“Pasalubong” — a Filipino Tradition
As Filipinos, it has been our endearing tradition to bring back “pasalubong” to our family and friends from our travels. “Pasalubong” which comes from the root word “salubong” (literally meaning “to meet”) is a travel treat, a meeting gift of sorts, or a welcome present.
Food makes the best “pasalubong.” Thus when traveling from the provinces, fruits and native delicacies are often the usual purchases. From the Bicol region, the top choice is pili nut specialties, in all its forms, from basic confectionery, to artisanal pastries. For travelers going abroad, pili nut delicacies rank among the most preferred, along with hopia and polvoron. The word “pili” also means choose or choice in the Filipino language — thus, the double entendre when describing pili nut as “pasalubong na pili.“
The “Pasalubong” Stores
From the Quezon province border all the way to the ports of Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate, hundreds of “pasalubong” stores flourish along the AH26, the Bicol South Road, at the bus, sea ferry and airport terminals, in public markets, commercial centers and shopping malls.
Many “pasalubong” stores are family-owned businesses, run mostly by women, operating out of simple bamboo and nipa roadside structures or in public market stalls. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) now operates OTOP (One Town One Product) Hubs that also serve as “pasalubong” stores in collaboration with local entrepreneurs.
In Bicol, the OTOP “pasalubong” centers are strategically located in tourist destinations. In Albay, visitors can find them in Sumlang Lake, Camalig, owned by the Napa family; at the Social Enterprise Development Center (SEDCen is co-managed by Legazpi City and the Bicol Consortium for Development Initiatives (BCDI), a coalition of social development and church-based organizations); and, at the departure lounge of the Bicol International Airport in Daraga.
In Camarines Sur, the OTOP Hub is FSJ Pasalubong Sentral/ Golden Mama, owned by Mrs. Salve SL San Juan, a one-stop shop in the CBD Terminal in Naga City. In Masbate City, the OTOP store is in the City Hall. DTI Region V also operates 16 Bicol OTOP Nooks all around Bicol and just opened one at the Philippine embassy in The Hague, Netherlands. More OTOP Nooks are planned starting 2024, in Bicol and abroad.
Popular among Bicol tourists is the huge Caramel Pasalubong Center in Pili, Camarines Sur. It also has a restaurant and bakeshop which features a traveler’s lounge with a comfortable sitting room and convenient amenities. It is owned and managed by Mrs. Arlene Vergara and her daughters, Jetjet and Shelou.
Food Fairs and Trade Exhibitions
Producers of pili nut candies and delicacies from Bicol continued to be mainstays in the trade fairs this year which promoted the vital components in the specialty food supply chain in the country.
Thousands flocked to IFEX Philippines 2024 held from May 10 to 12, 2024, at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. Organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), it was the 17th edition of IFEX Philippines, a major showcase of the country’s local and international food flavors and ingredients for trade and retail.
IFEX – BICOL EXHIBITORS:
- ALBAY PILI NUT CANDY – Legazpi City
- C.O.P. PILI SWEETS & PASTRIES (WRAPSODY & Y-NUT PILI NUTS) – Daraga, Albay
- PHENOMENON GROUP. (QUERICA BRAND) – Naga City
- VICKY’S PILI AND FOOD PRODUCTS – Irosin, Sorsogon
There were two important food trade shows in Asia. First was FOODEX Japan 2024 was held on March 5 – 8, 2024 in Tokyo. This is the largest annual food and beverage tradeshow in Japan and has been a highly successful trade event since its debut in 1976 serving not only Japan but many Asian markets. Second was Seoul Food 2024, International Food Industry Exhibition (KINTEX), organized by KOTRA, the fourth largest food exhibition in Asia. Held on June 11 to 14, 2024. It brought all sectors of the food and technology industry together, from retail to food service.
The Philippine participation was sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and DA Agribusiness to promote Philippine agricultural products and produce. Exhibitors from the Philippines at FOODEX in Tokyo and KINTEX in Seoul included Wrapsody Pilinut Filled Pastries of Daraga, Albay, managed by the mother-daughter team, Erika O. Pereña, Marketing Manager, and Cynthia O. Pereña, Proprietress. At Kintex, the other trade participants included Dole Philippines and Sumifru Philippines.
From July 3 to 7, 2024, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) held the 2024 Bagong Pilipinas National Food Fair at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. Now in its 10th year, the National Food Fair was organized by the DTI’s Bureau of Market Development, Promotions, and OTOP (BMDPO), in collaboration with the DTI Regional and Provincial Offices. This event serves as a premier platform for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the food and beverage industry, a sector that represents nearly half of all MSMEs in the Philippines. The week-long event featured 200 exhibitors from different regions of the country.
NATIONAL FOOD FAIR BICOL EXHIBITORS:
- NOVENO’S PILINUT CANDIES – Camalig, Albay
- LLOMAR FOOD ENTERPRISES – Ligao City, Albay
- JIREH FOOD PRODUCTS – Calasgasan, Camarines Norte
- LOLA TINA’S CUISINE AND GENERAL MERCHANDISE – Daet, Camarines Norte
- BELEN’S PINAHIMIS NA PILI – Virac, Catanduanes
- AGNESIE FOOD PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING – Gubat, Sorsogon
- PILICRUSH FOOD ENTERPRISES – Irosin, Sorsogon
Inspiring Women Owned Success Stories
In 2018, DTI Region V Bicol published a coffee table book, PILI OF THE PHILIPPINES (The Chosen Nut). The trade-oriented book tells the story of Bicol’s flagship commodity and DTI Region V endeavors to promote the nut from Bicol to the world. The timing was just right to create excitement about pili nuts in food exhibitions and trade fairs. In fact in July of the previous year 2017, the likes of Vogue Magazine, the New York Post and Bloomberg Businessweek came out with glowing stories about their wonderful “discovery” of the pili nut.
It was during this time when DTI Region V Bicol featured success stories in the pili nut SMSE sector. Demonstrating their resilience and tenacity, the featured enterprises have made progress and sustained growth in the industry. While intrepid newcomers have joined the ranks of the pili nut producers, the following women owned businesses are mainstays in Bicol:
ALBAY PILI NUT CANDY – Legazpi City
Audrey Rose Battung Deocareza succeeded her mother Rosemarie Diaz Battung who sadly passed on in 2023. The slogan of this generational family business proclaims its pioneering spirit, “We started it all.” Her great-grandfather Don Antonio Regidor established the company in 1936 using his mother’s candy recipes and foreshadowed the emergence of a new industry in the Bicol Region and the Philippines. For this, he was honored with the 1971 Panday Pira Award of Excellence. Today, Audrey Rose and her family steadfastly continues the tradition of the Albay Pili Nut Candy factory.
J. EMMANUEL PASTRIES – THE HOUSE OF PILI — Naga City
Maria Lydia Perez-Lomibao and husband Joseph established the company with the PHP500 leftover cash from their wedding gifts and pili tart production. From the backyard scale production in 1997 has emerged a multi-million operation, J. Emmanuel Pastries – The House of Pili. The awards the company has received from the government and its peers in the industry, including Presidential awards as Outstanding SME (2009) and Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneur (2017) attest to their success. Many more applaud their advocacy to plant more pili trees in partnership and collaboration with associations and cooperatives.
JC PILI CENTER – Casiguran, Sorsogon
In Sorsogon, Minerva de Jesus is an acknowledged source of quality raw and processed Pili products, with a production plant behind a stately home. In reverse of the usual family tradition among her contemporaries, it was her daughter who prompted her to go into commercial production. Reluctant, she nevertheless became a success. Her daughter who left for a job abroad promised: “I will return and take over when you no longer feel up to it!”
LESLIE PILI NUT PRODUCTS – Sorsogon City
Age-old trees in her farm offer shade and a place of rest. An agriculturist and entrepreneur, Melinda Atayza-Yee began producing pili delicacies in 1995 which now include marzapan de pili, 100% organic pili nuts molido, conserva sa dahon, choco coated, Himalayan salted. chili and garlic flavored, and pili pomace brew. She pioneered in extracting Pili oil in 2000, the ingredient of her soap, elemi oil, and pulp oil for salad dressing, manufacture of sardines, shortening, baking of cakes, and other food preparations.
NOVENO’S PILINUT CANDIES – Camalig, Albay
Corazon Noveno, fondly called Doña Corazon by people who know her well, is a housewife turned entrepreneur from Camalig, Albay. She only dreamt of modest success but soon was happily creating her pili nut-based confectionery and snacks to both local and international acclaim. Over the years, Noveno’s Pilinut Candies has become one of Bicol’s leading names in the pili nut industry and a regular participant in prestigious food fairs here and abroad.
THE R.A.I.N.S. DELICACIES – Camalig, Albay
Nona Nicerio may well be considered a late bloomer in producing pili nut delicacies even if she has carved a solid reputation in Bicol’s other pride, the handicraft industry. Nonetheless, she has become a familiar sight as an enthusiastic participant in local and international food trade fairs. To gain deeper insights on global food trends in the snack sectors, she joined a DTI-led Outbound Business Mission to Europe with RD Jocelyn Blanco in 2017.
VICKY’S PILI AND FOOD PRODUCTS – Irosin, Sorsogon
Career OFW Myra Zandra Navarro-Gestiada and seaman husband Francis turned entrepreneurs upon the demise of Myra’s mother, Vicky. Aggressively and gamely, they carry on the tradition of producing authentic, premium delicacies today. The next generation couple now combines appropriate technology with tradition to grow the business. To ensure sustainability, they also propagate a pili nursery with other plants and give away pili seedlings.
We take this opportunity to honor the memory of Ryan Detera, owner of “Tia Berning Pili Candies and Handicraft” of Sorsogon City, who passed in 2021. Under his watch, the family owned company he took over grew at a very impressive rate, having participated in DTI sponsored trade exhibits and promotions. His mother Berning and father Paet who started the business in 1988 were among the pioneers in pili nut manufacturing in Bicol. They were the first to introduce high quality product packaging and labeling which earned accolades, including the OTOP SME award during the early years of the OTOP concept. With Ryan’s demise however, the company ceased operations.
Conclusion
The Bicol region is a powerhouse in pili nut production. With approximately 13,435 farmers tending to 1,795 hectares of pili orchards, this region accounts for a staggering 84 percent of the country’s total pili production (reference: Philippine Information Agency). But it’s not just about numbers; it’s about impact.
Pili nut farming and confectionery production provide a lifeline for many women in Bicol. Women actively participate in cultivation, harvesting, and processing, contributing to their families’ income and economic empowerment. The success of many women entrepreneurs in the pili nut business attests to their significant role in the industry.
Families across Bicol have witnessed their fortunes rise alongside the pili nut industry. The delectable and nutritious pili nuts find their way into local “pasalubong” centers and on to international markets. As demand grows, so do the profits, translating into improved livelihoods for countless households.
“In a nutshell” is the summation phrase chosen by many in the pili nut trade. Truly, the success of the Bicol region’s pili nut business is not just about economic figures; it is about nurturing livelihoods, empowering women, and savoring the rich flavors of this best-kept secret. As the pili nut continues to conquer global markets, it leaves a trail of prosperity in its wake.
Written by Jojo De Jesus for Dateline Ibalon based on content from the Department of Trade Region V (Bicol), DTI’s Bureau of Market Development, Promotions, and OTOP (BMDPO), and the Department of Agriculture. Many thanks to Chito Aguilar, former DTI Region V, Division Chief, Business Development, for his invaluable help in providing information and insights on Bicol’s pili nut industry.