Local meat processing firm eyes health-conscious market

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu-based meat processor Sunpride Foods Inc., is putting innovations in the front line, particularly in capturing the health-conscious market.

 “We view the health-conscious segment as one that focuses on the uncompromising quality of their food. Because we pride ourselves to be a high-quality meat processor, we've moved towards revisiting what contributes to the quality of our products --from our ingredients, raw materials, processes, facilities, and equipment--our total value chain aims to deliver only the highest-quality products at the most affordable prices,” said Don Hanley Wong, Sunpride’s Marketing Head.

Sunpride, which celebrates 50 years in business this year, is also focusing on introducing innovations to stay relevant and continue to thrive moving forward.

According to Wong, Sunpride takes serious stance on full entry to digitalization, like selling or marketing through online platforms.

We are also looking towards strengthening our institutional partnerships to live up to our mission to provide more accessible offerings to every Filipino's dining experience. We’ll start from there and slowly introduce other improvements to ensure that we are more resilient,” added Wong.

In celebration with its 50th year anniversary, Sunpride announced the launch of its commemorative coffee table book, as well as hosting fun and exciting activities for its loyal customers and employees.

“We are genuinely grateful to mark this milestone in our operations. We are very thankful to our loyal customers who have grown with us and who continue to trust our products through the years.  We also want to express our gratitude to our employees who have been valuable resources to the company and who have been instrumental in bringing us to where we are now,” noted Wong.

Sunpride will be celebrating this milestone with numerous treats and activities for its employees until the end of the year.  These include an employee recognition event, special food selections to be served at the canteen, anniversary t-shirt design contest, talent competition, memory lane exhibit featuring old pictures and relics, special videos about Sunpride leaders, exemplary employees and love stories, bazaar festival, TikTok dance challenge, and a whole lot more.

Sunpride will also be launching its revamped website on September 10, the actual date of the company’s anniversary.  This date will also mark the commencement of the four-month festivities mentioned above.

Alongside its anniversary program, Sunpride will be releasing a commemorative coffee table book called Life is Fuller at 50: Retracing Sunpride’s Proud Legacy. This historical material will touch on the humble beginnings of Sunpride in 1971 -  and narrate its expansion from producing banana chips and sotanghon to eventually making a name for itself in the food processing industry. The book will also document the internal and external struggles of the company, its journey towards recovery, and valuable lessons learned along the way.

“Through this book, we hope to impart some insights and lessons to other businesses which also desire longevity and success.  We also produced this book with our employees in mind, and hope that they can draw inspiration and strength from what we’ve gone through that they can apply to their own challenges,” said Wong.

There will be a ceremonial turnover of the coffee table book to library representatives of Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Lapu-Lapu City on September 24, coinciding with the Cebu Press Freedom Week.

This coming October, Sunpride will be holding a live cooking demo with Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou, an award-winning chef and best-selling culinary author, to showcase the products under Sunpride’s brands such as Holiday, Sunpride, Good Morning, Shoppers, and Kassel.