THERE is no business too big or too small. Even a business as modest as chicharon can bring in more income than a trendy samgyupsal restaurant business does.
Three years ago, Harold Cruz looked for a source of income to sustain his new family. He took over a Korean restaurant business near Torres Street from a Korean businessman because it was nearing bankruptcy.
He rented the place along with its equipment, renovated it, and even retained its original staff. But the business only lasted for seven months.
“Nalugi mi. nagtapal-tapal na mi kay mahal ang renta. nahurot na man pud ang among savings kay natapal. Nabaligya pa namo among karaan nga motor kay pang tapal lagi kay di naman namo makaya. Nayabo gyud mi (We were bankrupt. We always exceed our projected expenses because the rent was so expensive. We were even forced to sell our motorcycle to cover the expenses),” he said.
He said he invested around P600,000.
He later put up a stall in a canteen in Philippine Women's College (PWC).
“Mga one year ra pud. Dili enough ang income kay daghan sila og holidays, summer so wala gyud kay benta. Daghan man gud mi gabaliya didto, mga walo mi. Dili gyud siya enough labi na naa mi duha ginapaeskwela (We run it for only one year. The income is not enough because they have a lot of holiday and summer breaks. There is also eight of us there. It is not enough because we sending our two children to school),” he said.
He said his income in the canteen only allowed them to pay bills but he cannot set aside for savings. He gave it up and instead experimented on making the Korean spiced staple Kimchi he named Kimchinoy which he sold online in 2017.
“Pinoy fusion kimchi siya. Naa siyay pinoy taste gamay. Atong nahibaw-an sa Korean nga kimchi kay aslom so gitwist nako ang lasa para masakyan sa Pinoy (It was Kimchi with Filipino taste because the kimchi that we know is usually sour),” he explained.
With the goal of increasing his sales, he introduced chicharon or skin cracklings as his additional product around early 2018. He initially intended to process pork skin but when he became a member of the Dabawenyo Capsicum which strives to be a Halal store, he decided to use tuna skin.
Much to his surprise, his TummieBebs Tuna Chicharon overshadowed his Kimchinoy when he displayed his products in one of the bazaars sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry in Davao Region (DTI-Davao).
He only started with P4,000 and used tools available at home.
“Pag boom sa tuna [chicharon], nahimo na siyang flagship product kay nahimo na man namo siyang bread and butter. Mabayran na namo ang mga monthly bills (It became our flagship product and our bread and butter because we can now pay our monthly bills),” Cruz, owner of the Beboy Food Products, said.
“Katong daghan na og orders, didto na ko niinvest gyud og machinery. Nagpalit na mi og mga equipment (When the customers increased, I was able to invest in better equipment),” he said.
He is sourcing out his raw ingredients from his regular supplier in Bangkerohan Public Market. He was able to negotiate a fixed fair price with his supplier that allowed him to sell his chicharon cheaper.
He said tuna skin is normally expensive. It is being sold at P140 per kilogram (kg) and a 10 kg of raw tuna skin can only make 3 kg of cracklings. He processed the tuna skins with a helper and can produce 200 packs of 35 grams each day. He sells them at P80 per pack.
He owed his success to his resellers because his product can reach as far as Cebu and Manila. Bazaars and exhibits have also helped him expose his products to the public.
Pork chicharon is never a competition, he said. Most of his customers are senior citizens, health-conscious or those undergoing a diet, and the Muslim community.
He is working on establishing a bigger production area as required by the DTI so he can enter the supermarkets.
“Kung unsa pa ang dako nga business, mao pa to ang wala nakahelp sa amo. Diri hinoon nga nag micro, small enterprise mi, kani pa hinoon ang nahimong bida (The big business that we expected would help us turned out not helping us. It was our micro or small business that actually sustained us),” he said.