"I was looking for comfort food I was used to from my youth. This led me to innovate and to create plant-based comfort food so that even vegetarians like me
could still enjoy them."
MORE Filipinos are turning to lead a healthier lifestyle. Eating nutritious food low in cholesterol has become the norm. Some have even opted to become vegans like Arvin Kisig Garcia Lopez, who has taken this path since the early 2000.
Not only did he become healthier but also his new lifestyle has inspired him to venture into a business that would provide a more comfortable life for him and his family.
Lopez first started to set up a quail farm but this proved difficult due to limited capital.
When the 51-year-old entrepreneur became a vegan, he closed down the quail farm and started a backyard oyster mushroom farm. But the farm was hit by a typhoon prompting him to work as a satellite dish installer.
While engaged in this job, he thought of developing plant-based dishes, which he tried to sell to students at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna.
Ingredients were expensive, so it was hard for him to make a profit. He then targeted a different market segment: middle-class and professionals.
Together with a restaurant owner in Los Baños, Lopez was able to develop plant-based dishes and appetizers, which were turned into cracklings (chicharon).
"I was looking for comfort food I was used to from my youth. This led me to innovate and to create plant-based comfort food so that even vegetarians like me could still enjoy them," he said.
Inspired by the success of their pilot-test, Lopez and wife Angela Monalisa Castelltort established Vegetari Vegetarian products in Los Baños in 2015.
A hands-on entrepreneur, Lopez spearheads the research and development of his plant-based cracklings or chicharron as alternative to meat.
"What is unique in our cracklings is the taste and texture as we try our best to mimic the taste of pork and tuna to be able to provide the best comfort food to our customers," he said.
Seaweeds imitate the taste of tuna while shiitake mushrooms taste like pork chicharon, he added.
From the cracklings made from mushroom and squash, Lopez developed other variants such as vegnet, vegchon kawali, plant-based bacon and coconut crackling.
These are vegetarians' delight and a hearty feast for those who want to avoid too much cholesterol food.
Lopez said that he always supports local farmers and sources local ingredients from farmers in nearby farms although he admits getting other ingredients from abroad.
From five local partner-outlets, Vegetari cracklings are distributed in a total of 30 outlets. And after successfully penetrating the local market, Lopez and his team were able to introduce and to export their brands in Australia, Hong Kong, Cayman Islands and Papua New Guinea.
Lopez also ensures to help provide employment for local residents.
"We want to assist in harnessing Filipino ingenuity to create world-class products!" he said.
He happily shared that the secret to having satisfied customers not just locally but internationally is to satisfy the taste buds of the customers.
"Vegans are still a small market but as long as the taste of the snacks is good, both vegans and non-vegans purchase our snacks."
A major challenge came to Vegetari when his manufacturing plant was hit by fire two years ago.
It was a blow to the business but with the help of friends, family and clients, Lopez and his team were able to recover.
"The journey to start anew was not easy but our perseverance, resilience and positive mind set helped us through," he added.
As a company, Vegetari has served as an inspiration and a trailblazer to other aspiring entrepreneurs in the community.
Lopez did not immediately focus on quantity but rather quality, he said: "We developed the quality and taste of our cracklings before we produced in quantity."
He recalled that Vegetari's first participation in a bazaar was most memorable. We made only 35 packs of cracklings and, in less than an hour, all were sold out. This made us realize the potential and started developing the process on how to mass-produce.
"As a boss, I am very strict in ensuring the excellence of our cracklings, especially because our products are handmade."
He said that he is now earning enough to send his five children to school.
When asked where his success in the business could be attributed, he said that his philosophy is to "try and try until you succeed." He said that nobody can go wrong with determination and innovation.
Aside from these values, he also believed that heavenly blessings coupled with clarity of vision are keys to success in the business.
"If the vision is clear, you will know which doors you should open and which directions your business would take. Everything gets clarified in time when we constantly ask for Heaven's guidance and give thanks to Him."
"Everything comes from God."
Even if he did not finish his college degree at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, he is grateful that his business has helped him gain success that he has aspired for in life.
"Challenges in life can always be transformed into opportunities and ideas can become one's gateway to thriving enterprises," Lopez said, and his record from becoming a vegan to a vegan entrepreneur has seemed to have proven this.
Quick Questions
What is your biggest fear?
If loved ones suffer.
What really makes you anrgy?
Injustice
What motivates you to work hard?
My kids.
What motivates you to laugh the most?
Whenever my family gets together and jokes around with each other.
What did you want to be when you were small?
A superhero.
What would you do if you won the lotto?
Invest in the business.
If you could share a meal with an individual living or dead, who would they be?
My Dad.
What is the most daring thing you have ever done?
I'd rather not say.
What was the last book you read?
"Rich Dad Poor Dad"
Which celebrity would you like to meet for a cup of coffee?
Michael Jordan
What is the one thing you will never do again?
Drive without a license.
Where will you see yourself in 10 years?
A billionaire.
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