One of the perks of starting a food business is you don't always need to have a big capital to make it happen.
As Michelle Tancioco, the owner of Mishees Adobo Flakes, shares with Female Network, she started her small business with only P500.
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The mom entrepreneur sells bottled adobo flakes, including other varieties like beef tapa, binagoongan, and cebu lechon, which customers like to pair with rice, bread, and even pancit canton. "Bumili lang ako ng one kilo of pork and microwavable container," she shares. "[Nung na-ipon ko na 'yung kinita ko], bumili na ako ng burner, gasul, at pans kasi ang dami talagang order."
With her business venture, Michelle says she earns up to P6,000 a week during the quarantine!
Michelle actually started cooking adobo flakes because of her daughter. "I started [making] binagoongan flakes because I wanted my daughter, who is a picky eater, to eat what I prepared," she recalls. "[We had] leftover pork binagoongan na two days ko na iniinit, pero wala nang gusto kumain nito. I decided na gawin parang pork adobo flakes [at] ayun, naubos nila."
"Later on, my husband encouraged me to sell my flakes kaya nag decide ako na i-benta ito. I had nothing to lose—I only needed a small capital and I just armed myself with a lot of courage and a lot of prayers.
"Bumili ako ng packaging to check the costing at para malaman ko kung ilan magagawa ko. I asked my family and friends to try it at nasarapan sila!"
Michelle then started posting about her bottled flakes on her personal Facebook page. "Nag benta lang ako sa mga friends ko. Then after about a month, I joined food groups on FB like Let’s Eat Pare, and I met a couple of co-vendors who I partnered with sa mga bazaars.
"Nagulat ako when people started messaging me, saying na feature daw ako ng isang food blogger.
"From there, orders started pouring in via Instagram and Facebook, kaliwa’t kanan talaga. May one time nung matutulog na kami ng husband ko, amoy bagoong [yung kwarto]."
During the pandemic, Michelle and her husband are the only ones running the online business. "Mahirap din talagang kumilos. Nawalan ako ng manpower dahil sa pandemic. We have to do everything on our own. Kami na lang ng husband ko ulit."
For anyone who also wishes to start a food business, the Pinay shares a piece of advice: "Believe in your product. Madaming competitors, madaming gagaya. Madami kang pag dadaanan kaya kung 'di ka maniniwala sa producto mo, walang mangyayari.
READ MORE ABOUT STARTING AN ONLINE BUSINESS
- Here's How I Started My Dream Cookie Business With Only P5,000
- Small Business Owners Share The Best Food Photography Tricks They've Learned
She adds, "You can't please everybody. Choose a specific market and find out what they like, then think of what you like. Find that balance, and learn from your mistakes." But most importantly, Michelle reminds, "have fun in the process!"
