My plan is just to encourage Cottage Industry that produces food. The business model is not new to the country but the products that I intend to introduce will be totally new and unique. The said product will be food that I firmly believe will be a hit among the masses in the Philippines.Before I elaborate any further about the plan, I would like to share with you what I’ve observed in my own country and during my many travels to other parts of South East Asia.
Food industry has always been very popular all over the world. But in South East Asia, the food business is rather quite unique compared to developed countries. When I mentioned food industry, it does not necessarily mean that you need to open a restaurant. It can even be smaller than a karienderia operations. When I was growing up, I see this lady selling karipap ( kind of like empanada but the filling is different ) in front of her house every afternoon. She would normally start around 3 pm and her goods will be sold out by 6pm. I see her growth slowly and from her small business with a frying wok, a small table and a big umbrella, she turned her business into a karipap empire.
In Malaysia is very common to find entrepreneurs like her. There are many more success stories similar to the “karipap lady” selling various type of food products. Some of them are so successful that they became food icons. One particular company I could think off is OLD CHANG KEE. It is now a multi million dollar business now and open for franchise. I have come across their stall in Greenbelt in the Philippines. I am sure they are many similar scenarios here in the Philippines as well. Jolibee would be a good example and on a smaller scale I think Corazon with their Halo Halo and Pansit also made it good.
My plan is actually to teach a friend to produce food that is not common in the Philippines. My aim is to make the product as cheap as possible but maintain the quality. Then she can start supplying those unique food to housewives. The food that I would like to introduce to the masses is the kind of food that I think will be easily accepted by the Filipino. The core ingredients would be products that is easily accessible in the Philippines. Only some spices and ingredients that will be made available by SPICEGASM will be used to compliment the product.
My goal is just to give extra income to housewives doing this part time. If she can earn 100-150 pesos per day ( really low target ) that would be a decent side income by doing it for few hours a day. The food that will be introduce are the kind of food which I can be easily accepted by the Filipino. This is based on my research for the past 6 years and observation of the eating habits of Pinoy. With new product it will face lesser competition and hence the markets will be bigger. I strongly believe is way better than selling banana cue which is quite common and this will not allow us to sell at a desired price because everybody is doing it.
I have several products which I would love to give it a try at the moment. In fact I have even made a working paperwork for this project from costing to marketing strategies. Most important aspect is to produce the product at a very low cost. The preparation can be done at home and need not rent a place solely for production purposes. If the product is well received, then she can plan to hire more people and rent a bigger place for production. This in turn will create job opportunities for more people. If the idea does not work, well I guess her neighbors will get to sample a lot of spicy delicacies for free.
In order to help me minimize the chances of failing, suggestions and ideas from you are deeply appreciated. You can voice out anything you want, bad or good we will take note of it. Below are some samples of the products that I would like to introduce. Currently all the products will use it’s original name but to introduce it to the Filipino market, we need to rename the products. We wouldn’t want the potential customers having difficulty ordering the food that he likes and end up not doing so just because he doesn’t know how to pronounce it. Maybe I should make a competition on naming the food products. No prize will be given but you will be remembered as the founder of the food name if it does well in the future.
I will post the recipe for the food that I have just posted above. The food above normally consume during tea time or as the Pinoy call it Mirienda time. I will also include the finer details on how to enjoy these food products by consuming it together with the matching dip and sauces.
I grew up eating almost all my fried food accompanied by Maggi Chili Sauce. Most country in South East Asia loves spicy food. Parents normally introduce spicy food to their kids by using Maggi Chili Sauce. They would normally let their kids eat it with fried chicken, french fries, keropok ( fish crackers ) and almost all the fried food. It is not really hot at all if you ask all the spicy food lovers. It is actually quite sweet and just has a bit of tangy and very mild spiciness in it.