Eight years ago, Myra looked for a condensed puto cheese cooking tutorial on YouTube with the intention of producing something unique for her son’s birthday. After many failed attempts and wasted ingredients, she was finally able to create something that she is confident his son and family will enjoy after. When they tasted it at her son’s birthday party, Myra’s neighbors and friends advised her to try selling her puto cheese, which was exactly what she had hoped would happen. That gave her a thought because she was really trying to find way to help her husband Willie financially at that moment due to their expanding family and rising bills. She also attempted to market and sell it online to reach a wider audience of potential buyers. Her products expanded (puto pao, leche puto, kutsinta, dulce de leche, pichi pichi, and even homemade ice cream) as her clients did. It gained popularity under the name Myra Homemade Kakanin.

When the majority, if not all, businesses were adversely impacted during the COVID pandemic, the contrary was true for Myra Homemade Kakanin. Due to COVID restrictions and limited means of transportation, they thought about organizing a “pasa-buy” in their area where she and her husband would buy food, supplies, and groceries for them. They also took use of the opportunity to introduce their kakanin products to potential customers. When the COVID limits were loosened, her loyal customers were already well-established and had resellers for their products.

She believed everything was going well for her business, but then her husband’s nephew came up to her and suggested that since her products were selling well, she should seek the government for help in extending their shelf lives. Her husband’s family has been urging her to register her business since the beginning, but she has consistently refused, claiming that it is only a little operation. She didn’t agree until Ms. Anna of Piñana Gourmet Food Products messaged her on Facebook in search of other food manufacturers in Calauan, Laguna, and explained the benefits of having a recognized business. Piñana Gourmet Food Products is one of the homegrown microentrepreneurs of Calauan that is being assisted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Laguna Provincial Office.

Myra filed her business name registration with DTI on January 24, 2023. Jean Kristine Torres, a Negosyo Center business counselor in Calauan, assisted her and came up with MYWILL FOOD PRODUCTS – a combination of her and her husband’s names – as business name. Torres gave an overview on the various initiatives or programs the organization offers to support entrepreneurs like her.

Later on, she joined the screening for the OTOP (One Town One Product) Next Gen Program of DTI Laguna. She was then selected as one of the beneficiary of the said program. OTOP Next Gen helps on improvement and innovation in the areas of quality, product development, design, packaging, standards compliance, marketability, production capability, and brand development.

Through the OTOP Next Gen Program, Myra received mentoring on a variety of subjects including Food Safety, Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Branding, Packaging and Labeling, guidelines on FDA registration, and even use of Canva, among others, with the aim of scaling up small businesses. Her ability to produce safe and high-quality food products has improved as a result of these lessons. She also received assistance from DTI in developing her business’ logo and improving her packaging.

Additionally, MYWILL FOOD PRODUCTS participated in a number of trade fairs, where her products gained recognition around the nation. As a result, after joining OTOP Next Gen, she attracted additional clients and resellers, and her sales rose by as much as 300%. She also learned important lessons from DTI, such as the need of perseverance and continue to seek for ideas to improve your products in order to keep the firm afloat.

When asked what advice she would provide to budding and/or aspirant entrepreneurs, she replied that they should always register their businesses first in order to be eligible for free assistance from the government like DTI. It will help them to be equipped on running their businesses as well as improving their products and services.

In ten years, Myra envisions her company expanding to more products and even operating its own commissary, where she will be able to employ several people and buy more produce from nearby farmers. She is aware that she will face numerous obstacles and shortfalls along the way to accomplishing these goals, but she will not let them deter her from moving forward. True enough, MYWILL FOOD PRODUCTS is “malayo pa, pero malayo na”. ♦

Date of Release: 3 October 2023

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