launched the brand's work in private labels.

After establishing its leadership in supplying snacks and single-serve sachets to aviation, hospital chains, bus transport and events, the company decided the sky was not the limit. In a strategic expansion move, it is investing R$ 28 million in building its Plant 2 to take its own brands directly to the shelves of supermarkets, hotels, convenience stores and unattended micro-markets in residential buildings. The business plan's goal is to raise revenue from the R$ 38 million recorded in the last fiscal year to R$ 43.7 million by the end of 2026.

## Factory scale as a distribution lever

The new plant will raise daily snack kit assembly capacity from 60,000 to an impressive 280,000 units, and increase snack production from 180,000 to about 545,000 bags a day. This leap in manufacturing infrastructure will come with a 440% increase in direct staff, from 148 to up to 860 people in the operation. The turning point allows the company to meet mass retail's strict standards for distribution, turnover and profitability without giving up the sanitary and logistical efficiency that made its name in aviation.

The portfolio's commercial strategy is grounded in direct alignment with consumers' new demands for convenience, flavor and healthiness in everyday breaks. Uni Soluções arrives in traditional retail and self-service with new bets in the functional beverages category: Yapp, a line of zero-sugar sodas made with natural fruit juice in Watermelon with Lime, Swiss Lemonade with Coconut and Mango with Passion Fruit. The brand also brings Strom, a zero-sugar energy drink enriched with fiber and a full vitamin complex, available in Original and Mango.

![Vagner Gomes behind stacked cans of Yapp sodas and Strom energy drink](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/nas-asas-da-inovacao-como-a-uni-solucoes-esta-levando-a-receita-das-co-bebidas.webp)

Uni Soluções' new drinks: Yapp soda and Strom energy drink

## Packaging evolves for on-the-go consumption

Alongside the launch of the drinks, the Uni Snacks brand is resizing its packaging strategically, with versions from 20 to 35 grams designed for grab-and-go and shelf display. The in-house portfolio includes natural sweet potato and cassava chips, functional tapioca-starch biscuits, tortillas and ready-to-eat popcorn, keeping the premise of clean, gluten-free and lactose-free recipes. While the new sizes win shelf space in neighborhood retail, the single-serve sachets continue to serve the corporate and institutional segment.

![Vagner Gomes in a blue blazer next to a display of Uni Snacks bags](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/nas-asas-da-inovacao-como-a-uni-solucoes-esta-levando-a-receita-das-co-fundador.webp)

Vagner Gomes, founder of Uni Soluções, with the Uni Snacks line. Photo: Alessandra Carvalho

The move from a purely B2B model to mass consumption rests on a vertically integrated, one-stop-shop structure covering everything from the food's formulation to visual identity and integrated logistics across the country. Vagner Gomes sums up the market vision behind the transition: “In B2B, companies stopped looking only for a supplier and started looking for partners able to understand their operation and deliver value. In B2C, consumers have become more demanding, they read labels and look for new things. Our vision is to identify these changes before they become an obligation and prepare the company to get there first.”

## Human purpose and community responsibility

Reflecting on the milestone of taking production from the clouds to the streets, the founder stresses that the essence of the business has always been connected to the end consumer's experience: “When our products started 'flying' around Brazil with the airlines, we understood that we were not just a food factory, but a developer of solutions. We saw how hectic life in big cities is and how the market needed real innovation: drinks with functional benefits and practical snacks that fit into the routine without weighing on health.”

Alongside the investment in technology and industrial infrastructure, social responsibility is a strategic pillar of management through Instituto Uni. Created to channel community support and hunger relief initiatives, the company's social arm has donated more than 17 tons of food to vulnerable families and organizations. For the company's leadership, financial growth only matters when it creates positive impact and dignity in the surrounding communities.

## Building a national ecosystem

Uni Soluções' journey reflects the capacity of Brazilian entrepreneurship to turn operational challenges into a diversified, highly competitive business model. By connecting the credibility built in commercial aviation with the dynamism of its own brands in self-service and sharp trade marketing intelligence, the company strengthens its institutional image with distributors and commercial partners. The group's story shows that continuous innovation and close attention to market demands are the ideal combination to keep climbing higher in the country's food industry.

## Sources and editorial notes

- Reference reporting and documents: Uni Soluções corporate and launch release (August 2026), UniAlimentos 2026 Retail & Foodservice Catalog, Gazeta da Semana, PEGN, Pipeline Valor, Brazilian Food Industry Association (ABIA).

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