Tough times as the Covid-19 pandemic wrought on the economy, impacted yet by the surge in fuel prices which dominoed on the basic commodities and services that contracted, if not altogether shuttered many a business; tougher though stood, indeed excelled, in 2022 five enterprises, continuing on a trajectory to even higher achievements in 2023. The Editor
“SOMETHING BIG is coming your way this year and we could not be more excited for what is to come.”
So declared Pruds Garcia, president of Mekeni Food Corp., at the dawning of 2022 – so readily dismissed off as unguarded optimism at best, wishful thinking at worst. What with the pandemic not-quite contained, the African swine fever still extant, the fuel prices unsteady, and Russia about to invade Ukraine.
“We are bringing the Timplang Atin experience to a whole new level in the coming months,” Garcia boomed with supreme confidence, all the gloom and doom foreboding the economy notwithstanding.
As declared, so delivered.
Within a month of Garcia’s declaration, Mekeni brought street-food favorites kikiam and fish balls to branches across California and Nevada. In July, Mekeni Classic Tocino was introduced to the Filipino community on the East Coast, particularly in New York and New Jersey, followed by orlians, squid balls, and two variants of fish ball sauce. These marine-based products are now available in key cities with Filipino communities.
“It feels different bringing our flagship brand to the US. When we launched our street food products and tocino, we were flooded with questions from friends, relatives, acquaintances, and kababayans about when we would bring more of our products. They say they miss it. The time has come,” said Garcia.
Before the US, Mekeni has already been catering to international markets such as Dubai, Bahrain, Brunei, Qatar, Australia, Japan, Canada, and the UK.
“These milestones are a step toward further realizing our vision to be a world-class brand and our mission to uplift the lives of our employees and Filipinos worldwide. This is also a win for the Filipino culture as what we are bringing to the world are Timplang Atin flavors that we are proud of and love dearly,” declared Garcia.
It did not come easy though.
“At the time it was hard here due to low purchasing power, we recognized that Filipinos outside the country have that power but due to the pandemic restrictions could not come home,” he said. “So, we brought to them a taste of home with our products.”
“Of course, it is not all about Mekeni, but about Filipino food,” clarified Garcia. “Our close family values as Filipinos also helped upon their knowing that Mekeni is a family corporation.”
Family values that birthed the company in 1986, weathered the Mount Pinatubo eruptions and the devastating aftermath in 1991 through 1996, and surpassed the Asian financial crisis of 1997. In every crisis that came its way, no matter the scope and scale, Mekeni Food Corp. stood firmly on family values, and excelled.
With the pandemic continuing to wane, greater optimism pervades Mekeni, Garcia himself self-assured of a double-digit growth in 2023.
Sidebar (boxed)
Mekeni in Milan
We decided to drop by again at Pinoy Saver’s Mart after our appointment at Intesa San Paolo on Friday (Jan. 27) and was really glad to see products from our very own Mekeni Food International available there. What they have there are Mekeni’s fishball, squid balls, and kikiam, which according to Gelvin Calolot, the son of the owner, were imported from the Philippines via the Netherlands the same way most of their Filipino products are. We can’t wait to see Mekeni tocino, longganisa, hotdogs, and other meat products reach Italy and the rest of Europe the way these are now penetrating the United States. We hope we could find a way to get these straight to Milan so that these would be more affordable to our kababayan. Because of the high cost of bringing the products to Milan, the price of a kilo of another popular Filipino hotdog brand is €25.00. ConGen Elmer G. Cato, Philippine Consulate General in Milan, Italy
