Seafood delights

When Roxas City-based spouses Jose and Celia Acevedo started a milkfish deboning business in 1997, they had no competition at all. Their production site was their family kitchen and their marketing strategy centered on participating in trade fairs organized by either the Department of Agriculture or the Department of Trade and Industry for Capiz, which is considered the seafood capital of the Philippines

Sales reached P1.5 million in the first full year of production.

"My parents started with only five full-time employees plus some part-time or contractual deboners to meet a big order. Today, the company employs 30 full-time personnel with around 20 more part-time or seasonal employees," said JC King Enterprises sales and marketing manager Aimee Acevedo-Liu.

Expansion

The company’s expansion could be traced to two factors. One was the company’s decision to widen its product range under the Mang Joe’s brand.

"We started out with just two products–boneless milkfish and milkfish spring rolls. We have since expanded to different milkfish cuts such as belly and to other seafoods such as crabmeat. We also have introduced bottled products such as a premium shrimp paste or bagoong alamang," said Acevedo-Liu.

The other factor was a loan granted by the Agricultural Competiveness Enhancement Fund last year, which enabled the company to put up a deboning cum processing plant. Inaugurated by President Macapagal-Arroyo in March 2005, the plant has an annual production capacity of 300 tons.

Marketing

"We expect to significantly surpass our sales last year of P2.5 million. For one, we are entering the supermarket shelves of Metro Manila. We are particularly interested in tapping the neighborhood sari-sari stores," said Acevedo-Liu. "For another, we are studying the lucrative American market. We initially intend to cater to Filipino-American market, who yearn for traditional Filipino flavors that evoke a taste of the home kitchens of their parents but who will pay more for convenience. The next challenge would be to penetrate the mainstream western market."

In preparation for its entering the export market, the plant is undergoing certification under HACCP (hazard analysis for critical control points), a quality management system that addresses food safety through the analysis of biological, chemical, and physical hazards.

"Despite the entry of more players, the market for boneless milkfish is still growing. Export-wise, the potential is huge. We draw inspiration from tilapia (St. Peter’s herring), which has been enjoying some measure of success in the United States. It was slowly introduced to the mainstream by gourmet restaurants in Napa and the Bay Area and is now widely accepted in the US, in part because tilapia is easily cultured in the US as well. Our milkfish has not had the opportunity. Maybe, it is high time our local milkfish industry took on this challenge," said Acevedo-Liu.