Young entrepreneur's determination boosts hometown's economy

MANILA, Philippines - Palawan currently offers an endless plate of adventures. In a word, it is a pocketful of paradise, a natural playground for pleasure. Its continuing economic development, as may be gleaned from various oil and gas explorations (such as the Camago-Malampaya natural gas field in the northwest), has also gotten a number of investors to be more and more attracted to Palawan.

Today, from being a premier spot in Philippine eco-tourism, Palawan is also changing fast, with a determined businessman now helping his hometown get a different spark.

Christopher Lim, a young entrepreneur from Palawan who has been operating a thriving business as an exporter of sea products in Coron, recognizes a good opportunity when he sees one. When he stumbled upon an RC Cola advertisement, his interest in the soft drinks business began. Realizing how well this carbonated drink is now being accepted in Manila and in nearby Luzon provinces, Lim saw his chance to pitch this product in his own province.

“It all began with a commercial. We spotted an RC Cola TV ad which inspired us to look into the bottling business. We tracked them down,” he recalls. With his interest prodding him on, Lim, together with his wife Marie Rose and sister Shirley, travelled all the way to Canlubang where the Southern Tagalog office of Asiawide Refreshments Corp. (ARC), the licensed manufacturer and distributor of RC Cola products, is located. 

Prior to taking the blind taste test, Lim has already decided that he would bring RC Cola to Palawan. And when he finally tasted it, it was a done deal. With no experience in the bottling industry whatsoever, Lim relied on his business acumen to sail through. Starting with 5,000 cases of RC Cola, Lim started distributing at the grassroots level, offering the product to small stores in his native Coron.

The result was a resounding success that in just two years, he was not only able to recoup his investments but had even managed to bring in more. Lim’s pitch for RC Cola has turned out to be one winning move.

“It’s sulit sa presyo, and tastes really good. People really buy RC Cola products and that has served as my impetus to push through with the business,” beams Lim. Taking note of such potential, Lim started to think of expanding his business. In his case, this meant bringing RC Cola to Puerto Princesa, the province’s capital. Guided by his foresight, Lim approached the management of ARC and asked for exclusive dealership in Palawan.

So from supplying RC Cola only in Coron at the onset, Lim would soon be distributing products in the entire province. With 23 municipalities, the vast regions in Palawan can easily affect Lim’s bottling business -- but he was determined.

Today, around 400 locals are making a living from Lim’s bottling business. As the man responsible for introducing RC Cola to Palawan, Lim is proud of this accomplishment. But he is also quick to point that his achievement would not have been possible without the generous support of Asiawide Refreshments Corp.