{"id":68495,"date":"2025-02-24T11:45:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T03:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=68495"},"modified":"2025-02-24T11:45:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T03:45:30","slug":"leche-flan-biz-finds-sweet-spot-through-e-commerce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2025\/02\/24\/leche-flan-biz-finds-sweet-spot-through-e-commerce\/","title":{"rendered":"Leche flan biz finds \u2018sweet spot\u2019 through e-commerce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How far can P5,000 take you? For this Laguna-based couple, it was all they needed to launch their sweet enterprise: Spoonful Delights.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we began our business in 2016, we just used our own kitchen. Back then, I really liked leche flan, and I thought about selling flavored leche flan in a bottle. That eventually became one of our flagship products,\u201d said Cholo Quiaonza, who owns Spoonful Delights with his wife, Gladys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After quitting his job and several false starts, Cholo, a former retail and food service employee, found himself down to P5,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was with this seed money that we started Spoonful Delights,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince I didn\u2019t have enough money for an actual store, I used online platforms instead. I realized I could earn even more money online, considering I didn\u2019t have rent expenses,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, aside from leche flan, they also sell local delicacies such as ube halaya and inutak, as well as alamang (sauteed shrimp paste) and specialty vinegar. They sell online, in bazaars, and supply pasalubong shops and grocery stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Spoonful Delights participated in PLDT and Smart\u2019s exclusive employee sale held at their Makati headquarters, supporting micro and small entrepreneurs. This initiative is part of PLDT and Smart\u2019s broader commitment to empowering MSMEs through technology and digital inclusion through their flagship program for MSMEs called eBizNovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2021, PLDT and Smart have been working alongside the Department of Trade and Industry, local government units, business chambers, and e-commerce platforms to equip Filipino entrepreneurs with digital skills and e-commerce training to support the government\u2019s efforts to strengthen the MSME sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19 pandemic: challenges and opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the pandemic hit, Spoonful Delights was among the many businesses affected. With traditional markets closing at the time, Cholo helped local vendors by selling their goods online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This also expanded Spoonful Delights\u2019 customer base. Demand soared, and the business grew to employ 20 workers, producing 1,800 pieces of leche flan daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were surprised because it wasn\u2019t exactly a necessity, but people were looking for it,\u201d Cholo says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, even as pandemic restrictions have long been lifted, work-from-home setups remain popular. Here, Cholo and his team found yet another opportunity for their business\u2014and a way to support their hungry \u201cWFH\u201d neighbors after hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe noticed that a lot of people in our community worked from home, so we started selling silog (a Filipino breakfast dish) in the evenings. In just two hours, we could earn enough to cover our utility bills,\u201d says Cholo, adding that his neighbors mainly contacted him on Facebook or via their group chats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018If running a biz were easy, we\u2019d all be rich\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Cholo, nothing beats the feeling of fulfilment that one gets from running his own business, even in the face of challenges. He offers some advice to fellow MSMEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exclusive Valentine\u2019s Day employee sale is part of PLDT and Smart\u2019s broader commitment to empowering MSMEs through a program called eBizNovation.<\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to run a business, especially in these times. If it were easy, everyone would be rich by now,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou need a lot of courage and prayers. Don\u2019t stop innovating and partnering with the right agencies, such as PLDT and Smart. Be open-minded to new updates and use e-commerce to promote your products. Sometimes, you don\u2019t even need a physical store anymore. You can promote your business from home using social media,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Spoonful Delights continues to flourish, adapting to the changing market landscape through continuous learning and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs an entrepreneur, you can\u2019t rely solely on what you know. You have to keep studying your market, especially online,\u201d he says. The business now has a commissary and advanced equipment, a far cry from its humble beginnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spoonful Delights\u2019 journey is a testament to the power of e-commerce and the internet in building and sustaining successful enterprises, regardless of size. Nearly a decade since its establishment, Spoonful Delights has demonstrated that with determination and adaptability, sweet success is within reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is one of the more than 32,000 MSMEs nationwide that have been supported by PLDT and Smart, highlighting their overall goal of helping MSMEs thrive through technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 2021, PLDT and Smart have been working alongside the Department of Trade and Industry, local government units, business chambers, and e-commerce platforms to equip Filipino entrepreneurs with digital skills and e-commerce training to support the government\u2019s efforts to strengthen the MSME sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":68499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[379,343,96,2727,1656],"class_list":["post-68495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-pldt","tag-smart-communications","tag-technology","tag-technology-adaption","tag-technology-investment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68500,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68495\/revisions\/68500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}