WHILE it has no huge plans for now due to the Covid-19 pandemic, homegrown brand Sunpride Foods Inc. has assured consumers of continued innovations to remain relevant in a more competitive and new business environment.
The 50-year-old company was direct in saying it too has been affected in so many ways since the Covid-19 pandemic spread globally since last year.
“This pandemic has affected resources of business in a lot of ways, financially, supply related and even human resources and Sunpride is no exception,” said Don Hanley Wong, Sunpride’s marketing head, on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021.
Wong said the company plans to maximize its current resources—its people and products—during these challenging times.
“We want to push on product improvement. As we pride ourselves in being a quality meat producer, we want to focus on improving our products, creating new variants and possibly rebranding them in the near future. This includes reviewing formulation, raw materials and packaging,” he said.
Besides improving products, part of the company’s immediate plan also includes upskilling its workforce and focusing on people development.
“We want to strengthen our employees’, our managers’ skills and capabilities and invest in training as well as in individual development,” he said.
The company has also ventured into e-commerce by launching its own online shopping website www.lameats.com.ph to make its products more accessible to consumers over the course of the pandemic.
The online shopping site carries frozen meat cuts, frozen processed meat, canned meat, cooking essentials and home essentials, and also features easy-to-cook food recipes.
In the long run, Wong said, they plan to turn their online site into a one-stop shop that will carry all cooking essentials.
Commemorative book
Meanwhile, Sunpride celebrated its 50th year in the business through a ceremonial turnover and unveiling of its commemorative book during the Cebu Press Freedom Week.
Entitled “Fuller at 50: Retracing Sunpride’s Proud Legacy,” the book covers the company’s three journeys—its rich past, its present achievements, and its pursuit of innovation and excellence for the next 50 years.
The book retraces Sunpride’s humble beginnings, especially the roles of founders Dr. Sergio Wong, George Castillo and Sixto Castillo, and was written for the younger generation of leaders to have a better idea of what traditional companies went through to get to where they are now.
“We wanted a commemorative book to mark our 50th anniversary. We know that the trend now is to go digital. But more than accessibility in mind, we wanted something tangible and lasting. We’re proud to have it alongside all the other historical books at the Cebu City and Mandaue City public libraries and in the Cebuano Studies Center Library,” said Wong.
The coffee table book was authored by Cris Evert Lato-Ruffolo.
“The anniversary book is truly a collective effort of committed individuals who share a common vision of documenting Sunpride’s 50th year in a commemorative publication,” she said.
The digital storybook version can be found on Sunpride’s newly revamped website, https://www.sunpridefoods.com.
The family-run business has created over 100 products and multi-class brands, providing jobs to more than 1,000 regular employees and on-call workers. (KOC)