The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 2 together with tapped designers from Ritepak Packaging Solutions have recently concluded the five-day One Town One Product Next Generation (OTOP Next Gen) Assessment, Consultation, and Triage (ACT) sessions held via Zoom on 24-28 May 2021.

The 87 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), consisting of 57 from the food sector and 30 from the non-food sector from the different provinces of Cagayan Valley enrolled in OTOP Next Gen, had undergone a thorough evaluation in the areas of branding, packaging, labeling, and sensory and product process through the assistance of tapped consultants and experts in the fields of design and food technology.

During the sessions, the MSMEs presented their top three product lines which were subjected to assessment and consultation. The designers, together with the food experts, provided comments and recommendations on how to make the products more competitive and market adaptive in line with the design direction for culture-inspired products in Region 2.

The sessions were done with the aid of the following designer-consultants from Ritepak Packaging Solutions: Mr. Cesar Crisostomo, Ms. Sheryl Usares, Mr. Paul Henry Abad, Mr. Jefferson De Jesus, and Mr. Patrick Yamzon. Food Experts in the person of Ms. Ragel Tacazon and Ms. Melanie Arugay were also present during the sessions for sensory evaluation for product improvement.

ACT session is one of DTI-Region 2’s interventions under the OTOP Next Gen program to groom and enhance MSME brands by developing the over-all product quality and design of their products that are aligned with the current market trends and cultural identity of their place.

The conduct of this session is in preparation for the succeeding phases of the project which are the product design execution and monitoring. The tapped designers will craft the label designs for 120 identified products and provide 150 new product designs for the non-food sector. ♦

Date of Release: 1 June 2021