In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, this work-from-home mom from Baguio City suddenly craved for some desserts. Little did she know, this would pave the way to her own chocolate business!
32-year-old Michiko Liquete built her own business without any knowledge of baking or cooking. The idea to start a small business for her family was only ignited by passion.
“No’ng pag-hit ng pandemic, maraming ‘yung parang walang ginagawa, ECQ, ‘di makalabas, ganyan. At that time, naghahanap ako ng desserts. Tapos parang ‘yung mga desserts na hinahanap ko, puro pare-pareho lang. So nag-isip ako ng dessert na ba’t hindi ako gumawa ng mura, mas bago sa panlasa tapos mabibigay ko agad. Walang pre-order. So parang nagising ako isang araw sabi ko, ‘Gagawa ako ng truffles.’ Tas ginawa ko na,” Michiko told The Philippine STAR.
At first, Michiko tried to juggle her online job while crafting the perfect recipe for her chocolate products. After several months of trial and error, Ricci Chocolates was established in December 2, 2020.
“Hindi naman talaga ako mahilig sa chocolate. Mahilig ako sa dessert, oo. Pero sa chocolates, hindi talaga. Tas wala rin akong formal background in making dessert[s]. Hindi nga ako mahilig magluto eh. ‘Yung vision ko talaga do’n sa brand is pagmukhain siyang as if hindi siya homemade. No’ng ginawa namin ‘yon, parang nagtiwala nalang ako sa sarili kong kaya ko talaga,” she shared.
Michiko recalled the reaction of her husband when she told him about her new business venture.
“Kakagising niya no’n. Tapos sabi niya, ‘Ha?’ Tapos ‘yung husband ko kasi ano lang ‘yun eh parang su-support niya lang kung ano man pinagsasasabi ko. So no’ng nagising siya no’ng araw na ‘yon na sabi kong gagawa ako ng truffles, eh di naki-drive lang siya. Tinulungan niya lang ako pero in his mind, parang, ‘Anong ginagawa nito?’” she noted.
But her husband supported her along the way until several individuals started ordering chocolates.
“Tuwang-tuwa talaga kami no’n kasi ‘yung mga orders namin, mga 20-30 boxes per day. Tapos nagF-Foodpanda kami. Minsan kami pa nagd-deliver,” she said.
When the business became an instant hit, Michiko had to give up her daily job to focus on her business.
“Ako na ‘yung nag-quit sa work. Pero ‘yung husband ko, nagwo-work pa rin. Do’n pa rin kami sa bahay gumagawa. Pero ‘yon medyo finu-full-time ko na at that time na ako nalang ‘yung gumagawa ‘pag gabi. Kinaumagahan, kinu-cut niya ganyan,” Michiko said.
After quite a while, the couple decided to bring their products to Fairview, Quezon City.
“Talagang nakita na namin, may market talaga ‘to. Kasi ‘yung dad ko doon, parang 30-60 boxes per day,” she said.
“By June, in-open na namin ‘tong commissary. Tapos from here, nag-open na kami [ng] distributors and resellers. Do’n talaga kami nag-umpisa na marami na talaga kaming ginagawa. Do’n siya nag-start,” Michiko added.
During the ECQ, Michiko would sell, 2,000 to 3,000 items every week. Due to the continuous influx of orders, she was able to earn six figures. They also have four stalls in different malls in Luzon and more than 100 resellers and distributors nationwide.
“Sa Ricci po talaga, one year palang kami, we were millionaires na at that time eh. Gano’n siya kabilis. So sabi namin, kaysa mapunta sa ibang bagay, i-gear natin ‘to sa expansion para mag-times pa ‘yung kinikita namin. Dreaming big ako eh. Gusto ko talaga siya maging global na brand. Ang dream ko talaga is bawat mall na puntahan ko ay merong Ricci. Kasi mahilig akong mag-mall,” she said.
“Tapos ‘yung message ko lang sa mga start-up business din is parang be very hands-on. Be very ready na ibigay mo talaga ‘yung lahat mo. As in 200%. ‘Di mo bibilangin pagod mo, ‘di mo bibilangin ‘yung oras mo, kasi kapag gano’n ka mag-isip, ‘di ka magf-fail. Sigurado ‘yan. Pero kapag una palang ayaw mo na, ayaw mo mag-work more than eight hours, or gusto mo, eh ‘wag mo na lang umpisahan,” Michiko added.
