Food entrepreneurs find joy in Mondelez foodservice

Mondelez Philippines is interested to know, “What is the Philippines’ favorite merienda?” Their name may not sound familiar, but their products have surely been part of your merienda moments; and even that of your parents and grandparents. Formerly named Kraft Foods, Mondelez Philippines has been in the Philippines for the past 52 years and is quite the authority on snacks. The Company makes all-time Pinoy favorites like Eden Cheese, Cheez Whiz, Oreo cookies, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Toblerone and Tang, the favorite powdered drink in the country.

With its new name in 2012 came a new mission: To create delicious moments of joy. This, the Company is able to do more of through its new FoodService Function. Mondelez Philippines doesn’t just sell its well-loved brands in stores, it also provides these as ingredients to restaurants and food business owners like Piece of Cake and Serenitea, so they too can help create those memorable merienda moments.

The Joy of Finding Your Passion. That is exactly what Yumi Castrillo of Piece of Cake found in baking; her passion. A lawyer by profession, she is now known for her dazzling and intricate creations of cakes, cupcakes and her signature cake pops made of Oreo cookies. Having a wedding, birthday or baptism soon? Call on Yumi to experience the visual and culinary treats that she creates in her quaint home studio. Be amazed at her handmade flower confections, which are edible and oh-so-delicious.

“For the wedding cake flavors, my best sellers are Chocolate, Dulce de Leche and the Cookies and Cream cake with Oreo cookies. This one’s a vanilla bean cake base with chunks of Oreo cookies,” shares Yumi. “For the Cake Pops and Cupcakes with Oreo cookies they’re usually ordered as giveaways. I also do birthdays – as long as it has flowers. It’s really difficult for me if it’s a boy’s cake, I don’t know what to put!”

Feminine though her style may be, Yumi has created a niche for herself by focusing in what she does best. What else does she think helps build a food business? Yumi ends, “Remember that with a food business, I do want my customers to return to me. I love it when I do their wedding cake then I do their baptismal, then the birthday because they miss my cakes. You want a product that they will just always look forward to or go back to. So it is important that you use quality ingredients like Oreo cookies because that is what’s going to make them come back - if it tastes good. And they really request it. My products list is “Chocolate-covered Oreos.” The Cookies and Cream lists “Oreo” as an ingredient. It’s really something that people look for.”

Joy in Being Bold and Brave. Then partners Juliet Herrera and Peter Chen of mega brand Serenitea decided to be bold and brave in starting their own business. “I was only 23 years old and Peter was only 24 when we started Serenitea,” shares Juliet. “We didn’t realize at the time that the industry we entered was so challenging. But we said we should start early so that if we fail, we have time to start again.”

From starting their so-called “Lucky” store in San Juan, the now married couple has 38 branches nationwide including one in Cebu and in Davao. From having only 25 flavors in their menu, they now have 40 flavors, with limited-edition ones being added regularly. Serenitea also offers savory snacks – also patterned from Taiwan street food - to compliment the tea drinking experience. Most recently, their stores have started selling Serenitea Confections. These include candies, chocolates and jams that have been flavored with tea. And they’ve also taken to selling their own tea bags.

“What makes flavors best-sellers are the processes you employ to make them. Of course they have to be safe and like our teas, fresh. Secondly the ingredients we use are premium quality, like the Oreo cookies we use for our best-selling flavors,” explains Juliet.

She continues, “It helps our business to use premium ingredients like Oreo cookies. Number one because of the brand name. We have collaborations with them. When consumers see that we have tie-ups with Oreo cookies, which is a quality brand, they are encouraged to enter the store and order. I think if we didn’t have Oreo cookies as ingredients we wouldn’t have our Cookies and Cream and Cocoa Cookies and Cream drinks as best-sellers. Especially Cookies and Cream, that flavor is so popular among consumers.”