Export orders for Middle East and Australia
After a rocky start-up in the middle of the Covid epidemic, Plantation Prime may be poised for Lift-Off. Today the all-Cebuano company inaugurated its second mini-plant, which is Halal-certified, just in time to fulfill its first export orders bound for Dubai and Australia. The export push is consistent with the slogan on its labels: “Serving the Global Filipino from the Visayan Archipelago”.
The daring concept of Plantation Prime is to translate popular but time-consuming dishes into a canned form that is actually better than restaurant quality — delicious food, already fully-prepared, with none of the mess and bother of restaurant takeout. The company especially targets Filipinos living abroad, who long for Filipino food but lack the time or cooking skill to make it.
Plantation Prime opened its first canning line in 2020 with initial offerings of Beef Shank Kare-Kare that has drawn raves around the world, and Bicol Express, which many Bicolanos have proclaimed “as good as it gets (but needs more chile!)” (“No,” says CEO Brian Noel, “we have to make it palatable for all Filipinos; if you want it hotter, just add crushed sili.”).
Plantation Prime products are distributed online (Lazada, Shopee, Facebook page), in major supermarkets in Manila and Cebu (Landers, Metro, Marketplace), and by selected retail distributors around the country. The distinctive cream-white cans and enthusiastic support of retail magnate Jack Gaisano have helped boost sales.
Along with Brian Noel, General Manager of the Casa Verde Restaurant chain, Plantation Prime also counts as shareholders Hannibal Boiser, a seasoned marketing executive (Procter & Gamble, Jardine, Petron), and Manny González, founder and majority owner of Plantation Bay Resort & Spa.
Plantation Bay was recently included in Travel & Leisure Magazine’s Top 10 Philippine beach resorts, and was the only mainstream (non-boutique) hotel on the list that is Filipino-owned and managed. Plantation Bay’s Executive Chef, Lee Ramas, is a special culinary advisor to Plantation Prime.
Many other superb dishes served at Plantation Bay Resort are finding their way into Plantation Prime cans. Chile con Carne is already a big hit (and also destined for the Middle East market). Tita Bok’s All-Purpose Pasta Sauce will soon appear on supermarket shelves from Dagupan to Dubai, and will be followed by Go-Anywhere Chicken Curry and Vegetable Medley Masala.
Unfortunately, Philippine meat products are not permitted for wholesale export to the US, so Fil-Ams will just have to bring cans in their luggage. Because it follows a rigorous “retort canning” process, Plantation Prime has received written assurance from the US Department of Agriculture that its canned products are admissible into the US “for personal consumption”, defined as 50 pounds or less, about 50 cans. However, you must still declare the food on your US Customs form. For a copy of the USDA assurance, contact Plantation Prime through its Facebook page.