VIctoria, Laguna
— The Laguna Provincial
Office of the Department
of Trade and Industry
(DTI) headed by Acting
Provincial Director Christian Ted Tungohan together with DTI Region 4A led
by OIC Regional Director
Marissa Argente welcomed visitors from the
Department of Industry –
Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Employment
of Royal Government of
Bhutan in their exposure
trip to the Province of Laguna on July 26, 2023.
The exposure trip
is part of the latter’s implementation of the project
titled “Improving Market
Linkages for Cottage and
Small Industry.” This activity aims to visit production
centers and/or businesses of the One Town, One
Product (OTOP) and learn
and exchange industry
know-how mainly product
packaging, standardization, and certification with
OTOPreneurs. The 15 dele
gates were also accompanied by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Senior
Financing Partnerships
Assistant Ms Ella Arienda.
ADB provides assistance
to its members and partners by granting loans,
knowledge and support
technical assistance (in
which the above project
is included), and equity
investments to promote
social and economic development in line with its
commitment to achieve
a prosperous, inclusive,
resilient, and sustainable
Asia and the Pacific while
sustaining its efforts to
eradicate extreme poverty.
The following
Laguna OTOPreneurs actively participated in the
exposure trip and shared
business experiences and
government’s support for
inclusive local economic
growth through the OTOP
program:
- Vegetari Vegetarian Products known for
their plant-based snacks
(located in Los Baños) - Oryspa Spa
Solutions known for their
all-natural rice bran products (located in Calamba
City) - Marcel Philippe
Ministry…
known for their essential
oil blends, skin care products, and aromatic sprays
(located in Calamba City)
The Philippine
Franchise Association
Chairman-Director for Micro, Small, and Medium
Enterprises and Homegrown Franchises (NonFood) Ms Sherill Quintana
who is also the CEO of
Oryspa Spa Solutions also
gave inspirations to the
delegates as she talked
about branding and value
proposition side by side to
latest trends in Philippine
franchising set-up.
Side trips to
IvorySpace Restaurant
(an ideation space) and
GreenPlus Corporation
(an FDA-licensed toll
manufacturer), both in
Calamba City, were also
conducted. The said exposure trip to the Laguna
province generated positive feedback from the
delegates as seen from
their reactions on the day
of the visit. They were also
able to get a copy of Quintana’s book “Yes, the Filipino brand can” and were
inspired by testimonials of
the three Laguna homegrown OTOPreneurs (IMFlores, DTI-Laguna)
