Mr. George Salinas started his farm business in 2017 with produce like fruits, coffee, black pepper, cacao, and vegetables like chili, eggplant, ladyfingers, and herbs that were only sold to traders. After two years, he officially registered his business with the name Nayong Kalikasan Agri Trading. After registering the business, he started joining bazaars at SM Megamall and Ayala Malls Serin. He also started to sell his products at Shell Select stores. At present, 16 Shell Select stores are carrying Nayong Kalikasan’s coffee products.
A three-time winner at the AVPA International Competition for Locally Roasted Coffee, Nayong Kalikasan, is also recognized by the Coffee Science Center as one of the producers of world-class quality coffee beans.
In 2019, Nayong Kalikasan established its own website and Facebook page after realizing the broader market of online platforms. After the website and Facebook page went up and running, the business not only gained loyal local customers but also overseas customers.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to close, but it was a different story for Nayong Kalikasan. It started to increase its presence in online market platforms like Shopee and Lazada. Since these online platforms provide a section for customer feedback, reviews from shoppers helped the business develop its products and services.
Nayong Kalikasan also keeps up with its marketing strategy knowing the increasing competition online. Mr. Salinas plans to hire a project-based staff to help them in social media marketing to boost online presence and effectively handle customer service concerns.
Despite the difficulties brought by the pandemic, Mr. Salinas did not think of quitting. Instead, he took the challenge as an opportunity to make the business grow. He was always optimistic about the future of Nayong Kalikasan. Because of this, his business was one of the chosen enterprises to join the 5th Batch of Kapatid Mentor Me (KMME) Program of the Department of Trade and Industry – Cavite Provincial Office (DTI-Cavite). Facilitators of the program strongly believed that the 10 sets of modules of KMME would accelerate Nayong Kalikasan’s steady course towards scaling up. The weekly coaching and mentoring by successful business owners and practitioners essentially helped the business adapt to the new normal business environment.
Currently, Nayong Kalikasan’s coffee products are being sold at Kapetolyo, one of Manila’s state-of-the-art projects intended to revive the Philippines’ capital city. Displayed with it are award-winning coffee beans from Paris, France.
Currently, Nayong Kalikasan’s goal is to be part of the Coffee Heritage Project, an international competition in Paris, France, two years from now. ♦
Date of Release: 5 May 2021