Beyond Food: Discover Healthy Halal, Urban Gardening, Entrepreneurship
The 2018 edition of the Sikat Pinoy National Food Fair opens its doors to food enthusiasts from March 14 to 18 at the Megatrade Halls of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. This annual program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is organized by the Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion (BDTP) in cooperation with the DTI’s Regional and Provincial Offices.
Three special settings are being showcased this year:
(1) a pavilion for halal-certified products from nine regions of the country;
(2) an organic products and hydroponics garden; and
(3) a “kapetirya” serving different coffee blends from all over the Philippines.
There are over 200 booths featuring products of over 200 MSMEs offering regional delicacies, processed meats, wines and beverages, ready-to-eat bottled food, chocolates and snack foods, spices and condiments, jams and spreads, health supplements, and other kitchen basics. There are also exhibitors selling fresh produce like organic fruits and vegetables as well as fish and other marine products.
In addition, free cooking workshops are scheduled every day, as follows: Thursday, March 15 : (1:30pm – 3:30pm) Healthy meat products for business with Mrs. Lourdes Rivera. Friday, March 16 : (1:30pm – 3:30pm) Sysu International Inc./Clara Ole; (4:30pm – 6:30pm) Mama Sita with Chefs Philip Lim and Phye Yabut. Saturday, March 17 : (1:30pm – 3:30pm) Baguio Oil with Chef Boy Logro; (4:30pm – 6:30pm) San Miguel Purefoods with Chef Rolando “RJ” Garcia. Sunday, March 18 : (1:30pm – 3:30pm) Gardenia Bakeries with Chef Patrice Aguillo; (4:30pm – 6:30pm) Silver Swan with Chef Luis Napoleon R. Sol III.
For those who wish to learn more about food entrepreneurship, there are free lectures offered daily, as follows: Thursday, March 15 : (10:30am – 12:00nn) Development Bank of the Philippines – Loan Program/Facilities; (4:30pm – 6:30pm) PLDT Enterprise – Digital Payment (Paymaya). Friday, March 16 : (10:30am – 12:00nn) DOST Packaging Center of the Philippines – Food Safety. Saturday, March 17 : (10:30am – 12:00nn) Pasay City Cooperative Development Office – Simple Nutrients Addition Program (SNAP) Hydroponics. Sunday, March 18 : (10:30am – 12:00nn) FILPET Inc. – Packaging Technology.
By bringing food entrepreneurs from all over the country into a single venue, the Sikat Pinoy National Food Fair generates not just retail business from consumers but is also an order-taking event where institutional buyers and traders discover new items for their supermarket shelves, and hotels and restaurants meet new producers and negotiate with existing suppliers.
According to DTI-BDTP Director Rhodora M. Leaño, “In 2013, for the first Sikat Pinoy National Food Fair, the department set what was then an ‘ambitious’ goal of Php 15-million in cash and booked sales. Last year, we were able to record revenues of Php 42.17 million from over 52,000 fair goers. That is an increase of almost triple in just five years, an outstanding measure of success by any standard, and a very encouraging sign for MSMEs in the food sector.”
The Sikat Pinoy National Food Fair is open from 10:00am – 9:00pm on March 14 to 18, 2018. Admission is free.
For more information, email bdtp@dti.gov.ph or call phone numbers +632 751 3223, +632 751 3228m and fax +632 751 3224. Please follow sikatpinoyfairs on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for updates.
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