By: Jerry Jao

I was a new a graduate around 20 years ago... I was fired and I was looking for a job...pero natagalan ako s apaghahanap so I opted to do networking, insurance a real estate salesman... so to make the story short, All around salesman parang electrolux man. Everyday I would be going around Ortigas for seminars client meeting etc, etc. But due to limited money, I think 200 lang dala ko kada araw kasama na dun ang transpo and I have to be in ortigas by 9am until sometime 4am the next day..lam mo na trabahong networker after 6pm ang client. So with limited money in my pocket araw araw I would go either Robinson's Galleria or Sharilla Fast Food area to take my lunch & dinner, at ang palaging order ko yung Adobo Rice with Egg kasi yun lang ang budget ko and afford ko. There are times na palapit pa lang ako sa cashier pinupunch na order ka kasi alam na nila yun ang oorderin ko nanaman. Minsan tinanong ako bakit yun lagi order ko so I just answered "Yan kasi paborito ko"...(well, partly true) and di ko masabi na yan lang kasi kaya ko (during that time P25 lang yan). There are times ma may kasama akong fellow networker na kaya lang sumasabay sa akin para makalibre ng lunch and I would buy 2 packs nyan ang kakain kami at minsan nagsabi din sya sa akin yun lang daw nililibre ko sa kanya puro Adobo Rice with Egg lang...(Kainis ng nagpalibre lang nagreklamo pa...) If you know Ismael Abaya o Bart Abaya...I was dealing with hin na din during that time. And During that Time nababasa na kita sa Entrepreneur Magazine but di pa tayo personally magkakilala. I was so inspired about your story and the story of where the adobo Rice came from that after a few years I decided to go to business and Invited my friends to start lunch delivery services in Binondo gaya ng ginawa nyo. I tried not to get commercial space kasi napakamahal and I could not afford it. We called it Sa Kusina ni Mang Tabby... literal yun kusina lang meron kami at wala nang iba no dine in no nothing. And Tabby is what my family calls me kasi tumataba na ako during that time. Sad to say, to business last only 1 and a half year. and wit this I loss my friends who became my partner. Hangang nang makilala kita sa PMA... Until now i can't forget how your story and your brand have been part of my struggling years. And how your story inspired me to become an entrepreneur.

BINALOT Fiesta Foods, Inc. received a HeroBrand Awards uder the Established Hero category. The franchise was recognized for its contributions to the good of society. HeroBrand Awards celebrate those companies and brands that are making the world a better place.

Read More: ressreader.com

The Philippines’ Binalot Fiesta Foods has won the international HeroBrand Awards for its social good projects in local communities.

The HeroBrand Award is an international award that aims to recognize and publicize companies that are making a difference in their communities and are regarded as heroes who inspire those around them.

“Heroes inspire us, they shape our culture and create history. Heroes elevate us emotionally. They strengthen us physically. Heroes change the way we see the world. They encourage us to transform ourselves for the better. Heroes give us hope.

“Hero Brand Awards celebrates those in business world who in their deeds, create social changes that make our world better,” explains the HeroBrand Awards site.

Binalot Fiesta Foods won the HeroBrand Awards for Established Hero given to larger corporations who demonstrate a commitment to social good in their communities and beyond.

The restaurant chain that practices the Filipino dining practice of using banana leaves as environment-friendly packaging materials to wrap meals was named one of the four major awardees for HeroBrand Awards 2020, along with winners from Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Binalot Fiesta’s social good projects which give back to communities that support the company and provide assistance to those in need are under the DAHON program, the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm runs projects that address issues on the environment, livelihood, education, poverty alleviation, and calamity relief, all aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

• Leaf of Faith is one such program that sources banana leaves from marginalized farming communities. These banana leaves are used to pack meals that are sold in Binalot stores. For over a decade, it has provided small-time banana farmers with an added opportunity to profit from the banana trees growing in their backyards while ensuring that Binalot has a steady and reliable source for all its stores across Metro Manila. Binalot, after all, is famous for its classic Filipino meals wrapped in a banana leaf — stamping the traditional Filipino brand in a modern fast-food setting.
• The Eggciting Harvest program is another DAHON livelihood project that introduced salted egg production to a community located in the foothills of Nagcarlan, Laguna. It aims to improve further the economic condition of the farmers and their spouses. It has enabled the matriarchs to supply Binalot with high-quality salted eggs to its stores. This allows them to earn additional income while in the comforts of their community.

The BAYANI program covers relief operations during disasters such as typhoons. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Its recent efforts have focused on soliciting pledges from companies and individuals to provide hot meals to both medical and non-medical frontliners in different hospitals in the country. Hot meals are prepared and delivered to the donor’s chosen institution. Or, the choice of donees may come from the program’s list of hospitals, quarantine facilities, government agencies or depressed areas where the packed meals are needed. Binalot’s disaster response aims to contribute to the recovery and resilience of the affected Filipino communities.

DAHON has received several citations including the once-in-a-lifetime Centennial Prize in the worldwide 2007 UPS Out-of-the-Box Small Business Contest and the Intel-AIM Corporate Social Responsibility Award (IACRA) at the Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility in 2010.

The homegrown fast food chain showed Pinoy resiliency amid the new normal brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Binalot has been expanding into the Asian market and the UAE.

Read More: goodnewspilipinas.com