By agrimag
Get to know what’s behind the SETUP program and the success of the Frux Peanut Butter business.
By Allan Mauro V. Marfal,
S&T Media Service, DOST-STII
You might say that Mrs. Fructoso Lana, owner of Frux Peanut Butter, is going nuts. It’s almost incredible that technology intervention worth 541,600 has “spread” her income base to yummy figures.
According to Lana, Frux has increased its production by 136 percent and sales by 142 percent, as the company is now able to produce quality peanut butter and market it in 50, 200, 250, and 300 gram bottles; these are widely distributed to established local markets. Among Frux Peanut Butter’s clients is Manolette Bakeshop, which has 200 branches across the country.
Fructoso Lana, owner of Frux Peanut Butter in Tagum City, explains how they make their best-selling peanut butter products using upgraded equipment while practicing food safety procedures.
At the closing ceremony of 2014 Mindanao Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Science and Technology Fair at the SMX Convention Center of SM Lanang in Davao City last year, Frux Peanut Butter was recognized for successfully implementing SETUP or the Small Enterprise Upgrading Program.
Lana said that aside from the financial assistance, her staff received extensive consultancy training on food safety from the DOST. In addition to providing financial assistance to micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) like Frux, the DOST also promotes safety practices among food manufacturers through various training sessions, Lana
added. She was referring to the Good Manufacturing Practice Training sessions for the improvement of production processes and the Technical Consultancy on Management Productivity Extension Program, both conducted by DOST regional offices. She hailed DOST’s efforts to constantly remind them about their responsibility to deliver products that are beneficial to the health of customers as well as to the environment. “With these training (sessions), the DOST explained to us that following
requirements related to food safety practices would enable us to penetrate a larger market.”
This story appeared in Agriculture Monthly’s June 2015 issue.
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