GANI, four years old, gave Davao City its first dibs on bandana-styled baby bib.
Fashionable or custom-made bandana bibs are trendy must haves for mommies in Luzon with infants or toddlers. They consider it a convenient and appealing type of bib compared to its plain white, traditional counterpart. It also doubles as a complement to their child’s OOTD.
It was August 2016 when Kristle Yra T. Amaya discovered it and so loved to have one for her son, Isagani Miguel, or Gani, as she fondly calls him.
However, bandana bibs were not yet available in the city and being a housewife after leaving her job, she found what is being sold in Luzon too expensive.
Instead, she sewed one despite having no knowledge in tailoring. She borrowed her friend’s sewing machine and made one good bandana bib.
Amaya was pushed by her husband to make more.
Convinced, she bought her first sewing machine in a surplus shop in Uyanguren Street while all her materials were sourced from Manila and finally established Gani’s World, a business selling colorful bandana bibs, drool pads, and back towels. It made her among the people who introduced it in the city.
But since bandana bibs are not yet known in the city, she struggled to market it. She only relied on requests from friends.
“Kung naay muorder, magtahi. Kung walay muorder, wala lang pud. (If there is an order. I make one),” she said. “Mingaw pa man sa social media ato and lisod pa kaayo siya i-market sa Davao kay unaware pa sila.”
(Social media before is not as active as now that is why it is hard to market it to them.)
She only produces an average of ten pieces per month.
“Pero naguol pud ko nga pag ingon ani gihapon, murag wala lang gihapon. Murag dili gihapon ka generate og income for my part,” Amaya shared.
(I was worried that if I produce the same number, I cannot generate more income.)
Because she wanted to sell more, she took inspiration from her friends’ businesses being mentioned by celebrities and influencers on Instagram.
So, she messaged celebrities and offered to send items without asking for anything in return. “Akong purpose nga tagaan sila para ma-try,” she said.
(My purpose is to let them try.)
That includes Kaye Abad in the early 2017 which boosted the sales of her bandana bibs. She was able to send bibs to Kaye thrice.
She also joined bazaars, consigned a space in baby supply shop Stork PH, and was able to entice more resellers.
It grew from ten to 15 bibs per month to an average of 50 to 100 bibs per month. She said the demand is usually high around December up to April or May.
“I guess people are aware na. unlike before, ang taga Luzon people lang ang kabalo ana nga trend,” she said
“Gusto nila muorder pero hesitant kay tungod mahal ang shipping. Unya gusto lang ka mutry og less than five pieces. Pagkabalo nila nga naa diay ko, Davao-based, naa na silay chance ma-try ang item,” she added.
(If they want to order less than five pieces for their first try but the shipping cost is high. When they discovered I am based in Davao, they were able to try it.)
Amaya said despite the warm reception of Davaoenos to bandana bibs and limited competition, she is never keen on hyping the price up. A bib costs P80 to P90.
“Dili ko naga price og taas kaayo kay ang ginatan-aw nako, as a mom, afford pa ba nako ni paliton. Ako mismo mama ko. Kung mupalit kog bib nga ingon ani nga presyo, muingon ko nga ayaw na lang siguro kay naa pa may lain,” she said.
(I do not increase my price because I always consider if a mother can afford it.)
She also designed it a little bigger than what is being sold in the mall so it can still be used by babies up to three years old.
In this business, she said one of her challenges is to accommodate bulk orders. Amaya shared she is working on face masks as demand for it rose since late January this year due to 2019 coronavirus (Covid-19) scare. In less than a month, she was able to make 200 to 300.
Amaya said her direction now is for Gani’s World to grow big by setting a personal quota.
“Dapat every month or every year, mag increase gyud ka. Dili na pwede na didto lang ta permi nga level,” she said.
(We should increase our sales every month or year. We should not settle there.)
“Kung okay na ta ani nga total amount, dili pud ta mugrow. Kailangan nato ipush atong self mismo. Di ta mustop kay nakuha na nako ang akong goal. Next lahi na pud atong goal,” she added.
(We will not grow if we are satisfied with what we are gaining. We have to push ourselves and should not stop once we reach our goals. We should aspire to achieve our next goal.)