In these challenging times, social media emerged as an important tool in making a business survive and thrive. Francisco “Paco” Magsaysay, owner of Carmen’s Best, told BusinessMirror in an e-mail interview that using the tools of social media has boosted growth of the brand. Inspired by its initial success, Magsaysay said he is now using it in promoting Arctic Ice Cream, a “value” brand that is their latest product.
“We grew Carmen’s Best ice cream using social media. We can do the same with Arctic. In fact, it will be easier for us as our company is known to make excellent ice cream. We feel that we have created an excellent ice cream in the category of Arctic Ice Cream,” Magsaysay said.
With Arctic, Magsaysay said there was no way they could compete with the big ice cream manufacturers. “This is why we decided to offer our ice cream to the public through the e-commerce site of Carmen’s Best.”
Despite the drastic shift on buying patterns of consumers, Magsaysay is confident that Carmen’s Best will flourish in the new normal as it fits quite well with their plan to sell more using its e-commerce platform.
Magsaysay said there are definitely opportunities for a handful of industries to succeed in the current environment. “The question is: If you build your business to cater within the existing situation, what will happen when things return to normal?” Magsaysay pointed out.
Since Carmen’s Best started its ice cream business as a business-to-business (B2B) food manufacturer, Magsaysay said their clients were travel and hospitality players such as restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, resorts and airlines. When the pandemic hit, demand for Carmen’s Best declined as the business of their customers also experienced a slowdown.
“Fortunately, at the end of 2019, we had started to develop a ‘value’ line ice cream that could be sold to our B2B accounts that were buying mass-market ice cream brands for their a la mode desserts, milk shakes and that ‘free’ scoop of ice cream packaged with their set lunch promotions. This was a business I had always been keen to enter,” he said.
“Call it serendipity, but this business decision coincided with the rough times we were entering due to the unprecedented effects of the Covid-19 virus. Artic fit perfectly a market that was reeling from the slowdown in the economy,” he added.
In closing, Magsaysay said the current environment is a humbling experience for Filipinos: “Now is not the time to brag about thriving and shining or getting ahead of others. The important thing is to help out and pull together to survive.”