Tuesday, November 27, 2007 Management students’ product impresses judges, wins award
A FOOD product made of sea eel and corn oil won for college students recognition in the recent Pasigarbo sa Dakbayan sa Sugbo.
Bakasi (sea eel) in corn oil, an innovative product manufactured by students of the University of Cebu (UC) Banilad campus, was a hit during the fair.
Bakasi is one of the fish species abundant in Barangay Buag-song in Cordova.
The 17 Management and Management Accounting students of UC have marketed the product by placing it in jars and offering it in three different flavors-- hot and spicy, garlic and vinegar, and sweet and sour.
Their merchandise captured the interest of the judges of the Pasigarbo sa Dakbayan sa Sugbo 2007 at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall and earned for the group the award Best in Product Design, besting 21 entries from different schools.
UC Namay, another UC-Banilad venture, also won Best Business Plan.
“Any business is a risk. We chose to take the risk and we made it,” said Tristan Olis, UC student and team leader.
Innovation
Elias Tecson, DTI program management chief, said the judges, who included businessmen Bunny Pages and Kenneth Kokseng, were “impressed” with the product, including its packaging.
He said the students proved that today’s younger generation could capitalize on innovation to develop their entrepreneurial skills.
“We see more students now involved in the business sector, and their creations are really creative. That is a good sign for the industry,” Tecson said.
In an interview with reporters during the exhibit, Olis said the bakasi in corn oil was a brainchild of professor Christopher Biore, who looked into the product development of Cordova’s bakasi, that is commonly cooked as tinola (a soup dish).
This initiative from the students was an offshoot of their Feasibility Study 2 subject during their third and fourth year in college.
Challenge
“We went through the stages of trial and error to come up with this product. We have to make do with available resources,” Olis said.
“Sir challenged us, saying that if we want to graduate with a Commerce degree, we must prove that we are worth it,” he added.
Student Rafaela Seguis added that, initially, the group was hesitant in pursuing the plan considering that they had to start from scratch, which meant pooling funds to finance the business.
The group invested P30,000, which they borrowed from their parents, she said.
To save on cost, the group coordinated with the human resources management division so they could use a kitchen for manufacturing.
Last September, the group submitted the product to the Department of Science and Technology for content analysis and the results were released after a month.
Pasigarbo sa Dakbayan sa Sugbo 2007 was held simultaneously with the Cebu Otop (One Town, One Product) last Nov. 23 to 25.
During the exhibit, about 80 jars of bakasi in corn oil in 220 grams were on display. Each jar costs P80. (MMM)
