IFEX Philippines, the country’s biggest international trade exhibition where you get to taste some of the best food in the world, was held from 19-21 May in Manila.
The Philippines is globally renowned for quality food products and is a major food source for the global community. According to the official IFEX website this is where the Philippines ranks as a Top Global Exporter:
- 2nd in Pineapple
- 2nd in Banana
- 2nd in Coconut
- 4th in Canned Tuna
- 9th in Mango
- 12th in Fish Products
A major feature of IFEX is the Katha Awards, which pay tribute to Philippine food products and food applications that satisfy three major criteria: packaging design, product innovation, and market demand and readiness. There are numerous categories but my three favourite winners were:
TakeRootFoodCorner won Best New Snack Foods with their Salad Snackers range.
Take Root describes themselves as a natural food company providing clean, whole food snacks that make healthy eating easy, accessible and delicious. They use organic products whenever possible and aim to ensure you don’t have to stress over nutrition.
MalagosAgri-VentureCorp. won for Best New Product Confectionary for their 85% Natule Chocolate Dark which was developed to cater the taste of the high-standard Japanese market. M a l a g o s chocolates are one of the few single-origin fine flavour chocolate producers in the world that is truly tree-to-bar.
They have won four major international awards in fine chocolate competitions and They have won four major international awards in fine chocolate competitions and have helped local farmers improve their crop and their income.
MuyBienVenturesCo.Inc won the Best New Product Beverages for Turmeric Tea w/ Lemongrass in Sachet and Turmeric Tea w/ Calamansi in Pouch.
Muy Bien comes from Negros Occidental. Their Turmeric Ginger Lemongrass is a sweetened tea drink made from the natural and organic extracts of turmeric, ginger, lemon grass and calamansi.
Featured on the back cover is an ad for STEEPCoffee. This is a product close to my heart. I had met some outstanding social entrepreneurs at the GK Enchanted Farm and although their products were very good, I was unsuccessful in my attempts to get people to buy them in Australia.
One of the social entrepreneurs at GK Farm gave my contact details to Justin Bereber, the founder of STEEP Coffee Bags and a man I believe will take the world by storm with his quality products.
Justin is the epitome of the new breed of young people in the Philippines who are combining social responsibility with an amazing entrepreneurial flare.
Check out his interview on CNN
STEEP Coffee Bags is a new way of brewing coffee. The brand believes that preparing a cup of coffee should be easy and convenient, and shouldn’t take much time to prepare.
We have stopped using the coffee maker in our office because we can get a Coffee Shop quality coffee at a fraction of the price without needing anything other than boiling water. I love the Baraco from Batangas blend as well as the Peppermint Coffee I have each day.
Recently the Australian government relaxed the regulations on importing fresh Philippine mangoes into Australia. In order to get them here while still fresh they need to be air freighted.
Although this is very expensive, it is less than the cost of importing mangoes from Mexico, which is where most of the mangoes in fruit and veggie shops come from this time of the year, so please ask your greengrocer to stock it.
