How Fila Manila Turned Filipino Flavors into a Growing Food Brand

sure.

Okay.

So this is not my first food business.

My first food business was an almond milk company.

It was called Origin Almond.

At the time, plant-based was all the rage.

And so I figured, let's do plant-based milk, but let's do it in a way that people have not yet tried it.

And so Origin Almond, we were about fresh, unpasteurized almond milk.

And that was our differentiator.

But long story short, during the pandemic, we ultimately had to shut down the business.

I think at that time, most of our sales came from the retail store.

And when the pandemic hit, a lot of that traffic to retail kind of like cut.

And so over a course of a few weeks, we saw revenue drop 80%.

Oh,

wow.

And so it was kind of like a pivot point.

Like, where do we go? And then I was wondering, what do we do now? And so I came across an article.

And there was an article that talked about in some areas of the U.S., 60% of the healthcare workforce fighting on the front lines of COVID were Filipino.

Wow.

Wow.

I was like, oh, wow, that's crazy.

But it inspired me to do more research on who I am because I grew up as a Filipino, but I also grew up in New Jersey.

And so, you know, I knew that American side of me, but I really want to get close to that Filipino side.

And through that research, it turns out, you know, we are a thing.

You know, we're the second largest Asian American group in the U.S., the largest in 11 states, including California.

sure.

Okay.

So this is not my first food business.

My first food business was an almond milk company.

It was called Origin Almond.

At the time, plant-based was all the rage.

And so I figured, let's do plant-based milk, but let's do it in a way that people have not yet tried it.

And so Origin Almond, we were about fresh, unpasteurized almond milk.

And that was our differentiator.

But long story short, during the pandemic, we ultimately had to shut down the business.

I think at that time, most of our sales came from the retail store.

And when the pandemic hit, a lot of that traffic to retail kind of like cut.

And so over a course of a few weeks, we saw revenue drop 80%.

Oh,

wow.

And so it was kind of like a pivot point.

Like, where do we go? And then I was wondering, what do we do now? And so I came across an article.

And there was an article that talked about in some areas of the U.S., 60% of the healthcare workforce fighting on the front lines of COVID were Filipino.

Wow.

Wow.

I was like, oh, wow, that's crazy.

But it inspired me to do more research on who I am because I grew up as a Filipino, but I also grew up in New Jersey.

And so, you know, I knew that American side of me, but I really want to get close to that Filipino side.

And through that research, it turns out, you know, we are a thing.

You know, we're the second largest Asian American group in the U.S., the largest in 11 states, including California.