The names may sound a tad cheesy, bordering on tongue-in-cheek “hugot” even – Tamarind My Bell (tamarind), Pomelong & Lasting Love (pomelo), Save the Best for Siniguelast (siniguelas), Calamansi’z the Day (calamansi), Guyabano-Body But You (guyabano), Mangosteenie Minie Mo (mangosteen), and You’ve Dalandan It Again (dalandan).
But these indigenous fruit juices – fittingly branded “Locally” – made their debut in such a grand way, showcasing the best of homegrown goodness during the recently concluded 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Manila, with no less than the Philippines as chairman of the regional bloc.
“There was no more fitting venue to promote something that’s uniquely and locally Filipino than a gathering of friends and allies from different parts of the world,” said Gretchen King, group product manager-specialty F&B at NutriAsia.
“We are not just marketing a brand. We are also putting Filipino culture and identity in the front row of the global stage and showcasing the fruits of Filipino hard work and innovation,” she added.
Asean Summit participants – including 21 heads of states (including our own President Rodrigo Duterte), members of their delegation, and the thousands-strong journalists from different parts of the globe who covered the event – were the first to taste the proudly Filipino flavors of Locally.
“We wanted their brief stay in our sunny country to be sweet and flavorful, with more than a little help from a quirky juice drink that is truly Filipino in every drop, and we would like to believe that we were able to do that,” King said.
Aside from being environment-friendly – all Locally blended juice drinks come in either eco-friendly bottles or recyclable cans – NutriAsia also supports local farmers with its belief that great-tasting indigenous flavors should be good not just for consumers but for the community, too.
“Locally stands for three things: responsible goodness, indigenous/local and Pinoy humor. We are helping Filipino farmers and communities by raising awareness and appreciation of our local fruits. Through Locally, more Filipinos are able to support our farmers and the farming community by patronizing local produce and products,” King said.
Tamarind is sourced from Cavite, Bulacan, Batangas, Zambales, Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija; dalandan from Batangas, Laguna, and Mindoro; mangosteen from Davao; calamansi from Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and Tarlac; guyabano from Cebu and Misamis Occidental; sineguelas from Pangasinan; and pomelo from Davao and Quezon. Locally also offers the first eco-certified and purely organic coconut water in the country, Merci Buco, which also comes in buko pandan and buko lychee variants.
“Our flavors are a far cry from your usual orange and mango-flavored juice drinks,” King said.
Locally may have encapsulated the spirit of irreverent Filipino humor with its quirky puns, but it means serious business when it comes to promoting world-class local fruit juices. And, in a bid to promote traceability and to educate consumers about the product, both Locally cans and bottles feature a Philippine map on it to identify where the fruits were harvested from.
“There has been a resurgent advocacy for promoting homegrown brands and products. Loving local is definitely in right now, and it’s a good thing because it enables us to support our own communities and promote Filipino pride, which is exactly what Locally is all about,” King said.
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