AFTER a rocky start in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Plantation Prime is poised for a rebound this year following the inauguration of its second mini-plant, just in time for its first export to Dubai and Australia markets.
The Halal-certified plant was inaugurated in July this year.
The export push, the company said, is consistent with the slogan on its labels: “Serving the Global Filipino from the Visayan Archipelago.”
It aims to translate popular but time-consuming dishes into a canned form—that is delicious, already fully prepared—to serve Filipinos living abroad, who long for Filipino food but lack the time or cooking skill to make one.
Plantation Prime opened its first canning line in 2020 with initial offerings of Beef Shank Kare-Kare (beef stew in peanut sauce) and Bicol Express.
Now its product line has expanded. It now offers
Chile con Carne which will be exported to the Middle East market. Tita Bok’s All-Purpose Pasta Sauce will soon appear on supermarket shelves from Dagupan to Dubai, and will be followed by Go-Anywhere Chicken Curry and Vegetable Medley Masala.
The company said “many other superb dishes served at Plantation Bay Resort and Spa are finding their way into Plantation Prime cans.”
Since Philippine meat products are not permitted for wholesale export to the US, Filipino-Americans will just have to bring cans in their luggage. Because it follows a rigorous “retort canning” process, Plantation Prime has received a written assurance from the US Department of Agriculture that its canned products are admissible into the US “for personal consumption,” defined as 50 pounds or less, about 50 cans. However, one must still declare the food on the US Customs form.
Plantation Prime is jointly owned by business owners Manny Gonzalez, founder and majority owner of Plantation Bay Resort & Spa; Brian Noel, general manager of the Casa Verde Restaurant chain; and Hannibal Boiser, a seasoned marketing executive (Procter & Gamble, Jardine, Petron) under MB2 Foods Products Inc.
The products are manufactured in a 200-square meter processing plant on Mactan Island. The team sought the help of Plantation Bay’s executive chief Lee Ramas as a special culinary advisor to Plantation Prime.
Plantation Prime products are distributed online in Lazada, Shopee and Facebook; in major supermarkets in Manila and Cebu, namely Landers, Metro Gaisano and Marketplace; and by selected retail distributors around the country. (with PR)