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
No comments:
Post a Comment