Milkfish company makes a splash in the local food scene

Chanos Chanos Trading specializes on one of the national symbols of the Philippines: the milkfish, otherwise known as bangus in Filipino, with the scientific name where this company got its title. This food manufacturer lives up to its business name for their sole product is bangus. And talking about national symbols—say coconut as the tree of life—Chanos Chanos has made milkfish the fish of life. This is because they can practically turn bangus into almost anything: from daing, tinapa, and belly, to siomai, kikiam, siopao, fishball, longganisa, empanada, chicharon, sisig, and burger.

“Name it, we’ve got it,” brags Ramon Rodriguez, General Manager of Chanos Chanos, when he talks about the company’s capability to transform the Philippines’ national fish into a number of mouth-watering foodstuffs and dishes. “I guess it is the quality and diverseness of our bangus products that make restaurants and resorts pine for our supply.” Yes, Chanos Chanos is catering its fresh and tasty food items to famous diners like Max’s, Pancake House, Gerry’s Grill, and Villa Escudero for years.

This food enterprise, which started as a bangus grower in Batangas in 1983, is taking another step towards exporting. Right now, Chanos Chanos attends food seminars and local exhibits in order to learn the process of developing their products, preparing the food safely, and of course, promoting its brand abroad.

Chanos Chanos at IFEX 2007

This coming May 18-20 at the World Trade Center, Manila, Chanos Chanos is going to join the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines, the most exciting marketplace showcasing the best offerings of the Philippine food industry.

“This will be our first time to exhibit in IFEX and we hope that this event would be the stepping-stone for our products to be accepted and recognized worldwide,” Ramon wishes. “Maraming matutuhan sa IFEX because it is not just an exhibit but also a venue where SMEs can learn things they thought they already knew like in packaging, food preparation, cleanliness, and hazard analysis.”

Ramon explains that he and his team are currently attending a number food seminars through the Partner Region Program that CITEM (Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, organizer of IFEX Philippines) holds in preparation for the upcoming IFEX.

Under the Partner Region Program, or PRP, select food companies from a region are given the necessary training to help them in manufacturing safe and quality products and equip them with knowledge in more effective negotiation with both local and foreign buyers. The products—in their enhanced packaging and labels—are showcased in a special setting during IFEX. The participating companies are also given a separate area where they can conduct negotiations with interested buyers.

This year, IFEX will feature the appetizing products of Region 4A or CALABARZON. For Cavite, PRP participants are: Deli de Lata (duck stew), Carm Foods Enterprise (assorted smoked and dried fish), Café Amadeo (brewed coffee), Farm Treasures (pickled fruits and vegetables), Ocean Fresh Tahong (tahong chips, crispy tahong, adobong tahong, sugpo crackers), and Mercedita C. Perea (smoked and dried fish).

For Laguna, the PRP members include Escaba Sweets (fruit preserves), Guaranfoods Manufacturing (catsup, mayonnaise, vinegar), Norman’s Bakery (pilipit, uraro, shing-a-ling), Lety’s Buko Pie tropical fruit pies, espasol), Choco Vron Ventures (chocolate coated pulvoron), and Aling Nene’s Buko Pie and Puto Biñan. Chanos Chanos, LIMCOMA (cold cuts), and Emelda’s Sweet Tamarind will represent the Batangas province; Balaw-Balaw (balaw balaw sauce, adobong itik) and Fortress Food Products (goat stew, caldereta, papaitan) for the Rizal area; and Abcece Lucban Langgonisa and Meat Products for the Quezon province.

After attending one of the PRP seminars, Ramon, with all the new information that he learned, started remodeling its company’s processes right away. They changed their utensils to stainless steels with smooth edges, plus they put up screens and air conditioning for the whole plantation resulting to an insect and pest-free area.

As for the food preparation, Ramon also improved their finished products by enhancing their recipe with the knowledge they gained from the PRP seminars. So for this year, Chanos Chanos will be showcasing its products prepared in olive oil, which is deemed safer and healthier compared to using canola or cooking oil.

The seminars have been quite an experience for Ramon. “I enjoyed it, I gained more knowledge and now our company is ready for IFEX,” he assures.

IFEX’s industry partners for PRP are the DTI Regional Operations Group (ROG), Packaging Research and Development Center of the Philippines-Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC), and San Miguel Packaging Products (SMPP)

IFEX 2007 is organized by CITEM, the export promotions arm of the Department of Trade and Industry. For more information on this food fair, please call CITEM, Agri-Marine Division at 831-1282, 831-2201 locals. 204 and 238, e-mail: agrimarine@citem.com.ph or visit www.ifexphilippines.com.