Who would have thought that the desire of Mercy Ditianquin and her husband to solve the problem of rotting Cardava banana in Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat will lead them to a successful business? With the initial capital of Php 2,000, a spare of her salary from being a private school teacher, the couple started their food processing business with banana chips as their banner product. It was a rough start for them as they have to go through several trials and errors.
Using generic transparent packaging plastic, and candle as packing sealer, plus their teeming hope to succeed, they marketed their product in Isulan Public Market. Luck was on their side as they were able to capture the market’s craving for banana chips. People started to patronize their product. They have noticed the significant increase of demand.
In 2008, the couple officially registered their business as Twin Angels Food Processing. Starting a business is not easy, there are several obstacles which tested the couple’s patience and dedication. Due to lack of manpower, and since their business is labor intensive, they find it hard to cope with the increasing demand. Lots of opportunities were then missed because of this.
Thankfully, DTI Sultan Kudarat learned about their product and their business. They were invited to attend the different DTI consultation sessions, seminars and trainings such as Product Development, Marketing, and Good Manufacturing Practices. They have also benefited in the use of the Shared Service Facilities on Banana Chips Processing. This helped them in increasing the efficiency and productivity of their operations.
Wanting to innovation and provide variety of products to their clients, they added taro chips in their product array.
Their business have been invited to different trade fairs initiated by DTI and other agencies. One noticeable fair was the Treasures of Region 12 in 2014 where they were awarded as the Top Grosser (having the most sales among the MSMEs).
“Dako gid ang impact nila. Pag may pamangkot kami o kailangan namon bulig, ara dayon ang DTI para maghatag advice kag solusyon,” she said.
Just recently, another door opened for the couple. Through the DTI Negosyo Center Bagumbayan, they were invited to participate in the Kapatid Mentor ME Program. It is a 10-week mentoring session on various business aspects. Mercy represented their business. She successfully defended their Business Improvement Plan (BIP) to the panel of experts and graduated with distinction as one of the Best BIP Presenters. Through this program, they were able to improve their business management acumen. They were equipped too with skills in effective business operations.
All went well for the couple. They were able to achieve a significant increase in sales to over 100%. From the 200 kilos of weekly banana chips production, they are now processing 500 kilos per week and have successfully penetrated the market in Tacurong City and municipalities of Isulan, Lambayong and Buluan. In addition, they were able to build a separate processing area, acquire a delivery vehicle, and employed 4 regular workers and 4 part time student workers.
Mercy is contemplating of devoting her full time in managing their business in the near future. “Mag-retire ako sa teaching kung makagraduate na ang mga bata kag magfocus na sa business,” Mercy said. Even with the success they are enjoying right now, she believes that their business still has a lot of room to improve.
Mercy’s ultimate dream of making the Municipality of Bagumbayan well known for producing quality, delicious and healthy chips for the public is slowly becoming a reality.
Credit to : --Jiether Ogarro, DTI NC Bagumbayan and DTI SULTAN KUDARAT
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