THE country’s biggest hybrid rice seed producer is expanding its distribution network through franchising so as to reach out to Filipinos who deserve to consume export-quality fancy rice such as its nutritious anti-diabetic brown rice.
SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) is expanding its network for the SL-7H and SL-9H (Jasponica and Miponica) Dona Maria Premium Rice which has both white and brown rice.
This expansion aligns with the goal of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to open special rice varieties to Filipinos.
The company is initially targeting to establish 50 stores for the premium rice this year.
While the initial stores may be company-owned, franchises are planned to step up distribution which should encourage the emergence of rice-based entrepreneurs.
“People think Dona Maria rice is expensive. But we’re trying to make it affordable for everybody. We’re bringing it down to poor people. From our three to four kiosks, we will expand it (rice stores) to 50 by the end year,” said SLAC Chairman Henry Lim Bon Liong.
DA Asst. Sec. Dante S. Delima said government will extensively market locally-produced fancy rice even as the Philippines must be importing a significant amount of fancy rice.
“Our specialty rice is not only for foreigners but for locals that can afford it. We will release fancy rice to supermarkets this year,” said Delima.
The Dona Maria rice comes in two forms—uncooked and cooked.
For the uncooked, SLAC has come up with 300-gram sachet packs of the premium rice, both white and brown, which sells at only P25 to P30 per pack through SLAC’s kiosks or small cart stores. The sachet may be consumed in three to four cups at an average of 80 grams per cup.
These rice sachets called may also be distributed to sari-sari store barangay level through a distribution partner.
For the cooked rice, SLAC is selling the Dona Maria Rice Surprise trade mark through its carts with six ready-to-eat variants contained in handy, ready-to-go paper bowls. The rice toppings are just priced between P45 to P60 per bowl.
“Taxi drivers, street sweepers are lining up for this rice topping. It’s a type of rice people like because just a bit of bagoong or patis is already enough to fill you. That really fits our tagline “Kanin pa lang ulam na” (the mere rice tastes as a viand),” said Lim.
The toppings’ variants are well-loved by Filipinos—Bicol Express, Binagoongan, Lo Ma (Chinese style adobo), Korean Chicken, Chicken Teriyaki, and Binagoongan.
SLAC targets to have 1,000 franchise stores in a few years, say within five years.
The company is in the process of listing with the Philippine Stock Exchange in order to raise some P2 billion expansion fund.
“Dona Maria already has a name. If we have additional funding, maybe we could move this premium rice more to the market,” he said.
For some time now, SLAC has been testing DMRS in the market through its pilot carts in Pasong Tamo, Makati and Sterpling Place in Ortigas Center.
SLAC, also the country’s hybrid rice research and development pioneer, is the only fully integrated rice company in the Philippines engaged in seed production, distribution and commercial rice production, milling, packaging, and marketing.
DMRS will also be extensively marketed in the form of cooked rice snack Filipinos love including arroz caldo (porridge or congee with chicken) and champorado (chocolate flavored rice soup).
The brown rice also comes in the cooked form “ginataang mais” (rice soup with coconut juice and grated corn).
The company is also developing rice pao in two forms—steamed and fried with asado filling.
Consumption of such brown rice and other colored rice is being promoted by DA as these are more nutritious. Their iron content is intact and other vitamins and minerals owing to the absence of refining regular rice goes through. Brown rice is anti-diabetic with its sugar slowly being released into the blood due to the grain’s color coatings.
Lim said SLAC hopes more farmer-entrepreneurs will seize the opportunity in Philippines’ single biggest food commodity—rice which has a P450 billion value at the unmilled level. Value adding opens even more immense opportunities.
Fancy rice production also offers Filipino farmer-entrepreneurs higher income opportunities through export as fancy rice can command in the world a price of $1,000 per metric ton, about double that of regular rice.
Through its corporate social responsibility program, SLAC is engaged in the contract growing of SL-7H and SL-9H.
SLAC assures contract growers not only the supply of inputs (seeds, fertilizers) but the market which is a crucial problem for Filipino farmers. The company buys the special rice at a premium, at least P2 per kilo more than National Food Authority buying rate.