First developed as a way to preserve pork, bacon has become a much-beloved staple across the globe. From being served with eggs during breakfast or having it with rice, bacon is as versatile as it is delicious. And now, it has been reimagined as tasty, on-the-go snacks for the modern age by Filipino-grown brand Baken.
As a premium, all-bacon snack and confectionery line, founders Rachel Carrasco and Kelly Parreño set out to make a uniquely Filipino flavor profile out of one of the most universal foods. Baken’s inception is described as a “good crazy meets crazy story” that, according to Carrasco, first came to her during a vacation to Capetown, South Africa in 2018.
“I came across an all bacon deli and it was super cool to have seen a restaurant where everything they serve- from the drinks to the deli, there was bacon. And when I came back, I tossed the idea to Kelly like, ‘I have a crazy idea, I want to put together an all bacon snack brand’,” she said.
“So we started brainstorming in 2018, I was about to give birth, and in between contractions she would text me and ask about stuff,” added Parreño.
After the initial pitch, the pair went to work experimenting with different ways bacon could be used. Coming from a luxury and lifestyle background, both women were very well-traveled and used this to their advantage. Inspired by what they’ve seen in places such as New York, their own childhoods, and their very Filipino palette, they were able to innovate and eventually came up with four introductory products: Real Bacon Crisps, Bacon Cookies, Bacon Brittle, and Bacon Jam.
“I actually flew to Singapore with my husband and my child, I had just given birth a month before that, and I started creating different stuff in her kitchen. And then that’s how we actually decided; ‘oh this would taste really well, and then we can make a weirder product,’” said Parreño.
Now launching in various regions in the Asia Pacific, Baken prides itself in being the world’s first all-bacon snack line that only uses 100% real bacon and no substitutes. From the sweet caramel of the brittle to the savory well-seasoned crisps, Carrasco and Parreño give people a fun and innovative way to eat bacon in the new normal.
“People have quite busy lifestyles at this point in time, it’s quite lazy to get greasy in your kitchen when you can just grab a bag, so convenience plays a big part in our snacking audience,” said Carrasco.
“What we offer is the convenience of bacon in a bag that you can consume anytime and anywhere. For people like us who are really busy, we would actually skip on having proper meals, so this is actually perfect on the go food that you can even eat with rice,” she concluded.