Watching documentaries and seeing the plight of fishermen in the provinces made me realize how some of our fisherfolk's practices are not sustainable. We consume quite a lot of sardines, as it is one of the most affordable food items we have that is properly kept, canned and lasts a long while. In a 2017 survey, they listed 9 out of 10 pinoys actually consume it.
As commercial fishing boats become a norm, overfishing is becoming a huge problem. The amount of sardines they take out from the sea just wouldn't be able to sustain production. Add to that climate issues, and it's a tragedy waiting to happen.
Century Pacific Food Inc. who produces various sardine brands like 555, Lucky 7, Fresca, and well loved brand Ligo launched a campaign called "Sustendido Bulan" at Bulan in Sorsogon. This aims to make sure that sourcing raw ingredients including fish is sourced sustainably. They also want to make sure fisherfolk are educated about processes and make sure the long term supply of it.
They also went over and beyond by doing community work with their products, teaching nutrition to empower the community and have an even better resource management practices in this location. CPFI and Ligo wants to enable they understand that there could be a supply chain that could benefit them all. Through various partnerships, education and innovation, they would be able to balance the needs of people to bring value from the sea to Filipino homes too.
Putting their call "Lamang ka sa Ligo" is a practice that gets both consumers and suppliers at a beneficial standpoint. Something that would not harm the planet and not have overfishing at these locations.
As of now, they have trained 250 fishermen and women about sustainability. They also accredited 500 families as suppliers. They also now created over 850 posts to employ them in plants across the region and had 1075 kids benefit from their school feeding programs. They also noted how rejection rates of fish went from 13 to only 3% and hopefully have eliminated resource strain because of the "Sustenido Bulan" efforts. They are following UN Sustainable Development goals and hope to maintain these gains in the coming years. We fervently hope this becomes beneficial for future generations and be practiced at different locations. It doesn't have to be in one place of course!
Ligo certainly brings value not only from the sea, but to Filipino homes nationwide!
I saw a lot of smiles coming out of vendors from this event. I couldn't blame them because aside from the fact that this is a full bazaar, it's certainly a way to prove that there's a lot of potential for MSME's in the country. This is the STARPRENEUR Bazaar held at the FIFTH at Rockwell in Makati. This is organized by Bela Padilla and Filipino entrepreneurs Ms. Lanie Tañedo and Mr. Dennis Valbuena. If you are familiar with the brand Bela by Bela Padilla, they are the same folks who started her cosmetic, product and perfume line with her a couple months ago. This time, they're working with young Hollywood star and PH showbiz royalty Iñigo Pascual.
Iñigo says "It's something that I wanted to do for a long time. I've dreamt about it since college but I never got to finish my course in entrepreneurship. I've been involved in acting and music, and I wanted something different from that. Before I met them (Ms. Lanie Tañedo and Mr. Dennis Valbuena) I really wanted to start something but I didn't really know what to do and where to start. They showed me the ropes on how to start a business. They also showed me technology because it's different now. You really have to learn what's on trend, and for me, they really are the ones who guided me."
He adds "A lot of the products we have in herzy. is mentholated, and if you just got out of the shower, some complain from the heat, and they're already perspiring. I wanted folks to still feel fresh and clean after trying our products. The difference between men and women is, we want everything to be simple, less fuss, when you try it, it's really nice and smells good. It's easy to use and carry around. The ingredients are also natural, I even styled my own hair with it, and admit that sometimes men are even more vain about hair. We hope you love these products! I hope you love the Brow Serum which they initially designed to grow and nourish hair, last minute, we thought of using it for the brows because people often ask me about it. This was named after my Grandfather, we just turned the Herzig into Herzy to make it easy to pronounce."
Mr. Dennis Valbuena replied "We really appreciate that. Now that you've learned from us, it's your turn to guide others about the business. He was very hands on. We saw his potential right from the start."
At the event, they also took time to talk to entrepreneurs about their businesses and how they started. It was a very nice way for other entrepreneurs to learn from each other and perhaps network so they could also improve their businesses. The Runway Atelier also got their cute models on stage sing and walk for the event. Seeing kids there was super cute!
Here's a short chat we had with him at the venue:
Meanwhile, I have also managed to use the herzy. products this week and so far, I'm loving the herzy. Hairstyling Stick the most. Like him, I've got pretty wavy hair which gets uncontrollable after a few hours. It made my dilemma of looking well put together easy because you can get rid of those frizzy fly away hair in just a few seconds with it. The herzy. Body Wash not only smells good, but a bit minty. It feels fresh even in the hot afternoons in Manila. They've really made a very promising line of products designed for men (that can also be used by women). Best of all, men don't have to smell like flowers LOL.
There was a bit when Inigo Pascual sat down and talked to other MSME's. The chat included Mr. Dennis Valbuena of DL Wear Private, Mr. Nio Siggaoat and Ms. Valerie Lim of beauty brand Ready.Set.Glow (RSG), Twin CEO's Mark and Spencer Elimanco of LINKIT (who introduced high tech calling cards), Ms. Audrey Ong of Sweet Kamote, Ms. Jana Berenguer of J&A The Label (of TikTok fame, you should check out their story), Ms. Rich Garceron and Mr. Jed Homar Sison of Anytime Fitness Hemady Branch (whom you might want to check out to have no excuse to go to the gym) and Ms. Elvira and Eleanor of Thermomix.
The event also featured Dani by Bela (fragrance of Dani Baretto under Bela Padilla's brand), Bela by Bela, The Runway Atelier, AY Clothing Shop, Get Spotted, Sweet Kamote, Kittly Manila, Show Idea Mayumico, iWhite Korea, Hiraya Pilipina, Pan de Carpio, Prints FX and Signs, Miruku, Duchess The Label, alas hot sauce, FizzStop, Nutral, Developers HideOut, Luka's meat products, and a lot more.
The STARPRENEUR BAZAAR was so much fun, and I hope folks not just the consumers learned a lot from the business owners who shared their stories on stage. Congratulations to Bela, Ms. Lanie Tañedo and Mr. Dennis Valbuena. Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeves this year and beyond!
Folks from Golden Haven just recently held the annual Golden Stars Annual Awards for 2024 to recognize top sales performers for the past year. This is their way of making sure they know how valued they are in building the company's success. Golden Haven has been steadily growing these past few years and thanks to their dedication, they were able to attain this status in memorial care, something that sets them apart from others according to Estrellita Tan the COO of Golden Haven Memorial Parks in the Philippines.
She dubs this as a testament of their hard work and passion and attributes it to Golden Haven's success. They held ceremonies over at Dusit Thani Lubi Plantation in Davao for the Visayas and Mindanao agents while the other was held in scenic Camp Netanya in Mabini, Batangas. They also did networking sessions and shared best practices so they could learn from each other, in hopes to further their careers too in the long run.
Awards were given to Top Sales Directors, Sales Managers, Sales Agents. Some of them are OFW's, part timers, home makers who chose to do this on the side and help in this industry.
Congratulations to all the winners, I'm sure you all deserve it!
Went down south today (at Ayala Malls Manila Bay) for the biggest announcement of TIMEZONE, the biggest chain of arcades, fun and entertainment in the country. They've already had milestones in the 28 years they've existed in the Philippines, and today they announced their BIGGEST revelation yet. See, they've never ever had a face represent them in this era of endorsers and brand ambassadors... But that's about to change today as they managed to get the nod for one of the biggest creators, cosplay and gamer girl in the country to represent them. She is MYRTLE SARROSA, a pretty apt person to do this right?
Myrtle fondly remembers when they opened a branch in Iloilo City years ago and she happened to join the event at a mall in the capital. She went back every week and made sure to play a drum arcade game with the amount she got to save from her allowance from school. She remembers how much fun she had there with friends and family, and being a legitimate gamer who often goes to TIMEZONE, she felt so honored to represent a brand that she personally loves.
TIMEZONE Philippines President Rafel Prats Jr. recognized Myrtle's energetic and playful personality, some of which represents what TIMEZONE is as a brand. They see these as great qualities for a brand ambassador so there was no question Myrtle would certainly fit the role. They plan to have Myrtle to be present in activations, more store openings and in paraphernalia of TIMEZONE branches today and in the future ones.
They also announced several promos designed to encourage even more people to purchase Powercards from TIMEZONE. The BLOOKES BUNDLE so when you buy 650 pesos load you can get 800 worth of Powercard Load. The STRAIGHT TO BLUE BUNDLE on the other hand costs 2950 pesos and will get you 4000 Powercard Load value. The STRAIGHT TO GOLD on the other hand is 9950 pesos, but will get you 14,000 Power card load. They also have blind boxes and RC Cars to be given with the tiers, so make sure you get them fast because they may run out soon.
Congratulations Myrtle Sarrosa and TIMEZONE! It's definitely going to be more fun when we visit the arcades because of these new stuff!