Uncle Dood’s Bakeshop: A DOST-SETUP success story

By Daniel B. Codamon

LAMUT, Ifugao -- From a struggling bakery, it has grown to be big bread business name in Ifugao.

 Couple Reynaldo and Dahlia Carlit from Barangay Duit, Kiangan started their bakery business in 2004 by selling doughnut, long john, pandesal, loaf, buns and assorted breads in their small establishment located at the center barangay of Poblacion with an initial capital of more than P21, 000.

In 2005, they registered their business at the Department of Trade and Industry as a single proprietorship under the name of Dahlia.

The husband and wife worked in tandem tirelessly to produce bakery items using the traditional, manual and labor-intensive technology which is so time-consuming. They were only earning meager profit that can hardly sustain their family needs.

Worried about their future with their growing family, they transferred their business to Lamut in 2006 with the hope of making more profit as the town has bigger population than Kiangan. They named their business Uncle Dood’s Bakeshop.

But they encountered the same situation as when they were in Kiangan despite the increase and greater demand of their bakery food products since they were still using the same technology. They would only process an average of 40 sacks of flour per month for minimal profit.

In 2012, they sought the assistance   of   the Department of Science and Technology and   became a beneficiary of the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP.

With the assistance of the DOST’s Provincial Science and Technology Center headed by Genna Jallorina, they were    initially provided technical assistance like the proper layout, proper illumination in the work area, customer and worker handling and attendance to the DOST’s training to improve their products.

Their sales increased   and they hired at least two workers for their operation.

 To develop their   technical know-how and improve their overall productivity.  to further grow their business, they enrolled in   the Manufacturing Productivity Extension Program (MPEX) also of DOST.

 Later on,   through the assistance of SETUP, the couple was able to expand their bakery product lines to include cakes on a “per order” basis.

Both SETUP and the MPEX continue to help in the improvement of the production processes and products of Uncle Dood’s Bakeshop and improved work attitudes of employees that gradually increased their sales and enabling them to expand production areas.

The bakeshop eventually elevated its status in the Ifugao business horizon with its four outlets. With their new technology and equipment provided by the SETUP, they are now churning out 350 sacks of flour per month for their bakery products with 13 workers hired to help them as compared to the 40 sacks per month prior to their engagement with the DOST.

But they have to face challenges like the changing trends and stiffer competitions.

Consumer tastes have also been raised by the trends set by the community and the very influencing neighboring areas of the adjacent provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela due to the influence of media especially social media.  

The  past years indicated much change in customer preferences as well as their new ‘wants’ coupled with greater demand due to the increasing consumer population.

Asked how they respond to the challenges of stiffer competition, the Reynaldo and Dahlia Carlit said their continuous innovation and upgrading of their technology with the help of the DOST make them confident to hurdle the challenges. -- PIA Ifugao