Pintos maker credits success to originality

CEBU, Philippines - Over the years, a pioneer of the renowned pintos-making industry in the northern province of Cebu found her lucrative business to be well-sustained given her hands-on management and manual production of the delicacy.

67-year old Peregrina “Pering” Catampatan is known to be one of the oldest and longest maker of pintos, a popular steamed delicacy in Bogo City that is made from ground young corn, skimmed milk, refined sugar and butter or margarine and is wrapped in corn husk.

Bogo, considered to be a major town center and trading area in the northern end of Cebu, is rich in agriculture with corn among its chief products.

The city celebrates an annual festival in honor of the sweet delicacy during the later part of May.  The “resident” delicacy is often served during official gatherings in Bogo and Cebu cities.

Catampatan began to sell pintos when she was eight years old. Her aunt, who also made pintos as a living, taught her how to make the delicacy. From an initial investment of P200, she then started a career out of pintos making on her own when she reached 15.

She officially registered her business as “Pering Pintos Products” with the Department of Trade and Industry last 2009.

Catampatan is married with a farmer for 51 years and has four children who all turned out to be professionals in their respective fields with the help of her business.

She cited that the pintos business is proven profitable at all seasons since there is a strong market of the product every day.

“Nakauyon kaayo ko ani. Maayo ang kita kada adlaw. Wala kaayo problema. Daghang mamalit kay lami man gyud siya,” (I love this business because I earn a decent income every day, less hassle and it really sells because it tastes good) she said in an interview.

In 2008, she started to hire four helpers and now employs eight to help her out in her growing business.

Even if she has her workers to give her a lift, she always makes sure she personally and manually mixes all the ingredients to come up with the secret taste of Nang Pering’s pintos.

She produces 500 to 1,000 pieces of pintos every day. Each pintos is sold at P10.

Her pintos are mostly in demand during peak seasons like the Pintos Festival, Holy Week, All Souls’ Day, Christmas and New Year.

Catampatan usually accepts 5,000 orders per day, making sleeping an impossible chore for her to do.

Even without enough sleep, she never thought of quitting the business and had not tried refusing orders from her customers except for inevitable circumstances.

She usually starts making pintos at 11 PM. In an hour, she could finish up to 100 pieces.

She has earned regular customers not only from the city where she belongs to but also in large-scale establishments and malls in Cebu and Manila.

She also has clients abroad such as in Dubai, Hawaii, and United States.

She frequently earns P2,000 to P6,000 everyday of which half of it is considered to be her profit.

The local government of Bogo City extended support to Catampatan and even constructed a 40-square meter production facility in 2008.

With the intervention of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Science and Technology in 2007, she underwent marketing and packaging orientation and participated trade fairs in the province.

She even bested second among 20 entries during the second edition of the Obra Negosyo Eskwela Countryside Enterprise Business Upliftment (One Cebu) program at the Cebu International Convention Center last June 2012.  /JOB (FREEMAN)