Sophie’s Gourmet: A mom’s language of love

Supeña S. Solis, fondly called “Sophie”, 65, is the face and the brain behind the Sophie’s Gourmet that caters to both the demands for healthy options and convenience.

In November 2015, with a P2,000 budget, Sophie and one of her children, Thea Larrah who is a food technologist, formulated recipes for gourmet sardines. They started cooking in a small steamer that only produces 13 bottles at that time. This also helped Thea divert her attention and cope with her chemotherapy cycle after being diagnosed with cancer.

Sophie first gave the home-made gourmet sardines to their relatives and closest friends as Christmas presents that year. Surprisingly, they loved it and boosted Sophie’s idea of turning this hobby to a full-time manufacturing venture.

Before making gourmet products, Sophie sold pastries since 2010 as an additional source of income for her family. “I was really fond of making pastries, cakes, and tart. Since I was a kid, it is my passion and hobby at the same time. So the baking experience I have was a huge help in starting up this business,” Sophie mentioned.

With P30,000 as capital, they started the Sophie’s Gourmet. After a month, there was already a return of the investment.

Moreover, Sophie joined the Association of Laguna Food Processors (ALAFOP) that led her to a network of potential partners and customers. She was able to attend events and seminars that gave her enough background to support her growing business.

Mid 2016, a staff from Mga Likha ni Inay (MLNI), the marketing arm of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), invited her to ask assistance from CARD Leasing and Finance Corporation (CLFC).

CLFC, in collaboration with CARD-Business Development Service Foundation (CARD-BDSFI) and other CARD MRI group, ensures acceleration in the development of micro-entrepreneurs’ enterprises.

“We were given additional financial assistance by CLFC to acquire needed equipment and extra machines to attain efficient and sufficient production of gourmet sardines. They are always ready to help us if we need additional fund for the business,” thanked Sophie.

As the demand and production grew, the gourmet products became ready to step up and reach much larger chunk of consumers. The MLNI then served as channel in marketing, promoting, advertising, and trading Sophie’s Gourmet products.

“Our products under Mga Likha ni Inay are being sold in outlets in various prestigious malls in Metro Manila including SM Supermalls and Rockwell. They are really a great help to us especially in reaching out to the larger market,” she added.

Customers can choose from a variety of gourmet products featuring Tawilis, Tamban, Bangus, Tinapa and Tuyo cooked in corn oil, dried kamias, with spices and chili or lemon juice, minced garlic, rosemary, and spices packed in hermetically sealed bottle jars. These products have shelf life of up to a year.

At present, Sophie’s Gourmet has expanded their production area to house the preparation, cooking, cooling, and packaging phases of their products. Also, since the demand for their goods has increased, Sophie’s Gourmet is able to generate livelihood for their neighbors. They are now employing three people that help them maneuver four pressure caners producing thousands of bottled sardines per month.

Moreover, Sophie is also helping her co-microfinance clients in CARD from Talisay, Batangas by having them as suppliers of her gourmet’s raw materials. “Helping and seeing other people grow is one of the remarkable journeys Sophie’s Gourmet has taken,” she added.

According to Julius Adrian R. Alip, chief executive of CARD-BDSFI, connecting local producers to processors is one way of driving economic development and community revitalization.

“Value chain facilitation is crucial among MSMEs. The common situation is not all have the access to wider market or at least to the distributors and traders. This is the gap that CARD-BDSFI fills in,” added Vladimer D. Sanchez, MLNI operations director.

Sophie, through CARD-BDSFI, hopes to reach more microfinance clients in the future to become her suppliers of raw materials.

To the eyes of many, Sophie and her family may have achieved the peak of their business venture’s success, but not for Sophie. The business is still bound for further expansion and hopefully product exportation.

“Never stop dreaming; never stop reaching for your dreams. Don’t lose hope even hardships may come your way. Work hard for it. Definitely, pray for it,” she concluded.