How Naga’s ‘Golden Mama’ found hope after tropical storm

This article is a press release from PLDT and Smart.

For Salve San Juan, her entrepreneurial journey has always revolved around food. “I was gifted with a really good sense of taste, so even if I don’t have any professional cooking background or experience, somehow, the meals I cook turn out really good,” she jested.

The 61-year-old founder of Golden Mama, a brand known in Naga not only for native delicacies, but more importantly, for its delicious, export-quality bottled laing, ginataang santol, and Bicol express, was invited by PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) to its PLDT and Smart Communities Bazaar, held as a part of the MVP Group’s Merry Ang Vibes ng Pasko holiday celebration at the telcos’ headquarters in Makati City, to showcase her products to employees and other customers.

This was an invitation that gave San Juan hope, she shared, as it came just as her family and the rest of Naga City were recovering from the devastation of Typhoon Kristine. Her store, which was situated at the Naga City Bus Terminal, and her production warehouse both suffered from the terrible floods in their area.

“I had seen in the news pictures of floodwater almost reaching the windows of the buses. I knew immediately that our store would be submerged in water. When we were finally able to go to the store to check, it was as if a tsunami came and destroyed everything,” she tearfully recounted.

But despite the crisis, San Juan found an opportunity to help her community. “After thoroughly checking with food experts in the area, and then cleaning and sterilizing, we were able to gather all the items that were salvageable and proceeded with our own relief efforts. We cooked the ginataang santol and distributed it in hot food packs to evacuation centers and churches so that the people there would have something else to eat aside from canned goods,” she said. She was also able to distribute her remaining bottled goods to other typhoon victims who needed food to eat.

However, Typhoon Kristine was not the first storm she went through in her life.

San Juan started a small food stall several decades ago, until eventually, she decided to transition into a pasalubong business. With only 5,000 pesos at hand and the will to succeed, she began selling local delicacies to tourists and even locals in the transport terminal in her store, FSJ Pasalubong Sentral.

But it was her passion for cooking, love for her family, and her treasured recipes for local dishes that turned out to be her golden ticket to success. A loving housewife and a mother to five children, her ginataang santol had always been a hit among family and friends, so much so that her late son was the one who encouraged her to “i-bote mo na ‘yan, Ma!”

She initially struggled with production, as they had to sometimes travel long distances for the cancer treatment of her child. But no hardship could ever shatter the golden heart of this Bicolana. Little by little, she built her own brand “Golden Mama” – coined by her daughter because she was 50 years old when they started her food bottling business.

She learned the ropes by attending almost all food-related workshops and exhibits by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). “As an entrepreneur, you have to take your time, don’t rush, and be humble,” she said.

In 2023, she was able to attend PLDT and Smart’s digital upskilling to e-commerce program ‘eBizNovation’ through the telcos’ partnership with TikTok Shop, DTI, and the Camarines Sur Chamber of Commerce – an organization that she is also a member of.

PLDT and Smart have long supported the MSME sector through products and solutions that enable the growth of small businesses through innovation, as well as digital upskilling programs like eBizNovation, which onboards micro entrepreneurs to online selling platforms, enabling them to successfully participate in the global digital economy.

“As an entrepreneur, we have to continue evolving. I am already 61 years old, but I know I have to employ these marketing skills to push our business forward,” she said. “That’s why I’m grateful for these programs of PLDT and Smart that significantly boost small entrepreneurs like us.”

Despite all the storms, Golden Mama’s sails remain steady, carefully navigating the business world armed with digital marketing skills, one ginataang santol bottle at a time.

PLDT and Smart’s commitment to the digital inclusion of Filipino MSMEs like Golden Mama, underscores the Group’s drive to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UNSDG #1: No Poverty and #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. – Rappler.com