Manila Bulletin

13th Filipina Leadership Global Summit set Tetra Pak’s handbook to help coconut businesses

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Ahigh-powered gathering of some of the most extraordin­ary and inspiring Filipina women from all over the world takes place during the 13th Filipina Leadership Global Summit on August 21 to 24 at the Shangri-La Mactan Hotel.

Attended by Filipina women leaders, influencer­s, thinkers and public figures, the global initiative was launched 13 years ago by the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) to foster a renewed understand­ing of the Filipino culture’s emerging influence as a community and create a network of Filipina women that will work together in shaping the Filipina image as effective leaders of society.

The organizati­on started out as a small group of Filipinas with a vision to identify and support Filipina leaders in the US. It was establishe­d in San Francisco as a non-profit profession­al associatio­n for women of Philippine ancestry committed to promoting the social welfare of Filipinas worldwide and advocating their rights.

Today, FWN has evolved into a global community of powerful Filipinas representi­ng multiple industries around the world.

One of the most-awaited events organized by FWN is the annual Filipina Leadership Global Summit that serves as a platform for discussion­s, learning journeys, and sharing strategies among members.

The highlight of the Summit is the Gala and Awards Night where the 100 Most Influentia­l Filipina Women in the World are recognized.

These women were selected for their outstandin­g work in their respective fields and have risen to influentia­l positions in corporatio­ns, organizati­ons and government institutio­ns, changing the face of leadership in their local communitie­s and in their adopted countries.

The FWN100 Award™ was aptly divided into seven categories. Behind the Scenes Leaders recognizes Filipinas who have gone beyond the call of duty to advocate for those who need a voice or support the organizati­on she works for; Builders honors women with deep passion for a cause through collaborat­ive initiative­s or alliances with NGO; Emerging Leaders are Filipina women who at the age of 35 are already making their own mark in a leadership role; Founders and Pioneers is for trailblaze­rs, CEOs, presidents and founders of their companies; Innovators and Thought Leaders pays tribute to those who changed the way people think and live by helping develop a product or service in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineerin­g, Arts or Mathematic­s; Nicole honors Filipinas whose words, action, and activism inspire others to act and revolution­ize society’s way of understand­ing traditiona­l beliefs and customers; and Policy Makers and Visionarie­s is given to Filipina women with exceptiona­l acumen and forwardloo­king vision in the developmen­t or influencin­g of policies, campaigns and laws that impact business, industry and society.

Tetra Pak Philippine­s hopes its “Coconut Handbook” will benefit coconut-based enterprise­s in growing their businesses further. “We expect greater interest for readyto-drink coconut beverages, as more consumers turn to healthier living,” said Brian May, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippine­s at the recent media roundtable discussion on the benefits that coconut water has to offer.

The Philippine­s is the third largest coconut producer in the world, following India and Indonesia. Coconut water in particular, is one of the country’s top exports, being on the top of the list of non-traditiona­l coconut product exports in 2015.

The global demand for coconut water is expected to increase, driven mainly by the US market.

Sales of coconut water alone is now estimated to be worth more than $1 billion worldwide, and that companies wanting to grow their coconut related businesses profitably can partner up with Tetra Pak in order to utilize the company’s expertise in innovation leadership and integrated coconut solutions.

In line with this, companies looking to grow their coconut business now have a one-stop resource guide regarding anything and everything about coconuts via the “The Coconut Handbook”.

The 180-page handbook includes general insights, technical details and informatio­n taken from all parts of the coconut industry. It offers expert advice and practical informatio­n on everything from plantation­s, nutritiona­l benefits, production and distributi­on.

As the food industry’s preferred supplier of fully integrated coconut solutions, Tetra Pak is driving growth for many food and beverage players in the Philippine­s.

“We constantly seek to understand and discover what we need to do to meet the needs of the consumers,” said May as he explained what Tetra Pak aims to do in the future for the Philippine market.

The book is now available online through the Tetra Pak website, and is now available for shipping.

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