At the heart of every great brand lies a story of purpose.

For Juanca Sznak, co-founder of Hösėg, that purpose began with a sense of responsibility: to transform privilege into positive impact. What started as conversations with his brothers about creating change has evolved into a pioneering Peruvian outdoor brand that blends innovation, sustainability, and community. In this month’s In the Footsteps of feature, Juanca shares the journey behind Hösėg, the challenges and inspirations that shaped its path, and the family values that continue to guide its mission.

About the Journey
What first inspired you to create, and how has it grown from an initial idea into the brand it is today?
The inspiration was born out of conversations with my brothers about our situation of privilege. We grew up in a family that gave us everything we needed, and we understood that this alone was a huge privilege in such an unequal country. We decided to use that luck as a responsibility: to become change makers
That’s how the idea of creating a company that went beyond selling a product was born. We wanted social and environmental impact to be at the core of the business. In 2016 we became the third B Corp in Peru, and since then we have continued to innovate. The most recent example is älpafill, patented Alpaca based sustainable insulation technology. We also launched Hösėg Café, our latest project that was built taking in consideration the importance of collaboration. For every coffee you buy we plant a tree in Cusco and reuse coffee waste as fertilizer. The best specialty cusco coffee is bought directly from women coffee farmers.

Was there a specific moment or event that made you realize you wanted to build a brand with a deeper purpose?

I went on a trip with my brothers to Suttoc Paccha, Pumahuanca and that was the key to seeing that we wanted to become changemakers. We wanted to improve their quality of life, even though we knew we couldn’t solve everything, we wanted to find a way to help.
At that time, something else happened: my wife gave me a book about Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS. What inspired me was not the shoe itself, but the business model—a product that directly impacts someone else’s life.
At first we replicate that model (“buy one, give one”), but we soon realized it wasn’t sustainable. If we only applied it to the most expensive items, the impact wasn’t democratized, and the company’s viability was at risk. So we transformed it into 2% of all sales, from a cap to a jacket. That way everyone could contribute, while the company could remain sustainable.
In the beginning, I thought Hösėg would only make jackets. But my brother Patrick told me: “With just one product it’s hard to grow. We need a full line.” That’s when we decided to create a Peruvian outdoor brand.
The pandemic also put us to the test—just as I’m sure it did for MLP. Although Hösėg is not a tourism company, we specialize in travel retail, which means our products are sold in places closely tied to travelers, such as hotels and airports. Despite the challenges, we managed to recover, and that resilience only reaffirmed our purpose.