There should be a certain amount of pride associated with building successful true Filipino brands that sustain thru time. The same also holds true with the thought that every Filipino home has been touched by your brand/s at least once in the household’s lifetime. A daunting thought in today’s times is that brands, more than ever, play an important role in shaping perception, habit and even emotional and physical sustenance of consumers.
Such was my sentiment when I joined the NutriAsia group as its president late last year. This was good enough reason for me and my family to decide to head back home to Manila from Kuala Lumpur where I was then the Chairman of a major multinational company for Malaysia and Singapore.
It is funny how you get to know and learn more about the soul of your culture when immersed or lost amidst a rich tapestry of diverse cultural taste, practices and behavior. This I realized after having lived and worked in a good number of countries like China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It is when one starts losing oneself amidst the diversity he finds himself surrounded with that he begins to discover himself again because it is then that he begins to go back to his own roots for reference.
At the core of each culture is food. Every culture has a signature dish that speaks volumes of history; every family has a dish passed on lovingly from generation to generation. Likewise, many countries have a specific food product considered as a national icon however adopted in other cultures such the Australian marmite, Sri Lankan Tea, French Mustard, German Sausage, Belgian Chocolate, etc. Every weary traveler or immigrant finds solace in comfort food from home.
The iconic Filipino brands like Datu Puti Vinegar and Soy Sauce have already been used to make millions of delicious and delectable Sinigang and Adobo dishes. UFC, Papa, Jufran and Mafran ketchup have also delighted generations of Filipinos eating Fried Chicken or even Pinoy Spaghetti. A number of fiestas and family gatherings have also been made special with lechon and paksiw and the special Mang Tomas all-around sauce. These products have made me feel at home figuratively (like many overseas Filipinos) and literally (now back in Manila).
It is also important for business leaders to find meaning or cause in what they do. Apart from getting a chance to be part of the team that shapes the future of a true Filipino company, it is gratifying to know that what we make plays a significant role in the lives of people: whether it is building family ties, creating new friendships, bridging broken relationships, remembering home, or simply rewarding oneself after a hard and honest day’s work.
This sense of purpose is what fuels business leaders like me to continue to drive the business forward, towards both commercial and societal objectives. As one of the leaders in the food industry, it is imperative that we continue to deliver innovations that would further enrich the Filipino food culture and in these times of economic difficulty, bring solutions to the need to satisfy the family’s nutritional requirements and access to food that they desire.
Such was the idea behind Golden Fiesta Cooking Oil. With its excellent formulation, the brand provides the family the chance to cook the best-tasting fried dishes while being cost efficient. With Golden Fiesta, you can reuse the oil a good number of times while preserving the good taste of fried food. The small pouch packs of ketchup and meal mixes entail lower cash outlay that is easy on the pocket. Another innovation is simply how Mang Tomas can complete any meal (including rice) as it is recognized by many chefs, young and old, as one truly delicious sauce and meal by itself. Mang Tomas, in fact, provides a very good opportunity to create a true Filipino special delicacy (product) that can break ground across different cultures. That prospect is truly exciting!
Our most recent innovation, which I am especially proud of, is the new UFC Sarsarap Rice Buddy. This pioneering innovation is closest to the eating habits of Filipinos, who prefer to eat rice more than noodles. In fact, we had to come up with the proper name to describe this new category, an instant rice viand which provides the most loved Filipino taste of Adobo, Bistek and Lechon Paksiw. Each pouch that costs only P5 is capable of providing every Filipino a snack or meal using rich Filipino sauces as rice toppings. There is no need to cook the Sarsarap Rice Buddy so it is extremely convenient for a quick bite at home, while at work or in school. This makes the snack and meal variety of Filipinos even more exciting. Consistent to our goal of providing great meals, it is apparent that Sarsarap is delivering on this objective. This makes the life of a business leader even more very fulfilling.
As part of my son’s homework at school where the teacher wanted the kids to get to know and learn about what their fathers did, he asked me what it was I did. At that point, I wished that I was a lawyer or a doctor so the answer would have been easier. Since I do what I do, my answer was simply “I am part of a team that tries to give every Filipino a chance at a great meal everyday.”