CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — “With the help of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), I was able to get my Halal certification from the Muslim Mindanao Halal Certifying Board,” recalled Nenita B. Tan, owner of Bestfriend Goodies and recipient of the DOST-Small Enterprises Technology Upgrade Program (SETUP).
In Talakayan sa PIA, Nenita shared that her company is banking on innovation. “So, because we believe in science, we know that we can’t go wrong because there is science behind it,” she said in terms of availing of the programs and services of DOST.
Bestfriend Goodies began as a food manufacturer of pasalubong products, such as Pastillas de Leche, the company’s crown jewel. “I was able to avail myself of support from DOST, which is SETUP. That was the first availment that we had for Best Friend goodies, of course, from our regional office of the Department of Science and Technology,” she said.
In addition to Pastillas de Leche, Best Friend Goodies also offers their own cheese sticks, butterscotch, and other cakes and pastries, which they supply to several well-known coffee shops in Cagayan de Oro City.
“During the pandemic, that was the time DOST saw that we had the capability of producing products like healthy breads, particularly carrot bread, squash bread, and malunggay bread. So, that was the time that we were given the opportunity to apply for technology licensing adoption from the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI). With that, we were the first adopters of that technology here in Northern Mindanao, that enhanced Nutribun,” said Tan.
As for Tan, she has a specific target: “We’re banking on the supplementary and complementary program.”
“That’s why we adopt products and technologies not only from DOST FNRI but also from the DOST-Food Innovation Center (FIC), wherein we support the local research products ready for adoption and commercialization from our local researchers here at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP),” she added.
Further, the collaboration between the government, industry, and the academe is really very cohesive, she lamented.
Best Friend Goodies’ goal is to be one of the partners in addressing malnutrition in our own locality. Other than DOST, they have partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Nutrition Council (NNC) in the fight against malnutrition.
Recently, Best Friend Goodies bagged the Katha Awards at the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines for their Ready-to-Eat Savories and Home Meal Replacements, including Bean Appetit Monggo with Squash in Coconut Milk and Dilis, at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on April 26.
“It’s really an opportunity for us. It was an uphill time, so just imagine our competitors, our fellow contenders, sad for that Katha award. They belong to the big manufacturing industry; they belong to the large category, whereas our company is still in between small and medium, based here in Region 10. So, it’s really a big honor, bragging about that award,” she said.
Tan’s journey is really driven by a desire and eagerness to upscale the standard, to level up in terms of the production line, the kind of product that they are serving to consumers, and, of course, close collaboration with DOST and DTI.
Nenita is also a proud graduate of DTI Misamis Oriental’s Kapatid Mentor Me Program, a 10-week module mentorship program that optimizes weekly interactions between mentors and mentees dedicated to aiding micro and small entrepreneurs in enhancing their businesses, boosting economic activity, creating jobs, and integrating entrepreneurs into the mainstream.
Her advice to upcoming entrepreneurs or anyone who wants to build a business is ‘to have the heart of a lion.’
“Your determination should come from the heart of a lion in order to succeed, because being an entrepreneur and a businessman are two different things. If you are a businessman, you have your own template that you just have to follow. If you’re an entrepreneur, you create your own market, and if you nurture it, you will really grow as fast as you can,” she said. (JMOR/PIA-10)
