July 2009 by edlyn

MASIGASIG P U B L I S H E D B Y G L O B E B U S I N E S S FO R S M E s

VOLUME

•

ISSUE

J U LY

20 09

Connie Sison’s Masas

fuses Pinoy comfort food with Spanish sophistication

ZEN ZEST sports

Pinoy pride in the business of beauty

CHEERS! Don Roberto’s Winery introduces a new way of enjoying mangoes

HOMEMADE

HOME RUN SLERS’ Mercedes Mejia propels a homemade

MASIGASIG Table of CONTENTS

15 COVER:

SLERS’ Mercedes Mejia turns a family business into a proﬁtable food empire

CELEBRITY RAKETS

Truly Pinoy: Connie Sison’s Masas preserves the warmth of Pinoy comfort food

GLOBAL ANG DATING

Roberto Castañeda puts a new twist into wine-making

BATANG NEGOSYANTE

Michelle Asence of Zen Zest proves that being kikay can be affordable

IN EVERY ISSUE

STAFF

5High Tech 8Helpline 10Hot Spots 12Hot Negosyo 25Franchising 101/Round Up 26EntrepreNews Leslie G. Lee Mari-An C. Santos Sunshine Selga-Funa Camille Besinga Aimee Morales Dino de Ocampo

Editor in Chief Associate Editor Managing Editor Assistant Managing Editor Copy Editor Art Director

Paula Bianca Abiog Jennifer Caspe Samantha Echavez Jemps Gallegos Bubbles Salvador Giselle Marie Tan Katrina Tan Abby Yao Patricia Paredes

Writers

Vincent Coscolluela Mems Gamad Heidi Pascual Jun Pinzon

Photographers

Jeng Flores Ana Isip Yen Uy Archie Tolentino Jaclyn L. Chua

Makeup Artists

Junn delas Alas Dondi Limgenco

Project Managers

EDITOR’S NOTE

e Pinoys are an optimistic bunch. That’s what I’ve observed having traveled to foreign locales and having mingled with other nationalities. This optimism is more apparent with the current economic crunch—while other countries are panicking and bracing for the worst (or worse, whining about the lack of finances), we Filipinos are still able to smile and look at the bright side of things. Our jokes about poverty may not be politically correct to others, but that’s how we deal with it: we laugh. I believe that our innate ability to laugh under duress and ﬁnd inspiration in the most unusual places make the Pinoy one of the most enterprising individuals around. Take for example our cover feature this month, SLERS’ Mercedes “Litlit” Mejia. Not only was she a delight to interview, but her truly inspiring story also proves that being alert to opportunities and never resting on your laurels, so to speak, are key factors to success. Being resourceful is another Pinoy trait that I admire and value. Litlit Mejia exhibits this (check out her story on page 15) and our Batang Negosyante, Michelle Asence of Zen Zest, also sports this characteristic. Her gung-ho attitude makes her products at par with foreign brands—at almost half the price. Meanwhile, Oby Castañeda of Don Roberto’s Winery has found an innovative way of enjoying the country’s national fruit—read up on his story on page 19. According to news reports, the World Bank has predicted that the Philippines will not be spared from the wrath of the recession. Still, I ﬁrmly stand by my opinion that we will weather this. With our optimism, resourcefulness, and imagination, we will no doubt pull through this crisis. So, heads up and forward march! Enjoy this month’s issue!

Editorial Consultant

Leslie G. Lee Editor-in-Chief

ma•si•ga•sig – determined, persistent or motivated, with a strong sense of direction in terms of goals to be achieved.

Globe Advisory Team Ailene Averion, Aldwin Co, Cielo Javier-Sonza, Alain Sebastian, Michelle Perlas, Barby Coronel

Call the Globe Business Hotline at 730-1288 for inquiries on Globe products and services, or visit any Globe Business Center or Globelines Payments and Services Center. ●

For inquiries, comments or suggestions on Masigasig magazine, e-mail sme@globetel.com.ph or visit http://globe.com.ph/business.

●

A special publication made by Summit Media for Globe Telecom. For special publication inquiries, please call 451-8888.

ASKED & ANSWERED LE

MAKING THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS Dear Masigasig, Upon reading [almost all] your magazine [issues], talagang na-i-inspire ako na magnegosyo. Ngunit sa ngayon ay nalilito ako dahil wala naman po kaming malaking puhunan. Gusto ko malaman kung may hulugan kayo na PC with Telephone line kasi ang balak naming mag-asawa ay magtayo ng tawagan ng landline [na puwedeng gamiting pang-] local and abroad at maglagay na din ng loading station ng Globe. Maganda ang lugar namin, [nasa] kanto [siya] at ‘yun lang ang naiisip ko na puwedeng maging business doon. Paano po ba ang dapat kong gawin? Sana po ay matulungan n’yo ako sa lalong madaling panahon kasi po usong-uso ang displacement sa trabaho ngayon, kaya kailangan naming mag-asawa ang magfocus sa business. Maraming salamat at umaasa ako na matugunan n’yo ang problema kong ito. Mabuhay kayo Masigasig, keep up the good work. Gumagalang, MRS. RUTHIE RIVERA Mabalacat, Pampanga 0905.3572798

M of TT O th ER N e TH

Dear Mrs. Rivera, Thank you for being an avid reader of Masigasig, and we salute you for wanting to start a business. Your idea of putting up a “phone” station or makeshift phone booth is a good one. We agree: these days, business is deﬁnitely going mobile. Lucky for you, Globe Business has come up with a product that addresses your idea: PC Bundle. The PC Bundle comes with the following: ● Unlimited broadband connection ● Business landline ● High-quality desktop ● Licensed operating system You can use the landline as your payphone whereas you can rent out your broadband service for those who want to do basic browsing or e-mailing. Another Globe product you may want to consider is the AutoLoadMAX Retailership, which allows you to be a retailer of Globe e-load for prepaid users. To know more about PC Bundle and AutoLoadMAX Retailership, call the Globe Hotline 730-1288, visit the website http://globe.com.ph/business or go to any Globe Business Center or Globelines Payments and Services Centers. Best of luck to you and your entrepreneurial endeavor! Regards, LESLIE Editor-in-chief

HOTSPOTS SUGGESTION

Dearest Masigasig, Come June, Tacloban City celebrates Pintados Festival—it would be a good article for your magazine. I would like to be featured in that issue, as I have been doing business with Globe Broadband and Globe Telecom to better my Wi-Fi access at the café bar. I have photos that I would like to share [regarding] Zaibatsu Café Bar, if the possibility to be in your magazine holds true. It would be an honor and a privilege to be in your magazine. May we know how we can [pitch] Zaibatsu Café Bar to be in the June issue? Hoping for your favorable reply. Thank you, Masigasig! CRISTINA MAGALLON Tacloban City, Leyte 0927.9235678

Dear Cristina, Thank you very much for your suggestion! We also think that Tacloban City is a beautiful and interesting for business, and to feature. We will consider it—and Zaibatsu Café Bar, of course!—as a Hotspots feature in our future issues.

INCREASING CLIENTELE BASE

Hello Masigasig, I have an advertising and promotion agency based here in Cebu for less than a year now. But since the last project of my only client, I’ve hardly gotten another client. I would like to ask for advice on how to get in touch with companies for their advertising and promotions, especially in product launchings or sampling events, as well as merchandising. Can you also help me in marketing and improving my business? Thank you very much and more power and God bless you all! LUIS “JUNJUN” C. ALVIAR, JR. Entrepreneur Multithumb Events - Outsourcing, Promotions and Advertising 0928.4282133 / 0923.5721930 junluis_alviar@yahoo.com

Dear Junjun, If you would like to market your business and increase your contacts at the same time, why don’t you consider social networking—or social networking sites (SNS)— such as Multiply, Twitter, or Facebook—these sites are free and easy to maintain. (Please check out our August issue, since we will be talking about the pros of SNS there.) Once you’ve increased your client base, you may want to use Globe’s TxtConnect, which allows you to update your clients about your latest offers and promotions with just one group SMS. Check out http://globe.com.ph/business for more details on TxtConnect. Good luck!

Do you have any questions about your business that you think Masigasig can answer? Write to us and be our next letter sender of the month! Include your full name, name of business, contact number and e-mail address. The chosen letter sender will win premium Globe items! The winner will be notiﬁed via e-mail and will receive a call from Masigasig. 4 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

ERRATUM In the Hotspots section of our May issue, photo #4 is a picture of the Municipal Hall of Tayabas and NOT of Sanctuario De Los Almas. The correct caption is: “A statue of Jose Rizal stands guard in front of the Municipal Hall of Tayabas.” We sincerely apologize for this error.

HIGH TECH

Convenient Banking Via SMS Globe’s Mobile Phone Banking Services (MBPS) give rural banks a big boost. B Y

B U B B L E S

S A LV A D O R

magine a remote area where people actually have to travel far to get to a bank. As banks continuously strive to improve services to their clients, Globe has come up with hasslefree ways of doing bank transactions with Globe’s Mobile Phone Banking Services (MPBS), making transactions via GCASH possible.

Mobile phone, they can deposit, withdraw, and remit money, among others, without leaving their homes. Even those living in remote areas can receive money from family and relatives anywhere.

Rural banks can market their existing services better. An example is salary loans. For clients who prefer to receive their salaries through GCASH, loan payments are automatically deducted from the borrowers’ accounts. For the bank, this means that loans are paid off. Now since it’s more convenient to make such transactions, rural banks can easily convince clients to avail of their services.

Banking Updated MPBS enables rural banks to offer its clients the option of using GCASH—a service that conveniently and safely turns a cellphone into an electronic wallet. With GCASH, a Globe or Touch Mobile subscriber can send and receive money, receive GCASH and exchange it for cash, make payments, and transfer funds from one cellphone to another. These transactions are just a text away. The Rural Banks Association of the Philippines (RBAP), through its Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS), designed MPBS with the support of USAID/Philippines. Now, rural

PICK OF THE MONTH “GCASH makes payment transactions easier—both for businesses and consumers. With this unique cashless and cardless service, business owners who are Globe and TM subscribers are now able to receive payments via text. This text message can then be converted into cash at any of the thousands of GCASH partner outlets nationwide. And because you are entitled to a Personal Identiﬁcation Number or PIN, your money remains secure. How’s that for convenience?”

MANNY ALIGADA,

Head-Corporate & SME Segments, Globe Business

Rural banks can expand their product portfolio. Aside from functioning as a regular bank in 46 rural er which one can do over-thebanks with ov and bank es ch counter transactions, rural an br 0 64 e mobile banks are also authorized ofﬁces provid to g services to process GCASH phone bankin . SH A GC h roug its clients th transactions and accept , log SH remittances from abroad A GC t ou ab To know more obe.com.ph GCASH REMIT. (With via gl h. as gc w. on to ww GCASH REMIT, remittances or e-mail support@ can be picked up at any gtgcashwire om.ph .c el et ob gl bank’s of the partner rural bank branches.) ●

banks are no longer just traditional depositories; it has also become a venue for clients to make the following transactions: ● make loan payments (Text-A-Payment) ● make deposits (Text-A-Deposit) ● make withdrawals (Text-A-Withdrawal) ● send and receive remittances (Text-A-Remittance) ● disburse salaries (Text-A-Sweldo) ● pay bills for schools and utility cooperatives in remote areas (Text-A-Bill Payment)

Plus Points for Rural Banking How does MPBS benefit the rural banking industry?

Rural banks can widen their market reach, since even residents in the most remote areas can be serviced. MPBS eliminates the need for them to commute or walk to the nearest bank. With just a Globe or Touch

“By partnering with RBAP-MABS and GCASH, all of our 30 branches have grown. Most of our clients use GCASH to send their deposits to their First Valley bank account as it is now easier and more convenient for them to access our services without having to travel far from their homes. Moreover, all of our employees receive their salaries through GCASH. This has helped bridge the gap of automation especially in remote areas that our branches cover.” First Valley President, Atty. Lim

JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 5

HAIR & MAKEUP BY ARCHIE TOLENTINO

CELEBRITY RAKETS since many of them [live] in this area. 30 percent of our clients are foreigners, the rest are a combination of [Filipino] families, and ofﬁce workers who drink from 5 p.m. onwards. [Price range is from] 150-175 per head.

Q: How did you decide on the menu? A: [We partners] made a list of our favorite

dishes. Then we asked everyone in the family [to list theirs]. We [also] try to include dishes from all over the country. Our chefs here would [volunteer to create dishes]. Kunwari, “Ma’am, ako magaling ako sa ganito,” so we tell them, “sige nga patikim”. Then we have somebody [over, who’s] familiar with how it [the dish] should taste like. Nakakatulong [talaga] if there’s someone [we personally know who is also] familiar with the dishes and how it should taste.

Q: Is it ﬂexible? A: Deﬁnitely. At the end of the day, this is

In Pursuit of

CONTACT DETAILS Masas Greenbelt 2, Makati City (02)757.4030

PERFECTION TION

When she’s not reporting on the day’s top stories and the hottest issues, TV journalist CONNIE SISON ﬁnds joy in serving well-prepared and charmingly presented Filipino dishes BY PATRICIA R. PAREDES • PHOTOS BY VINCENT COSCOLLUELA MASAS FILIPINO CUISINE in Greenbelt 2 has been serving authentic dishes (sans MSG) from across the country since 2002. Husband CHRIS ESCUDERO handles the day-to-day operations, while this mother of two and TV anchor focuses on marketing and PR. With all the people she has met and the places she has seen thanks to her day job, the husband and wife tandem is able to ﬁne-tune their product line and keep their restaurant relevant. Q: How did you get into the business? A: My husband’s family are into the food

business and he wanted to have a restaurant, so I decided to get into the business with our partners Lovell Gopez and Eliza Antonino.

Q: What’s the division between you and your

husband? How does your role as wife and mother come into play? 6 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

A: Whatever he does here, he consults with me. We talk about the restaurant so much because we like to eat food and eat out. If there’s something I’m not comfortable with, I tell him. We make it a point [to be] aware of our priorities in life: God, our family, then the business. Q: Who is Masas’ target market? A: Our original plan was to attract foreigners

[a] business. We have [food] lists to try out, the most sellable [items] stay in the menu. While the not-so sellable ones, we put in another—smaller—menu, and [wait and] see if it catches on with our marketing. But if it’s not that successful then tinatanggal siya [from the menu].

Q: Is it similar to doing product development?

A: Yes. We serve authentic Filipino cuisine—

not fusion—and we try to keep it that way. Our tagline is “Traditions perfected.” We try to improve on the look, but the taste remains authentic.

Q: Who conducts quality control and food tasting?

A: We have two chefs. One is assigned

on [food] preparation— ‘yung paggawa mismo. The other chef, siya ‘yung titingin if everything’s at par with our standards. Even the managers and waiters themselves are involved—magsasabi rin ’yun sa amin [’pag] may na-miss [out] sa quality control.

Q: Why would people prefer Masas for a plate of adobo? A: Because [we have] a different way of presenting adobo. It is authentic. We have ﬂakes and the sauce is separate. Through the years, we learned that some customers like it without the sauce, while some like it with sauce and ﬂakes. We try to satisfy our customers’ needs with choices. Q: Do you get any out-of-the-ordinary requests? A: Yes, but nothing that we cannot handle. We’ve had one request na nagpatanggal ng oil

CELEBRITY RAKETS Masas puts a twist on every traditional Pinoy dish to cater to locals and foreigners alike, with mouth-watering appetizers and Bicolano entreés.

Masas’ interiors underwent a facelift this year.

sa crispy pata. [Pero ‘pag] tanggalan [‘yun] ng [oil] —mawawalan nang lasa. How do you do that? It’s crispy pata! It’s supposed to be oily. But of course we managed [to serve it with] less oil, but at the same time, maintained the taste.

Q: How do the staff deal with difficult customers? A: If there are questions or requests that they cannot handle, they consult the manager. If our manager can’t (some customers are especially difﬁcult), thay call us, then we talk to the customers.

Q: Do customers with extraordinary requests come back?

A: Our loyal customers are [usually] moms.

When moms [like] a dish, they like it a certain way. Sometimes they come with their amigas. A big table [is specially arranged] for when they’re with their families, [a bigger one for] extended family. We try to make it personalized.

Q: You’ve recently relaunched Masas. Why? A: The interiors were already six years old.

We wanted to invest in our look, to make the feel lighter. The first interior designer [worked mostly with] dark wood. [We had] to keep up with the times. Plus there are other new restaurants here. We had to look [just] as good—if not better. We [also] added new dishes. Loyal customers said, “Wow, this is so much lighter; we like it better.” We [also] added] Wi-Fi as some of our customers hold lunch meetings here.

Q: What setbacks have you experienced? A: We’ve been [here] for over six years and

were one of the original tenants here. We’re happy we were able to maintain our clientele. But ang dami ng mga malls around. So aside from the restaurants here that we compete with, there are other places that they go to

now like Serendra, etc. We’re lucky that we’re still able to cope with all these.

Q: If there’s one thing you want Masas to be

known for, what is it? A: I wouldn’t change our tagline. Once you change it, parang mas lalo pang mawawala. So we stick by serving them good food and be consistent with how they like it—personalized and excellent service. So it’s still traditions perfected.

Q: What is your favorite dish? Why? A: Laing—I really like it, ever since I was little.

I’m Bicolana kasi and it goes with anything. I like it because it’s a simple dish and yet it’s so tasty.

Q: How do you being a restaurateur and being the a journalist? A: I trust my husband with the restaurant. And because I have my own career, he tells me not to worry and keeps me updated. We stay in touch over the phone or [via] the

STAYING CONNECTED Connie has three Globe lines: one for her daughter, another for restaurantrelated business, and the third is her personal line. “I’ve been a Globe user ever since before. Mahirap ang pa-palit-palit ng number,” she smiles. “Ang ganda talaga ng personal number ko, puro seven. It’s a good sign.”

Internet. Ang dami namang ways ngayon [para] mag-usap. If he needs something and I’m out there [on location] covering, he just texts me, “What do you think of this?” And I’ll say, “It sucks, think about something else.” We always communicate.

Q: Does your celebrity status help the business?

A: Maybe in a way it does, but it’s not really

the focal point. As with any business, kahit sino ka man, kapag hindi ka consistent, it doesn’t matter kung sino ang may-ari. But it [also] helps because there are people who come and ask, “Ah, eto ba ’yung [restaurant ni ganyan]?”, “We saw it featured in [a TV show].”

Q: How do you market Masas? A: We’re [now] creating our own website

because that’s how people go about life nowadays—through the Internet. They don’t have to call anymore to make a reservation; they can [do it] online. We also [assign staff] to call and update loyal customers. We have promos and we do leafleting and tarps all around to create awareness.

Q: What are the important lessons you’ve learned in the business? A: With anything you do, have the focus, more importantly, the passion for it. If you have [those, you] won’t feel like you’re doing it just for the heck of it. But because you’re happy to do it and it will show and [reﬂect on] the kind of product you are introducing to the public. Q: What’s next for Masas? A: Our goal is to [put up] a restaurant abroad,

where Filipino dishes will be taste the way it should taste [like] and how it should be presented. How are we going to familiarize foreigners with our country kung hindi naman ma-presenta ng maayos? ● JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 7

HELP LINE

Know the advantages and beneﬁts of utilizing distribution channels

on-entrepreneurs would often think that the decision to take the leap into entrepreneurship is a one-time thing. But in reality, it’s a decision entrepreneurs constantly ask themselves. It’s a question about risk and growth. It’s a question that exists even after you started the business—there will still be plenty of strategic decisions to make.

You’ll find yourself asking this question when you consider outsourcing your distributorship—a concern most often encountered by small and medium-sized manufacturers. What most people don’t realize is that by outsourcing distribution, your business can actually grow exponentially. 8 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

B Y

D A R LY N

T Y

We got Emilio “Bong” Macasaet III, the Chief Distribution Strategist/ Consultant of Mansmith and Fielders, Inc., the leading marketing and sales training company in the country, to answer the most common questions regarding outsourcing distribution.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING DISTRIBUTION?

● Reduced selling cost: One of the main

reasons for outsourcing distribution is to reduce your selling cost. Instead of paying for the whole sales chain yourself, this is divided among the other products of the distributor. Thus, they can afford to charge you less, as it’s divided among their principals (clients). Sellings costs can easily go down by 30 percent compared with doing it yourself.

● Minimized fixed cost: In majority of

distributorship contracts, distribution and selling fees are charged based on total sales.

Outsourcing your distribution has plenty of beneﬁts.

This means that instead of having fixed costs monthly (for your sales manager, sales people, transportation, etc.), you will simply be charged a percentage of sales. This is extremely beneﬁcial because if you have no sales, you have no cost. ● Business risk is passed on to the distributor:

Risks that follow inventory are passed on to the distributor, as well as managing accounts receivables from multiple resellers. ● Freedom to focus on your brand: Since

you have an expert handling your sales and distribution, you have the time to focus on building your brand and making your product better.

● Local knowledge by distributor: Most

distributors—since it’s their core business— would have localized knowledge or insider’s secrets of a particular channel. This is something that can beneﬁt the expansion of your brand.

PHOTO BY MEMS GAMAD

EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS VIA OUTSOURCED DISTRIBUTION

HELP LINE WHEN DO YOU CONSIDER OUTSOURCING YOUR DISTRIBUTION? CONSIDERATIONS

OUTSO U R C E W H E N ● The market is fragmented/scattered and customers

MARKETING

are difﬁcult to ﬁnd or to understand.

● Company lacks local market knowledge or access to ● ●

● ● ● ●

local distribution. The company has only a few products. Most competitors sell indirectly and there is a good potential partner who has significant marketing expertise in the industry. The company is still not well-known and established. Products are easily understood commodities—there’s no need for special explanation to customers. The selling cycle is short and orders per reseller are typically small. It is not necessary to tightly control selling effort.

● Ongoing support activities are not important (i.e.

● Roles and responsibilities of both

parties (be as explicit as possible to avoid misunderstandings) ● Procedures for all standard transactions (i.e., sales order, re-order, deliveries, returns, etc.) ● Procedure for extraordinary circumstances ● Joint planning procedures to consider

the varying views of distributors and manufacturers to achieve the balance in effort some distributors want the manufacturer to promote the product more, while the manufacturer wants distributors to be less dependent on promotion and improve on selling skills

technical support), and the company does not need customer information. Supply of product is assured. Monitoring sales performance is easier. Demand is predictable and the selling environment is stable. Short-term rewards are sufﬁcient drivers of sales force behavior.

● Market Information or business decisions to be shared with one another (i.e. competition, number of customers covered, customer behavior, etc.)

● You want to control sales cost and minimize ﬁnancial

● Balance in Risk sharing, particularly in

INFORMATION ● ● ● ●

FINANCIAL

details of the agreement. Thus, to prevent these problems, it is best to discuss everything in detail and put everything on paper. Below are the common problems that occur that you can avoid by discussing and including in the distributorship agreement:

risk inadvertently caused by sales. ● The need for the sales force is temporary and inconsistent (i.e., if you are selling seasonal products). ● The threat of competitive substitution at the end of distribution agreement is small. ● The company does not have a good billing and collective system in place.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A DISTRIBUTOR?

In choosing your distributor, ask yourself the following questions: ● Does the distributor’s expertise match your placement strategy (where you want to sell your products)? Can their existing coverage and penetration capacity handle your sales targets? Do they serve the customer segment that you want to sell to? ● Do they have the ﬁnancial capability to

support their distribution business and growth potential? Can they pay you for your inventory?

● How involved are the owners? Since most SMEs start with products that are relatively unknown, it would be to your beneﬁt if the owner of the distribution company is very active, because in this case you are more

assured that they’ll be more hands-on and take extra care of your product. ● Do they have the organizational capability to meet your distribution objectives? How many stores need to be reached to meet your target? Do they have the right amount of salespeople, size of warehouse, vehicles, and support system (like accounting system and administrative support)?

WHAT ARE THE COMMON PROBLEMS IN OUTSOURCING DISTRIBUTION? HOW DO YOU PREVENT THEM?

Conflicts arise before the distribution agreement; during the implementation of the agreement; and after the distribution agreement has ended. Essentially, the common problems of distribution agreements arise from unclear

inventory management, ideal inventory level to satisfy demand, adjustment allowances ● Procedure to handle non-performance

considering transition period allowance

● Procedure if either parties want to end

the agreement, how to handle remaining inventory, trade returns/receivables, etc.

Deciding to go into distribution can be quite daunting, but distribution channels can help lessen financial risks and give you more than just monetary benefits. As long as you find a distribution channel or distributor that fits your needs and business goals, you know you're on the right track. ● SOURCE: Corollary to his position as Chief Distribution Strategist, Bong is also the Chairman of Right Partner, Inc., which is the first and only company that helps manufacturers find the right third party distributor. They are likened to a head hunter who will save you time and cost in looking all over the Philippines to get the right partners. For those interested to consult with Right Partner, Inc., you may contact managing director, Ramon Cruz at 0917.5331801.

JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 9

HOT SPOTS

NAGA CITY

The Heart of Bicol gives you plenty of reasons to Come South, CamSur

B Y A B B Y YA O • P H O T O S B Y M E M S G A M A D & S U N S H I N E S E L G A - F U N A

AGA CITY, 377 kilometers from Manila, lives up to its billing as Camarines Sur’s maogmang lugar --a happy place unparalleled in the Bicol region for business and leisure pursuits. Named Nueva Caceres by the Spaniards, the riverside area was already inhabited when the colonizers arrived. It continues to be the province’s center of finance, culture, religion and education. Today, Naga and its surrounding towns form Metro Naga, sharing the gains from the city’s continuous growth and strong leadership.

A MODEL FOR GOVERNANCE

Said to be the most-awarded local government unit in the country, Naga has garnered 151 regional, national, and international awards under the leadership of Mayor Jesse Robredo. Honors include Most Business-Friendly City for three consecutive years from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Galing Pook Award for five consecutive years from Malacañang, and a host of awards from Asiaweek, UK-based Foreign Direct Investment magazine and various United Nations bodies. Although skilled labor is available here at a lower cost than other urban areas, the average household income in Naga is significantly higher than the regional and national averages, making the quality of life and purchasing power of the locals enviable. It makes perfect sense, then, that a number of multinationals have regional offices, plants, and provincial branches here. Local establishments are even more dynamic. The drugstore chain South Star Drug, which now has more than 100 branches in Luzon, is based in Naga. Other homegrown businesses include Biggs, Bicol’s largest fastfood chain, and Graceland Food Industries, which has four restaurant and baked goods brands with over 20 outlets in the region. As Nagueños love to eat, there is no shortage of restaurants and 10 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

nightspots that keep the city alive until late. Local specialties such as Bicol express and pinangat are served almost everywhere you go, and the Nagueños’ fervor for chili pepper and coconut milk can be likened to their devotion for Ina, Our Lady of Peñafrancia.

PILI, BY CHOICE

Naga’s OTOP (One Town, One Product), the pili nut and pastries containing it, such as tarts and mazapan bars, are popular choices for snacks and pasalubong. RPM Pilinuts’ Avelina Miranda (rpmnuts@yahoo.com) and J Emmanuel Pastries’ Lyd Lomibao (jempastries@yahoo.com), the women behind the two largest producers of pili nut products, tell similar success stories. Both started out with just a few hundred pesos, went through several months of trial and error to get the roasting process just right, and eventually diversiﬁed their product range. With assistance from DTI, RPM and J Emmanuel joined national and international trade fairs, and gradually upgraded their homebased production facilities. Lomibao shares that sales now exceeds 1 million monthly, buoyed by exports. The standard 200-gram foil pack of pili nuts retails for 50 to 60. Miranda says the Honey Glazed and Garlic variants are still the most popular variants. Aside from distributing their products nationwide and abroad, both brands maintain outlets at SM City Naga, the region’s ﬁrst SM mall, which opened last May.

THE HOTTEST CITY IN SOUTHERN LUZON

Naga is hot not only because of its chili-based food but also because of the exciting CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC) located within the provincial capitol complex, just outside the city proper. The world-class six-point cable ski park for extreme watersports such as wakeboarding and waterskiing also hosts international competitions.

Camarines Sur accounts for more than half of local and foreign visitors to Bicol. The province also posted a 58% growth in arrivals last year, with tourists from France taking the lead, as the Caramoan Peninsula northeast of Naga hosted the French franchise of the Survivor reality TV series. For those who ﬁnd island-hopping too hot, there are options for cooling off just half an hour from the city center. At the foot of Mt. Isarog, the second highest peak and the last rainforest mountain in Southern Luzon, are postcardpretty Malabsay Falls and Panicuason Hot and Cold Springs, day trips worth considering for shorter stays.

RIDING ON THE WAVE OF PROGRESS

The towns of Metro Naga also hope to cash in on the influx of travellers in the area. Among the towns developing local products and services through the OTOP program are Magarao and Calabanga. Magarao has traditional hilot or healing massage for its OTOP. Among the 40 or so DOH-accredited parahilot are pioneers Aurora and Pedro Durante of Family Sprain Experts, who are in their 70s but remain active in their practice. Sessions at their Nagaland E-mall space in Naga City cost 250 for full body massage and 150 for sprain therapy. To elevate the status of the hilot and to upgrade facilities, DTI envisions a spa-type location for the Magarao OTOP by next year. As healing massage is the perfect way to end a day of extreme watersports, lakeside or room service massage is also offered at CWC for 300 to 350. Calabanga’s new Common Service Facility will soon enable the town to ensure the quality of its OTOP, dried ﬁsh processing. The local cooperative, composed of 25 processors and beneﬁting 100 families, acquired a mechanical

HOT SPOTS 4

once operations standardization is completed this month, large-volume orders can be met. Distributors are welcome.

TOWARD A DIGITAL FUTURE

1.Wakeboarding has been a consistent touristdrawer in CamSur 2.Handicrafts showcased in the recent Naga trade fair 3.Ateneo de Naga University pilots digital animation degree 3.RPM Pilinut workers get busy with the growing number of orders 5.This dome in the CWC eco-village houses a number of avian species 6.Calabanga town’s otop: dried abo 7.Biggs Diner is one of the more successful home-grown businesses in Naga 8.Bottled laing and Bicol express are a staple pasalubong

dryer fueled by corn cobs, and a vacuum sealer through a grant from Cong. Luis Villafuerte and the DOST. Dried boneless bolinao and dried abo, the latter a species found only in San Miguel Bay, are low in salt compared to other dried fish. A 200-gram pack of abo

NAGA

@ A GLANCE OTOP: Pili nuts and pili-based products RAW MATERIALS: rice, corn, coconuts fisheries (sourced from nearby towns) TOP INDUSTRIES: trading and services, tourism, food products EMERGING INDUSTRIES: ICT, creative industries HOW TO GET THERE: By air: Four flights daily on Air Philippines, Cebu Pacific and Zest Air from Manila, 45 to 60 minutes By land: Several bus companies, including Philtranco, Isarog and Peñafrancia, ply the land route from Cubao and Pasay, 8 to 9 hours. HOW TO GET AROUND: Jeeps and tricycles on main city roads, pedicabs in subdivisions. Buses, jeeps or vans to other towns in CamSur. WHERE TO STAY: ● Avenue Plaza Hotel. The city’s 4-star boutique hotel is right in front of Avenue Square http://theavenueplazahotel.com ● Villa Caceres. The luxurious new wing offers single rooms for the solo traveller http://villacacereshotel.com ● Accommodations at CWC. Wide variety of options from back-to-basics campsite cabins and villas for six at Ecovillage, family and presidential suites at Mansion House, to cabanas, tiki huts and trailers at Villa Del Rey Hotel http://www.camsurwatersportscomplex.com

WHAT TO DO: Lago Del Rey Aqua Park adjacent to CWC offers

retails 95 in Bicol ( 105 in Manila), while bolinao sells for 40 per 100-gram pack. Biti, a part of the ﬁsh eaten as pulutan by locals, is valued at 50 for 50g, or 1000 per kilo. OTOP coordinator Danny Abalayan (09175801338) is upbeat about the market and conﬁdent that

family-friendly water fun, while nearby Eco Village is a green refuge with a hanging bridge, man-made cave and waterfall, and aviary. History lovers can go to the Archeological and Ecclesiastical Museum at the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary, declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute. It is located beside Naga Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Caceres. Devotees of the Patroness of Bicol, Our Lady of Peñafrancia, need not wait for the ﬂuvial procession and festival on the third week of September to visit the 18th-century Shrine that was its original home and the later Basilica Minore which now houses the image. For more tourist information, visit www.naga.gov.ph or www.camarinessur.gov.ph

Camarines Sur’s dreams of being an ICT and creative hub are being realized. The talents of local artists were recognized in last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival animated entry “Dayo: Sa Mundo ng Elementalia”, which was made partly in CamSur. Through the efforts of Gov. LRay Villafuerte, the Camarines Sur Animation Center was established in the provincial capitol complex in addition to the IT Park Call Center. Expect a steady stream of animators from Camsur—Ateneo de Naga University offers a BS Digital Illustration and Animation degree, while the Gov. LRay 2-D Animation Program provides free 2D and 3D animation training. Whether you’re looking for nature, culture, adventure or business, Naga City is the ideal introduction to Bicolandia. With places, products, people well on their way to becoming (or already) world-class, it is one hotspot worthy of all its titles. ●

GLOBE BUSINESS CENTERS IN NAGA 1st Level, LCC Central Mall, Felix Plaza St., Naga City; 2nd Floor, SM City Naga, CBD II, Brgy. Triangulo, Naga City DEPARTMENT OF TRADE & INDUSTRY Camarines Sur Provincial Office FEDMACSI Bldg., Panganiban Drive Naga City, Philippines dticamsur@yahoo.ca INVESTMENT INCENTIVES Under the 1997 Investment Incentives Code, investors in the priority investment areas or most other priority investment activities can avail of incentives such as exemption from the payment of basic real property taxes and business taxes during the first five years of operation. Visit the Naga City Investment Board (www.naga.gov. ph/investments/) for details. The Metro Naga Development Council (metro.naga.gov.ph) also has a list of investment priority projects. PROJECTS ENCOURAGED IN GROWTH ZONES ● Central Business Districts I and II - Commercial buildings, service and trading activities ● South Riverfront Growth Area - Medium- to high-end commercial development, service and trading activities

Concepcion Growth Corridor - Commercial centers and hotels Standard Class or higher

●

East Highland Tourism Zone - Tourismrelated activities and development, convention or exhibition centers, retirement villages

●

● Naga City Agro-Industrial Zone - Feed mills or agro-processing complexes utilizing local farm products, industrial estates or communities for labor-intensive or value-extensive enterprises ■

JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 11

HOT NEGOSYO

Environmental Entrepreneurs Pinoy entrepreneurs of environment-friendly products prove that the rewards of going into business to support a cause are more than just monetary. BY

KATRINA

TAN

•

PHOTOS

orldwide, a number of notable companies including furniture chain IKEA, cosmetics and skin care company The Body Shop, and automobile manufacturer Toyota, has been an inspiration of “green” growth across the globe. Locally, entrepreneurs have also been increasing awareness on our shores, revealing just how rewarding—both socially and ﬁnancially—running an environmentally friendly establishment can be.

A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

ALICE BLUE CANDLE, run by TISHA NAMIN-GONZALEZ and VENCER VIRAY, is the only hand-poured soy wax candle manufacturer in the Philippines. Each hand-poured soy wax candle is poured manually to ensure quality and is made from natural soybean wax. It has been in operation since May 2005, and its growth shows that environment-friendly businesses are not a fad. It started as a kiosk in the American Women’s Club of the Philippines (AWCP) Bazaar, then expanded to a ﬂagship kiosk in Glorietta 3 in November 2006, another kiosk in TriNoMa in August 2008, and a third one in The Podium in July 2009. Alice Blue also set up an e-commerce website in 2006, and have since become a mainstay in monthly AWCP Bazaar and other select bazaars. Likewise, KRIE LOPEZ of MESSY BESSY CLEANERS, INC., a manufacturer and retailer of biodegradable, earth-friendly, and non-toxic household cleaners made in the Philippines, believes that eco-awareness is here to stay and is, in fact, most likely to proliferate. She admits that the Philippines was a bit slow to catch up with the growing “trend” of ecofriendly products, but it is only going to grow as the market catches on. Proof of this is Messy Bessy’s product expansion: Messy Baby, a line of baby-friendly products, was launched in 2008, 12 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

JUN

PINZON

and Misis Linis will be introduced this year. Misis Linis is a line of more affordable green cleaners intended to spread environmental awareness to depressed communities.

CREATING VALUE

Alice Blue was borne out of a need to create candles that were environmentally sound. Tisha and Vencer observed that a number of locally manufactured candles are made from parafﬁn wax, which is a by-product of crude oil and produces similar adverse effects. Not only is crude oil a limited resource, but the paraffin also releases carcinogens and toxic fumes when burned, harming both humans and the environment. There was already a trend of using soy wax overseas, yet no one was manufacturing soy wax candles locally. Tisha and Vencer snapped up the opportunity. “The idea of using soy wax was appealing, since it’s a biodegradable and renewable resource derived from the soybean plant.” Meanwhile, Messy Bessy’s aim was not only to produce all-natural cleaning products, but also to provide a means of rehabilitation for disadvantaged youth. “I wanted something that would not just help those in need, but also be self-sustaining and not reliant on any outside donations,” tells Krie, whose inspiration came from America’s leading residential self-help organization, the Delancey Street Foundation. “I visited their headquarters in San Francisco for a week in 2006. They basically take in the bottom two percent of society—drug addicts, ex-convicts, etc.—and provide them with jobs that educate and empower them. The income from these jobs, in turn, is enough to sustain the whole program.” Immediately upon her return to the Philippines, Krie established the HOuSE (Helping OUrselves through Sustainable Enterprises)

Alice Blue Candles’ Vencer Viray (left) and Tisha NaminGonzalez named their product after the shade of blue that Alice Roosevelt-Longworth, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter, favored.

project, with the aim of establishing enterprises where disadvantaged individuals can work and grow to be productive members of society.

ON HER OWN

Messy Bessy penetrated the market gradually, starting with e-mail blasts and an online Multiply shop in September 2007 (messybessy. multiply.com).Feedback was positive, and a lot of people ordered Messy Bessy products as Christmas gifts, it sold about 3,000 bottles. In the first few months,sales totaled to almost half a million pesos. “I did all the research, ingredient sourcing, product and packaging development myself. Even the logo was a painting my sister and I made—we just had to come up with a name, which ended up being Messy Bessy,” reveals Krie, whose 150,000 investment went towards inventory and transportation. After two months of researching recipes online and having family and friends try the samples, Krie finished her first line of nine products by herself: Orange Blossom Surface Cleaner, Eucalyptus All-Purpose Scrub,

Messy Bessy’s Krie Lopez proudly shows off her environmental-friendly dishwashing liquid and hand wash.

As Alice Blue caters to both local and foreign customers, there are obvious differences in scent preferences and purchasing styles. Asians have a stronger preference for floral scents, while Europeans and Westerners like floral and food scents. Many expatriates also tend to buy large quantities for their next post in other countries. Alice Blue candles are also used in Manila’s Ayala Malls’ pay lounges, large corporations, hotels, and other establishments. Messy Bessy, on the other hand, doesn’t target a specific market. Messy Bessy simply aims to come up with the best product. Still, its most frequent customers tend to be the more affluent and educated sector, mostly females and young couples. Some of Messy Bessy’s more notable clients are Hindy WeberTantoco, Panjee Gonzales, and KC Concepcion, who bought the products as gifts.

NATURAL DEVELOPMENTS

CONTACT DETAILS Alice Blue Candle (632) 994.8500 (632) 584.1236 0917.8CANDLE (8226353) alicebluecandle@yahoo.com www.alicebluecandle.com Messy Bessy 0915.7892030, 0917.8303003 messybessycleaners@gmail.com

www.messybessy.com

Squeaky Clean Window Cleaner, Disinfectant Aroma Spray, Lavender Linen Spray, Jasmine Carpet Cleaner, Tea Tree Mold and Mildew Spray, Pure Dishwashing Paste, and Fruit and Veggie Wash. Krie partnered with Virlanie Foundation, the country’s largest non-proﬁt child-caring institution. “They [Virlanie] gave me 10 parttime girls from Elizabeth Home, a house for physical and sexual abuse vistims,” she shares. “Two to ﬁve girls would work [with me] at a time, so I trained them myself. Newcomers start with manual tasks, such as cleaning or mixing ingredients, before advancing to more administrative duties.”

MODEST STARTS

Alice Blue also operated as a home-based business for three years. The initial capital of 50,000 was spent on containers, melting pots, ladles, and other equipment. The ﬁrst scents were based on the our own preferences and ideas of what would do well in the market. “Successful scented candle making is a science,” states Vencer. “It’s not just a matter of melting

wax, adding fragrance oil, inserting a wick, and expecting it to scent a room. It took months of research and development to determine the correct marriage of wax, wicks, and fragrance oils to produce high-quality scented candles.” Now, Alice Blue has a line of 12 one-of-akind scents: Berry Crumble, Cinnamon Sticks, Cranberry Spice, Lavender, Lavender Vanilla, Lush Garden, Mediterranean Fig, Orange Clove, Peppermint, Sandalwood, Warm Baked Bread, and White Tea and Ginger, all sold in 6-oz. glasses.

EMERGING MARKETS

Alice Blue got a return on investment on its first bazaar, and until now, gets genuine compliments and customer recommendations. In addition to media features, itrelies on wordof-mouth as the main source of advertising. Alice Blue tries to educate the public about the benefits of candles through its brochures and website. Fortunately, despite the economic crunch, customers these days are willing to pay a little more to get quality they can be confident in—not to mention the effects of buying these products on the environment.

“Ideas for new products come from customers or just things that I need in my own house,” Krie reflects. “Now that I outsource the formulation to two chemists if I need help with the intricacies of product development, it takes a couple of months to come out with something new.” Messy Bessy currently carries 17 products in six different lines: all-purpose cleaners, specialty cleaners, disinfectants and deodorizers, kitchen sink mates, laundry detergents, and Messy Baby—which range from 60 to 800. “My pricing strategy comes from [my experience in Starbucks], which is to give customers the best value possible while still covering all expenses,” states Krie. “Our monthly expenses are about 50,000, which mostly go to product development, supplies, and wages.” Messy Bessy recently expanded its market presence with consignments in seven retail distributors. “At ﬁrst, only 20 percent of our sales came from these outlets and 80 percent still came from orders done through e-mail and the website. Now, it’s reversed,” shares Krie. Sales average from 500 to 1,000 products a month, which can grow three times the amount on peak season, Christmas time.

SAVVY SCENTS

Alice Blue now carries more than double its original number of products: 21 scented candles in 6-oz. glasses, 13 scented candles in 1.75-oz. glasses, two scented candles in deluxe ceramic containers, and several room sprays. The price for the line of 6-oz.scented candles are now 415, while the other products range from 175 to 700 each. Company sales saw a 100 percent increase on during ﬁrst year of business, and a 40 to 50 percent increase the following year.

HAIR & MAKEUP BY YEN UY (FOR TISHA NAMIN-GONZALEZ & VENCER VIRAY) • HAIR & MAKEUP BY JENG FLORES (FOR KRIE LOPEZ) • SHOOT DIRECTOR: RICUS AFABLE (FOR MESSY BESSY/KRIE LOPEZ)

HOT NEGOSYO

JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 13

HOT NEGOSYO “In general, our monthly gross income ranges from 50,000 to 150,000. Our peak seasons are during the holidays, starting in September; and the time when many expatriates go on leave— from May to June. Sales during these months can go as high as 40 to 50 percent,” Vencer says. “In addition, we also supply private labels and accept custom orders for special occasions.”

Alice Blue Candles are made of soy wax, fragrance oils, cotton, and paperwick.

UTILIZING THE WEB

Technology has played a major factor in Messy Bessy’s operations since the beginning. “The Internet made research and inventory sourcing much easier, as everything can be found online. Our first products were sold through an online Multiply store, which I still update with new products and information; and other blogs and customer comments have greatly helped market our brand,” reveals Krie. “I also try to personally respond to all customer e-mails and text messages. In fact, most of my work is done on my laptop—fixing company finances, designing collaterals and logos, and maintaining the website.” Alice Blue has likewise benefited from technology, specifically for its local and international sales. “We’ve taken advantage of Globe Telecom’s Vanity Number, with our 0917.8CANDLE. Customers can call and text for candle orders, prices, and other supply inquiries. The cellphone is also good for announcing sale discounts and new products,” enumerates Vencer. “Our website was set up in 2006—a year after starting the business—and has been a very good global source to find out more about us, our company, and products. We receive a number of inquiries and sales orders, especially from those abroad.”

FUTURE FORWARD

Messy Bessy maintains that it is not “pushy about environmental products. There are people who embrace it, and people who remain cynical. It’s a matter of choice. We like being able to provide something of value—to both our customers and employees—and be part of something that gives back.” ● Use fast internet connection to your business’ advantage with the

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14 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

Krie with her staff.

GOING ORGANIC! These initiatives bring awareness on the benefits of an organic lifestyle O P TA ( O r g a n i c P r o d u c e r s T r a d e Association) has remained at the forefront of the country’s organic industry since January 1995. “We wanted to bring organic practitioners together, learn from each other, set standard policies, create markets for organic products, and establish organic agriculture as a way of life,” enumerates Lina Tan, co-founder and first OPTA president. OPTA currently conducts seminars and training on organic farming, and its members also actively promote the cause by joining exhibits, such as Agrilink and Biosearch. “We’ve also contributed to the establishment of the Philippines Organic Standards for Certification, and the approval of the Executive Order 481 to promote bio-organic farming,” shares Lina. “We’re currently concentrated on lobbying with the Congress and Senate for a legislation of an appropriate organic law that will fast-track the development of the organic industry.” OPTA set up The Organik Cooperative in January 2004 to function as a communal store in Quezon City. This attracted much attention, as OPTA now has over 500 members. It maintains five regional chapters: Batangas, Benguet, Bicol, Iloilo, and Rizal. “Organic rice and vegetables are the most in-demand products while beverages, jams, and other processed food are also being developed. The demand for organic products has really grown, as there is already an awareness of the benefits,” explains Lina. THE ORGANIK COOPERATIVE 52-54 Esteban Abada St., Loyola Heights, Quezon City • (632) 436.3615

SALCEDO MARKET The popular Salcedo Market— now five years old—was the brainchild of two young mothers, Trickie ColaycoLopa and Lisa Ongpin-Periquet (who have since ceded management to the Bel-Air Barangay). Their intention was for the Market to be a venue for people to get to know each other. It also gave enterprising individuals an opportunity to make money on the side. Today, Salcedo Market is the most popular of its kind in Metro Manila. From an initial 28 vendors, it now retains about 150 regulars with another 1,000 on its waiting list. The Market has also grown to attract people from all areas and classes. “We have about 1,500 to 2,000 visitors every week, and even more during the Christmas season,” shares Tricia Lichuaco, one of the Market’s organizers. The Market primarily sells food and plants. Vendors have started to add a few organic products, but “our strictly organic vendor, Gil Carandang, was with us from the start. He initially occupied two tables for his organic fruits and vegetables. Now, his clientele has grown so much that he needs seven tables,” reveals Tricia. “Most of our organic-buying customers are health buffs or people who need to eat better—cancer patients, diabetics, etc. But Gil’s presence in the Market has made more customers aware of the healthier food choices they have now.” ■

COVER FEATURE

A FAMILY LEGACY

What began as a 20-peso homemade ham venture became a profitable business B Y

J E N N I F E R

C A S P E

•

P H O T O S

B Y

J U N

P I N Z O N

SLERS IS FAMOUS THROUGHOUT CAGAYAN DE ORO

for its homemade smoked country ham and other meat products. But ask what SLERS means and only a handful of people know. In fact, SLERS is the acronym of Fely’s four kids: Shirley, Litlit, Earl, Rey, and Sharon. SLERS was established in 1969 by an enterprising homemaker named OFELIA “FELY” COSIN PELAEZ who made smoked country ham from her home in Del Monte, Bukidnon. Fely perfected her recipe and sold the delicious hams to family and friends for Noche Buena. Word spread and soon her homemade ham, which came to be known as Jamon de Cagayan, became a local specialty. Fely then opened SLERS Deli, a small specialty store in downtown Cagayan de Oro. GETTING STARTED MERCEDEZ “LITLIT” PELAEZ-MEJIA was just seven years old when her mom started SLERS Industries, Inc. Even at a tender age, Litlit had responsibilities in the kitchen. Being a food lover, she grew up learning how to cook, even taking a short baking course in New York, but it never occurred to her that she would one day manage her mother’s business, which in time grew to be a family corporation. In 1987, Litlit and her husband Ardi were contemplating on migrating to the US when Fely asked her to take over the business to have more time to travel, since she wasn’t getting any younger. Litlit found the offer too tempting to refuse. “At that time, our son was already a toddler and we wanted to have more children. We decided it would be best to raise our kids in Cagayan de Oro, where we can both have careers but still have time for the family,” she says.

WHO’S THE BOSS When Litlit took over as Managing Director of SLERS Foods in August 1987, it was

CONTACT DETAILS: SLERS DELI Corner of Velez and Del Pilar Streets, 9000 Cagayan de Oro City 0917.7064826 slersfoods@gmail.com www.slers.com

still a backyard operation with only two employees. From the onset, Litlit, then 24 years old, asked her parents to give her a freehand with the business. “I made sure before accepting the job that I was to be recognized as the boss. It is very difficult to run an organization if there is more than one boss around,” she says.

With her mother’s blessing, she quickly got to work to professionalize the business by computerizing their accounting system and dressing up the two employees. “When we started, we didn’t even have accounting forms,” she says. “An accounting system is fundamental for growth. It’s hard to make an intelligent decision without knowing the numbers.” JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 15

COVER FEATURE NEW PRODUCTS & NEW CHALLENGES Since ham is a seasonal product, Litlit decided early on to develop more products. Her passion for good food was put to good use as she whipped up unique tocino, hotdog, corned beef, bacon, pork loin, and longganisa recipes which she sold by consignment in 200- to 250-gram packs in grocery stores and supermarkets around Cagayan de Oro. As with businesses that dealt with perishable items, there were challenges to overcome. Litlit remembers when 500 packs of corned beef rotted because the cold storage at one of the supermarkets broke down. Faced with the dilemma of selling meat at a lower price, or converting the whole cost as loss, Litlit stuck to her principles. “It was a hard decision, but I decided that I should never allow customers to receive your product at a quality below what they expect. The customer is always king,” she says. To prevent similar incidents, she hired promo merchandisers who not only push the brand but also watch over the stocks to make sure they are properly stored in each supermarket.

SLERS’ most famous product is the Jamon Cagayan de Oro

SLERS Express Meals is a hit with the mall crowd Litlit is SLERS Ham and Café’s number one customer

THE TAKAL SYSTEM After a few months of selling products in packs, Litlit experimented with what she calls the “takal” system, wherein whole slabs of tocino, longganisa, and corned beef are laid on big trays and customers are encouraged to order as little or as much as they want. Since this was not commonly practiced in grocery stores then, she faced some opposition, but Plaza Fair Cagayan de Oro allowed her to do this. “With this system, the meat looked fresh and customers were encouraged to get the quantity that ﬁt their budget,” she explains. It proved to be an effective strategy. Soon, other supermarkets allowed her to sell her products this way.

AIMING HIGH Life was idyllic in those days for Litlit. Her workload was light and by two or three in the afternoon, her work was already done. But Litlit is not one to rest on her laurels. From the onset, she had set high standards for SLERS. “I wanted SLERS to be a brand that’s good enough to sell to the world,” she explains. To push for product excellence and global competitiveness, Litlit coordinated with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to conduct a seminar for her then ﬁve employees about good manufacturing practices, with emphasis on food safety and food quality. Today, SLERS is an accredited AA meat processing plant of the Department of Agriculture-National Meat Inspection Service (DA-NMIS).

Globe Masigasig awardee, SLERS’ Mercedes Mejia, with a trophy and handyphone from Globe Business at the 2008 Entrepreneur 10 Awards held at the Peninsula Manila.

“The government was a big help to us,” Litlit acknowledges. “The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) even helped with our packaging machines by giving us interest-free loans. I also learned a lot from the seminars given by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC),” she says.

“You should never allow the customer to receive your product at a quality below what you expect. The customer is always king.” 16 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

LEARNINGS AND PITFALLS In the early ‘90s, SLERS opened eight sandwich kiosks in schools and universities in Cagayan de Oro as part of its marketing strategy. “We did that to ingrain in the mind of the students that SLERS is a good brand. It’s a marketing tool,” she shares. “But I tend to spend more time on the core [concerns of the] business, which are manufacturing and keeping our costs down. After all, even with all the marketing efforts, if we cannot deliver the quality we promise to deliver then there is no substance to our marketing. Ultimately, the numbers will show.” In 2001, Gaisano offered SLERS a good spot to put up a hotdog and sandwich on. It was followed by another stand in SM in 2002. Because of the high cost of rent in these malls, Litlit had to raise the selling price of SLERS hotdogs in all their existing stands at nearby schools. “It was a big mistake to raise prices too drastically,” she explains. “We were selling hotdogs in schools for 15 each. When SM opened and the rent was big, we had to sell the hotdogs at 25 each. I was selling around 500 hotdogs per day in schools but volume dropped by half because of the price increase.” To compensate, SLERS offered rice toppings. Later on, she decided to close most of the hotdog and sandwich stands in schools and concentrated their operations in malls instead. In 2006, Litlit established SLERS Express Meals, a quick service restaurant that serves their processed meat products. Moreover, SLERS also started distributing its pre-packed products through various supermarkets and outlets called the SLERS Pica-Pica. Their sales of 18.5 million in 2004 zoomed to 58.5 million in 2008—a 214% increase.

AN UNEXPECTED BESTSELLER In her 20 years in business, Litlit has learned to look at problems as opportunities. In fact, SLERS’ bestseller came about as a result of a setback. continued on p18

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COVER FEATURE In 2005, the company had to purchase a whole hog instead of just certain parts of it. Since customers were not interested in pork rinds, they accumulated a ton of it in the process. “We didn’t know what to do with it,” she shares, “I went online to see if TLRC had a seminar on chicharonmaking.” Fortunately, they had an instructional DVD on how to cook pork chicharon. Litlit spent many hours in the kitchen trying to come up with crispy pork rinds. Not content with that, she asked a friend from Cebu, well-known for its crispy pork crackers, to help her perfect this new product. Through free consultations with business experts from the Canadian Executive Service Overseas-Business Advisory Program (CESOBAP) and the Corporate Volunteers for Enterprise Development (CVED), Litlit was encouraged to concentrate marketing efforts on this new product. “They helped us realize that we can really do something with chicharon. It’s an impulse product, therefore, it’s easier for it to take off,” she explains. They invested 1 million in converting an idle 600-square meter space to a chicharon production facility, and also started to aggressively push the product through radio ads. “While we were promoting the chicharon, sales of the other SLERS products also increased,” she happily says. SLERS Chicharon was introduced in January 2006 and it has since become their bestseller. According to patrons, SLERS Chicharon’s taste is to die for. It is the only nitrogen-packed chicharon in the country. Both manufacture and expiry dates are machine printed to guarantee the quality from the processing plant. It is pre-packed, unlike others who claim freshness. Plus, this chicharon has a non-pork variant for the health-conscious.

SLERS TODAY Today, SLERS employs a total of 130 in its two meat-processing plants and retail outlets. It has maintained its quick service restaurant in Gaisano Mall Cagayan de Oro and two school outlets in Xavier University and Liceo de Cagayan University. The Pica-Pica kiosks have grown to 16 branches: eight in Cagayan de Oro, one in Iligan, three in Davao, two in General Santos City, and two in Manila (Market! Market! in Taguig City and Harrizon Plaza). Eleven of these kiosks are company-owned, while the other ﬁve are franchises. To jazz up SLERS Deli and make it more attractive to the younger set, Litlit renovated the specialty store in 2008, added Wi-Fi, and renamed it SLERS Ham and Café. With the business expanding rapidly, Litlit is unperturbed, having set up good foundations by hiring the right people and adhering to the company policies. For her, system and machine problems are “easy enough to solve,” while staff problems are “more delicate to manage. However, we have a company manual which is being used to determine that 18 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

Litlit struck gold with its pre-packed products sold through SLERS Pica-Pica and its best-seller, SLERS Chicharon.

TECHNOLOGY SAVVY

situation and the consequences.” Moreso, Litlit, a president of the Jaycees from 1998 to 1999, has learned to work smart, teaching her employees the importance of work ownership so she is able to delegate properly. “I’m more of a vanguard leader. I adapt to the needs of those I lead. If somebody needs close attention, I give them that. But if I see they can already work independently, I give them space,” she says. Her siblings Sharon and Ray are currently helping her run the operations.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES As its clientele grew, SLERS came into the attention of several award-giving bodies. In 2007, Litlit became one of the Go Negosyo Awardees for Region for her exemplary entrepreneurial contribution to the province of Cagayan de Oro. She also received the 2007 Excellent Franchisor Touch awarded by the Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. The following year, she received four more awards: Best in Business ExcellenceMedium Establishment Category awarded by Regional Development Council-NEDA X, CDOC; Top Ten Entrepreneurs of the Philippines Award; 1st National Winner of the Productivity Olympics Best in Business Excellence-Medium Enterprise Category awarded by DOLE; and the Globe Masigasig Award. SLERS’ success can be largely attributed to the attention that it gives its customers. Every SLERS product has a Globe number on the wrapper for customer service and feedback. “Our loyal customers always give the best feedback and we try to react fast. It is an advantage because there are no layers of management to delay decisions,” she expains. Litlit personally makes sure that customers are responded to quickly and diplomatically. There was a time when people texted saying that the product was too salty, and Litlit and her crew were able to quickly adjust to their customers’ taste.

Being an innovator, Litlit is always looking for ways to use technology to her advantage. One thing she can’t do without is her Globe mobile phone. “I’ve had this Globe number since way back. It’s my first ever line. Globe’s coverage is really good, so even if I’m in Manila, I’m able to do business more efficiently,” she says. To improve the efficiency of their inventory system, Litlit is looking to invest in Globe’s Inventory Ordering System (IOS). This will allow SLERS outlets to order supplies via text. Upon confirmation, orders will be automatically loaded into the Globe server, which schedules the delivery and prepares the statement of accounts. “We can do more business with technology,” she adds. At 46, Litlit still has many dreams for her brand. “We believe in sustainable growth,” she shares. “We plan to build an HACCP-certified (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) meat processing plant and distribute our frozen products in the Vis-Min area. We want to bring the SLERS Ham and Café concept to key cities in the Philippines and grow our franchised stores nationwide. We plan to innovate new snack items for the Pica-Pica stores and develop new products using abundant local raw materials for export, like coconut sap into vinegar or other value added products using vinegar as its base.” If there’s an advice she can give to aspiring entrepreneurs, it is to constantly develop and innovate. “When I started, I really didn’t know much about the business. As long as you’re eager to learn and are open and sensitive to the needs of the market, then you can really improve yourself. Never stop learning. Kapag masyado ka nang bilib sa sarili mo, that’s the start of your downfall.” ●

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MAKEUP BY ANA ISIP

GLOBAL ANG DATING

PINOY PRIDE

in a BOTTLE Don Roberto’s mango wine is poised to take over the globe BY

SAMANTHA

E C H AV E Z

•

PHOTOS

e Filipinos take pride in the sweet, succulent Philippine mangoes. Why not? They are unparalleled worldwide and as such, have been made into a variety of products like candies, preserves, and chips. Thespian-turnedwinemaker ROBERTO CASTAÑEDA created something entirely different and purely brilliant: mango wines. Now, Don Roberto’s Green Mango Wine and Don Roberto’s Sweet Yellow Mango Wine hold the distinction of being the first mango wines in the world.

JUN

PINZON

CONTACT DETAILS Roberto “Oby” R. Castañeda Don Roberto’s Winery Corporation Doña Enriqueta Building, 100 Gen. E. Topacio Street, Imus, Cavite 4103 0917.8102522 donroberto@mangowine.com www.mangowine.com

JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 19

GLOBAL ANG DATING Don Roberto employees take special care in making the mango wine--from the peeling, blending, and cooking before storage and fermentation.

A BELGIAN GIFT

Roberto or Oby has lived quite a life: he is an architecture graduate who decided to pursue a passion for performance on-stage, which led to roles on TV and the movies. He is also quite the entrepreneur—he put up Maritime Savings Bank in Cavite, then ventured into a restaurant business that he put up in Victoria, Canada. These ventures are now being run by his siblings. In 1999, he came back to the Philippines and settled in Baguio to do a feasibility study on his food business and at the same time, help a congregation of Belgian nuns in Baguio. His philanthropic work involved staging musical plays to help increase vocation and extended to cooking for the nuns and giving them cooking lessons. When he discovered that one of the nuns, Sister Dolores, was making guava, strawberry, and pomelo wines, he asked her to teach him “And the nun gave me the secret of the wine as a gift with the promise that I only use the wine for private consumption,” Oby recalls.

STARTING THE WINERY

Armed with the secret fruit recipe, Oby went back to Manila. The idea to make fruit wines appealed to him, but he didn’t know what fruit to use. He prayed for a sign. Just then, he was in front of the TV, and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s speech during the Cebu Mango Congress caught his attention. “Let us promote mangoes.” That was Oby’s answer. After securing the permission from the Belgian nuns who assured him that it was okay to produce mango wine as this was different from what they had been producing, Oby bought carabao mangoes and did a series of studies and experiments. On November 22, 2000, he successfully fermented a batch of the sweet (yellow) mango wine. By April 21, 2001, he already had the formula for the production of green mango wine. He launched the product on December 2, 2001 at ARKDIA at Malate, Manila. He started selling it on January 2002, in a conical plastic bottle produced by Mr. Alex Suarez of Metaplast, Inc. 20 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

Don Roberto’s Mango Wines uses super carabao mangoes, and Oby only wants the best, most plump mangoes around. FRUITFULLY WORLD-CLASS

Oby actively campaigned for his mango wines, joining trade fairs, meeting other entrepreneurs and suppliers, and going as far as Orange County, California to learn from the town’s finest winemakers. While he already had the mango wine recipe down pat, he had yet to discover how to clear the wine. Oby deemed this important because even though wine drinkers found his product good, a clear wine is still one of the important qualities of fine wine. Also, Oby felt the need for further improvement because his mango wine is marketed alongside grape wines, which is the more popular kind. By this time, he already spent 250,000 on research and development alone. Clearing the wine would cost him more money—as much as 3 million! It was money that he did not have. Then, he met a supplier who gamely told him: “Give me your samples and I’ll do it for free. ” With nothing to lose, he took a chance, and got back positive results—the wine came back clear. “I saved 3.5 million!” People would call it a stroke of luck; Oby called it divine intervention. “I also needed 6 million for the bottle [design]. A very good friend who is a good labelmaker suggested a conical shaped bottle of wine. He worked on it for one month.” After the bottle was completed, Oby readied the labeling and added ‘Don’ to his first name as the brand, for a classy touch. “By 2004, we relaunched the now-clear wine—this time, in food-grade plastic bottles,” Oby says. “Sales were good. When I introduced the product at the price of 300 to 400,

wala masyadong bumibili in 2002. But when I increased the price to 750, marami ng bumili,” Oby says amusingly, referring to the penchant of wine connoisseurs for more expensive, highquality wine. Inevitably, the mango wines started to receive critical acclaim. Department of Trade and Industry’s Nelly Favis Villafuerte herself pushed for the development and distribution of mango wine. PHILSTAR Award by the Packaging Institute of the Philippines awarded Don Roberto’s Mango Wines with the Trophy and Certiﬁcate of Merit of Packaging Excellence. But the best recognition Don Roberto’s received so far is the First Prize-Gold Award in the prestigious FINAT International Label Competition held in Austria in June of 2003. Don Roberto’s Mango Wines bested other wines all over the world with its top quality packaging and creative labeling. There were 200 entries from 200 companies submitted by 21 countries. Oby looked back at that glorious day. He remembers proudly placing the Philippine ﬂag vis-à-vis his product—but someone asked him to take it down. Indignant, he refused to comply to the order, proving his ardent patriotism, his Pinoy pride. Not long after his triumph at Austria, his mango wines were also exhibited in the International Label Congress in Brussels, Belgium on September 24 to 27, 2007.

STRIVING FOR PERFECTION

Oby was adamant in producing only the best mango wines. This meant partnering with

GLOBAL ANG DATING Korea and Singapore, but they didn’t [want them in plastic bottles], so we started developing the glass bottle.” The plastic bottles were recalled and this year sees the distribution of the newlydeveloped glass bottles. “Now, the [plastic bottled wines] are collectors’ items.”

2009 AND BEYOND

“My vision is for the Don Roberto’s Mango Wine to be on every meal table and come at par with world’s quality wine,” Oby says. After almost seven years of research and development— from 2002 to 2009—Castañeda finally perfected the wine. “Kumikita kami pero mas mahal ang [ginagastos namin]. Ginagamit ang kita sa pag-improve and R&D.”

Don Roberto’s Sweet Mango Wine and Green Mango Wine have gone through different product development phases of clearing and repackaging. It now debuts to the world in the signature conical glass bottle

suppliers and distributors who would share the same vision. “Hindi puwede ang ‘puwede na’. So, I had to work. Nagbasa ako. Nag-experiment ako. I’m not a chemist. I am a very honest and loyal person. I told my suppliers, ‘Maging tapat ka sa akin, at magiging tapat ako sa iyo.’” “You don’t exchange quality. Not even for proﬁt. I teach and conduct business legally and morally,” Oby says. Don Roberto’s Mango Wines uses super carabao mangoes (an improvement to local carabao mangoes), and Oby only wants the best, most plump mangoes around. “I use 300 kilos a day. That’s 3 baskets, and when there’s just one substandard mango, the whole shipment is out. In winemaking, isang bote lang ang ‘di maayos, the whole shipment will [be returned].” Of course, with its rising popularity, comes imitation. Oby is aware that there six other winemakers also producing mango wines in the country who operate on a much smaller scale. This doesn’t cause him alarm...yet. “I don’t mind, but if you threaten me kakatukin na kita kasi akin ang patent,” he says. “It’s still early and I’m still trying to wait and see [to sue the copycats].” Oby opens his products for distribution and states his reason for doing so: “Outsourcing, getting distributors, that’s my style. I just want to manufacture. [There’s a misconception that distributorship is] consignment. I only deal with [businesses that are registered as] sole proprietorship or corporation.” “My distributors participate in trade fairs, both here and abroad,” Oby says. His 15 distributors distribute his mango wines across the metro. “Our number one customer is NAIA, at Manila Cigars,” Oby says, proving that his mango wine has become a favorite Pinoy pasalubong. Also, Josephine’s Restaurants, Gourmet Café, Sweet Solutions, Landmark, Tiendesitas, Market Market, Pan Paciﬁc, RCBC.” But most of his customers go to the factory themselves, driving all the way from Manila to Imus for a taste of his wine. His customers are balikbayans who can’t wait to share their mango wines with their foreigner friends.

These days, Oby remains hands-on with the manufacturing. His factory can produce anywhere from 400 to 1,000 bottles a day. While he spends 3 million per product (he has three products: the yellow wine, green mango wine, and the brewed coffee wine which is still under development) with the production cost of 15 to 20 million, Oby admits he hasn’t stopped thinking of better, cost-effective ways to produce better mango wines. “We do cost cutting by maintaining only the minimum required number of employees but without sacriﬁcing the quality of the wine,” he says. Just last year, Oby came up with a new bottle design and brought it out to the market. “The product was ready for export to countries like

OBY’S ADVICE:

“Pag nagsisimula ka, start right. Start properly. Correct values and good discipline. Everything will follow. Have a very good feasibility study. Think: ‘Will I be enjoying doing the business?’ The beginning and end of everything [of the business] is you. ‘Wag mo sisisihin iba.”

CONNECTING TO THE WORLD

One way of improving the business is by staying connected. Oby knows all too well the importance of getting connected online for the advancement of his winemaking business. “I really think Internet helps with the business. IT in business is really inevitable. In fact it was [my distributor] Jovel Cipriano who developed my website and email back in 2003. I used to do brochures—which was expensive, tapos itatapon lang ng mga tao. With the internet, everything can be done with a click of a button. “There are direct inquiries from all over the world. We also have our website plus our E-market distributor, Mr. Jovelito (Jovel) Cipriano of Pinoy Delikasi,” adds Oby. Oby, who also helps out other winemakers especially in Baguio by mentoring, has many more plans in mind for his mango wine: push the new and improved bottle, launch the brewed coffee wine in the new glass bottle, launch in Germany (he’s still waiting for DTI to give him the details) and be a ﬂag bearer. Now that his product is bigger and better, Oby Castañeda and his mango wine are set to conquer the world. ●

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JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 21

BATANG NEGOSYANTE

SWEET(smell of)

SUCCESS

MICHELLE ASENCE believes beauty and wellness need not come with an expensive price tag

B Y

PA U L A

B I A N C A

A B I O G

•

P H OTO S

ntering the ZEN ZEST store in Glorietta 3 for the ﬁrst time, one gets the impression that the products sold there are the good-but-expensive imported kind. So people continue to be surprised that Zen Zest is actually a local brand, made locally using homegrown materials. In fact, owner Michelle Asence, 31, is a young entrepreneur who initially wanted to come up with a locally-made personal care product line so that it would be cheaper for her.

STARTING SMALL, MAKING IT BIG

A big fan of body care products, Michelle wasn’t too thrilled with the expensive prices of imported brands. The absence of good yet affordable personal care products in the market gave then 23-year-old Michelle an idea to make and sell her own merchandise. Starting with the principle that everybody takes a bath, wants to smell and look good, therefore the business would grow. She wasted little time in putting up her first store, but she admits doing so without a feasibility study before opening her business. She sought out a chemist to teach her how to make fragrances and lotions, and made the first stocks in her house. Borrowing 350,000 capital from her mother, she used the money to cover rental deposit for her first cart in SM Megamall and for the initial inventory. Zen Zest’s first products consisted of body sprays, eau de toilettes, lotions, and body scrubs. “I came up with the products because I was inspired by imported brands that carry the same line of products. When I was trying out the scents, I asked my titas and friends to choose which scents they liked. Our first scents were based on their votes. My uncle, who had a penchant for fragrances, helped and influenced me—I grew to like perfumes because I was constantly raiding his perfume collection,” she shares. Zen Zest first opened as a small twosquare-meter cart in May 2001, and it took only around three months for Michelle to recoup her 22 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

Zen Zest’s gift sets range from skincare product collections to room and aromatherapy collections.

B Y

H E I D I

investment. From that small cart, Zen Zest has grown to 104 outlets nationwide, 60 percent of which is company-owned. She credits her youth as a factor in making it big. “My age was both a disadvantage and an advantage. Disadvantage, because I had no background in retail and I did not know anything about running a business,” she says. “It was an advantage because I had so much time to learn more things. Even if I made mistakes, I could easily do something about it. Also, my suppliers were very supportive because I was their youngest client that time.” As the company grew, Michelle realized that in order to expand the business, she had to get into franchising. Michelle patterned the franchise system of Zen Zest to that of her family’s fast food business, Goto King. “There were a lot of franchise inquiries early on. Also, we wanted to open provincial outlets and have a franchisee who lives in that area will make things much easier for us. It’s also advantageous to them since they can easily man their outlets and check more often.”

KEEPING UP THE PACE

“What sets us apart from our local competitors is that we offer the whole range of body care and ambiance products.”

PA S C U A L

Running a business is no easy task. “Since the company is still small, I have to be in charge of visual merchandising, product development, sales, ﬁnance, and marketing, among others.” Michelle makes sure that she stays on top of everything that concerns business to ensure all runs smoothly. “Product development depends on me. I read a lot of books and magazines, and surf the Net for new ideas and designs. I get inspiration from my trips abroad, books, movies, and sometimes, even food. Our new Sparkling Sugar line, for example, was inspired by a cupcake store in Makati.” Apart from coming up with new products and packaging designs, she also does store displays in her outlets, and still personally meets with wwstaff and suppliers.

BATANG NEGOSYANTE She also gets feedback and a feel for current trends from her customers, mostly female, through customer suggestion forms and surveys. “Our best-selling products are our fragrances. But the trend now is aromatherapy, and we noticed that more and more people are starting to buy our aromatherapy products,” she shares. They have also started to target the male market, coming up with more fragrances for men. “We already had a few fragrances for men when we opened our ﬁrst outlet. We just expanded our men’s line,” she says. Eight years after, Zen Zest remains top-ofmind when it comes to affordable, high quality body care products. But that’s no reason to be complacent—especially when a lot of similar shops are coming up with their own products. Michelle, though, does not see these as a threat. “I am lucky that my competitors in the local industry are also my personal friends. I see it as healthy competition. Each of us has our own identity and niche market,” she says. How does Michelle retain her competitive edge? “What sets us apart from our local competitors is that we offer the whole range of body care and ambiance products. Also, we have fun concepts for our products like the Cocktail Collection and the Sparkling Sugar Collection.” The former was inspired by different cocktails and are meant for gimmicks; the latter caters to the teen market.

MASS PRODUCTION

MICHELLE ASENCE: “My age was both an disadvantage and an advantage. Disadvantage, because I had no background in retail and I did not know anything about running a business. It was an advantage because I had so much time to learn more things. Even if I made mistakes, I could easily do something about it.”

CONTACT DETAILS Zen Zest 2nd Floor, Glorietta 3, Makati City 0917.883-2045 www.zenzestasia.com

SHOOT DIRECTOR: CINDY DY

When Michelle started Zen Zest, production was based in her house and she made the fragrances and lotions herself. Now, production has moved out to a laboratory, with an inhouse chemist who does formulations for the products. “When we started, there was just the two of us. We now have 35 office and warehouse employees, and around 150 employees in the stores,” she says. Distribution, at the beginning, was also difficult. When she first started, she had to deliver her stocks to the shops herself. “When I started, I did not own a car, so either I borrow a car from my aunt or uncle, or take a cab [to deliver my stocks to the store,]” she relates. “Now that is not a problem anymore, because we have delivery vans to distribute our products to all the outlets,” she adds. Michelle started exporting in 2003, as foreigners increasingly expressed interest in her products. Her line of personal care products has already reached Japan, Bahrain, and Brunei. “We distribute our products through our retail outlets—both companyowned and franchised. We also distribute our products in other countries. The outlets just order from the head office and we serve their orders.

JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 23

BATANG NEGOSYANTE

Distributing abroad is quite easy because they place orders three to four times a year, as compared with the local outlets, to which we deliver two times a month. So logisticswise, exporting is easier. Our products are also sold in boutiques and shops abroad. The hard part, thoough, is ﬁxing all the papers we have to process, and the trilingual translations for the labels that we are currently doing,” she explains.

RUNNING ON TECHNOLOGY

Operating a business with numerous outlets in and out of Metro Manila, as well as serving orders overseas, makes technology a necessity, especially now that Michelle is also busy with wedding preparations. “Honestly, I am getting stressed these past few months. Apart from running the business, I am also preparing our wedding and our new home. The bright side is that my ﬁancé helps me a lot—and we have fun in the process!” she exclaims. Cell phones are especially crucial to the business. “Telecommunications is very important! All of our store supervisors have cell phones, and they communicate with the ofﬁce and their respective area managers through cell phones. Sometimes, they do their ordering through their cell phone, especially if there’s no fax machine around. I am also constantly in contact with my suppliers through my phone,” she says. The Zen Zest website features the range of products, from fragrances, bath and body products, to home products. The website also has a ‘Contact Us’ section where inquiries and suggestions can be sent. “Feedback from clients and employees is very important because it helps us improve our products. We 24 • JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG

(Clockwise from left) Glorietta is one of Zen Zest’s stand-alone stores, whose displays and “concepts” are constantly evolving to attract customers; Zen Zest soaps and skincare products come in pretty packaging; its fragrances have fun names like Flirt and Blush.

also get ideas on which products to create because of customer feedback.” Keeping in touch with her market, Zen Zest maintains accounts in popular social networking sites, Friendster and Multiply. These social networking sites help increase Zen Zest’s visibility online. “We are also able to update our clients on our parties, photo shoots, etc.” she says.

PLAYING IN THE BIG LEAGUE

In the current business milieu, Michelle sees the brighter side. “Right now, people are holding on to their money. But I do not see it as a challenge because our prices are quite low. Instead of buying signature imported brands, people will opt to buy Zen Zest because of its high quality and affordability,” she says, citing that Zen Zest’s quality, reasonably priced items (ranging from 55 to 300) are a plus factor for customers. On the production side, she admits that the company also has to practice being frugal. “Our overhead is quite lean in terms of costs. But still, we have to make adjustments. We haggle for lower prices from our suppliers, we save on electricity and gas as well.” “If there’s a financial crisis such as this one, what we entrepreneurs have to do is offer products or services that the market can afford.” ●

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FRANCHISING TRIVIA 101

ARE YOU FRANCHISOR MATERIAL? Find out the qualities that make you a good franchisor B Y PA U L A B I A N C A A B I O G

o you have what it takes to become a good franchisor? Experts in the ﬁeld share the characteristics and values that make up a trustworthy franchisor.

A CLEAR VISION AND A QUALITY PROGRAM FOR FRANCHISEES. Franchisors must have an accurate image of his aims and objectives for the franchise, and should be able to offer an excellent training program for their franchisees. “They should be able to provide their franchisees manuals for the different aspects of the outlet. This is what the franchisees paid for—the system of the franchisor,” says Michelle Asence, President and General Manager of Zen Zest.

YOU SHOULD BE HIGHLY SKILLED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. “The franchisee will be relying on [your] expertise and experience in the business to make their franchise successful. This is key because if the franchisor has limited experience, [then] there is no sense going into franchising. A good track record is crucial,” says Victor Fernando, Franchise Director of the Big Apple Express Spa. Experience is key, so if you’re new to the franchising business, attend franchise seminars to expand your knowledge.

BE FULLY PREPARED TO ENTER THE FRANCHISING BUSINESS AND BE ADAPTABLE AND OPEN TO LEARNING NEW STRATEGIES. Franchisors should ﬁrst fully study and understand what franchising is all about. “Mental and emotional preparedness should be innate in the franchisor. It’s not easy dealing with people, [especially] someone who would be running a business that you conceptualized,” says Monibel Dychiao of Steak MD.

WILLINGNESS TO SHARE THE BUSINESS STRATEGY. Franchising is about replicating the successful strategies of the franchisor. “This entails sharing the same strategies to the franchisees to enable them to be successful as well. However, this does not mean that proprietary recipes and formulas need to be revealed—it the responsibility of the franchisor on how to protect such,” says Richard Sanz of The Tea Square.

BEING COMMITTED TO THE BUSINESS. Franchising is a complicated business model Opening your business to franchisees to get into. According to Fernando, it is not as does not end with putting up the branches. simple as putting a franchising label to one’s The franchisor is the leader of business and then selling the the pack, and he must be able franchise, especially if you have The to continuously deal with running no previous experience in Association ssociation the business and his franchisees. re just franchising. If you’re of Filipino ““A quick review of the most about to start franchising Franchisers successful franchises will reveal your business, it’s a Inc. (AFFI) that the owner or founder was good idea to get the seeks to 100 percent hands-on in making services of a franchise professionalize the business grow. This approach consultant who can and standardize the local will enable the franchisor to help you set up your franchising industry. For know what strategies and systems franchise system and more details, log on to are the best for his/her business,” business, teach you the ins and outs (www.affi.com.ph). says Sanz. ● of the business.

ROUNDUP

“What is your

business superstition?”

These young, modern-minded entrepreneurs still follow certain “traditions” in running their business. COMPILED

B Y G I S E L L E M A R I E TA N

JAEHANNE UY, Sun

Valley Rice Supply

“We don’t allow deliveries on Mondays because I’d rather not let any money out at the start of the week. Also, I like to keep the bills paid by our customers neat and clean, to reﬂect how we want the business to be.”

ICE DE OCAMPO, Ice

PATRICK SY, Wasabi Toys

“I place coins in certain areas of my shop to bring in good business. I also don’t like to count my sales until the end of the day—sort of like not counting your eggs before they hatch, right?”

Technologies and Systems

AMIS TUMANG, Playground Sportswear

“I don’t accept money from clients on the ﬁrst meeting. Also, I never wear black to a business meeting—not the shirt, the pants, or even the shoes. When I follow these ‘rules’, the projects always seem to move more smoothly and successfully.”

“I believe that how you start the day will inﬂuence the rest of the day. That is why every morning, I make sure everything is in the right place and that everyone is excited. When everyone is excited, it pumps up enthusiasm and motivates their performances! So bawal nakasimangot dito!” JULY 2009 • GLOBE MASIGASIG • 25

search sites—a faster mechanism compared with a horizontal search engine which will only give the URLs of the job search sites,and will only initiate the actual search after the said job search sites are accessed.

WEB’S NEWEST SEARCH SPIDER

BERNICE MARIE V. BERIDA, SPECIAL F E AT U R E S W R I T E R

rom a college garage experiment, Yehey! Corporation grew into a powerhouse portal with a stubborn business model operating on lucrative ground—a local reminder that not all enterprising websites of the past decade succumbed to the dot-com crash. Assuming the position as president and chief executive ofﬁcer of Yehey! Corporation in late 2005, Donald Patrick Lim was tasked with re-engineering the local search engine to become a full-blown digital marketing firm. “At the beginning, the founders latched on to the popularity of Yahoo! by “ﬁlipinizing” it. Also, at the time, there are no other strong search engines that concentrated on Filipino content and news in the market,” said Mr. Lim. These days, among the slew of search engines in the web, Yehey! hopes to make itself stand out through features like vertical search, a specialized search engine that will enable the site to focus

on Philippine websites to provide more relevant results to local users. Unlike the broad-based search used by industry bigwigs like Google, which crawls through milllions of documents on the web, the domain-specific mechanism zooms in on specific slices of the content based on information type— data, video, music, graphics—or the user’s location. Thus, the search engine can be customized for certain fields like medicine, real estate and travel. To streamline its content, the Yehey! site has been simplified to bear only its logo, a search box, and the search category tabs (Web, News, Jobs, Classifieds) on a plain background. To come up with the most relevant search results, Yehey! created its own BOT system that catalogues narrow but related selections. For instance, clicking the Jobs category tab and typing a keyword lets the system search in job sites only, rather than searching across the whole world wide web. Yehey! Vertical Search will automatically give the user links to these job

In addition, each search category in Vertical Search comes with a reﬁnement tool that further tailors the search results according to the content that the user wants. “The vertical search market is expected to reach $ 1 billion in revenue this year. This vertical search site is lucrative because companies that advertise in the site reach a very speciﬁc audience, who are, based on their search queries, are most likely to avail of the company’s products and services than the average broad-based search engines user,” said Mr. Lim. For non-traditional media practitioners, Mr. Lim says the key to capturing potential audiences is to start with an idea that people would be interested in. “It could be big or small, niche or commercial. It should satisfy a need and a want. This is where you get the audience to the platform. Once you have a market, you should be able to convert this to sales may it be advertising, subscription, etc.,” he said. Web-based platforms have become increasingly attractive to starting entrepreneurs these days due to the burgeoning number of Internet users in the country. “Consumers would trade in anything for convenience. Besides the new generation is all online. It’s either you use the medium or lose them,” explains Mr. Lim “The weight of the success really is more on the creative business idea,” said he adds. ●

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