A chicken story

Several years ago, the business of chicken growing was the hottest thing especially in areas near Metro Manila.  It approximated the phenomenon of hot pan de sal where there was literally a bakery in almost every corner of any given neighborhood.  Perhaps because it was the security of having a ready buyer like Magnolia on standby ready to buy all your chickens upon maturity, provided the grower sticks to the prescribed standards and specifications. But this same popularity gave rise to a glut in the market, and as oversupply always means a drop in prices, this industry saw a decline, with the smaller growers dropping out of the scene, leaving only the goliaths fighting for survival.

 Even among the goliaths, there was also a fight for survival, but that is going ahead of the story. B&L (Business & Leisure) met up with the man behind the very popular Chooks to Go, Mr. Ronald Mascariñas, president of Bounty Agro Ventures. This line of litsong manok is now giving the other brands a run for their money, but the popularity of litsong manok is also a phenomenon that is easy to understand.  It is affordable for the average Filipino family, easily available, nutritious and tasty enough to become a regular table fare. A working mother can pass for a whole chicken on her way home from work for a hot meal for her kids.

Chooks to Go is the fastest-growing brand of chicken-to-go, a brainchild of Ronald Mascariñas who spent several years of his professional life in the poultry business. After graduation from UP Los Baños, he joined Purefoods Corp., then owned by Ayala Corp. He was one of the pioneers in the company and saw the company built from scratch, from the drawing board to the construction of the farmhouses. Ronald rose from the ranks to become the senior vice president of Purefoods. But Ayala Corp. probably had other plans that did not include the food business at that time, so the whole business was sold to food conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC). Ronald and many other employees became redundant as SMC brought in their own executives and other lower ranked employees.  When he left Purefoods, a company he served for 19 years, Ronald was already head of the poultry business as well as the food server business. He was also president of Smokey’s Fast Food Chain, a brand owned by Purefoods.  

At that time, a smaller poultry integrator, Daizo, approached him who they recognized as a respected authority in the poultry business.  The company had a very attractive offer to:  run the poultry company which they will establish, fully independent of the mother company. Ronald took up the challenge to become president of a company that would be known as Bounty Agro Ventures, more popularly known for its chicken brand, Bounty Fresh. 

Mr. Mascariñas thus started the new business from scratch with a lot of help from other displaced employees of Purefoods.  These employees, all veterans of the poultry business, had established vital links and relationships in the industry which he then harnessed for the new company.  This was in 2002, and in two years’ time, Bounty Agro Ventures became the biggest poultry integrator in the country, with farms all over the land.

The biggest names in the poultry business include the giants Vitarich and Swift.  According to Ronald, these companies became so cash-rich that they then ventured into the stock market with their own IPOs.  I guess somewhere along the way, the chicken business got swallowed by the IPOs and before long, the Johnny-come-lately lorded it over the industry, surging past the industry goliaths to become number one at some point, supplying wet markets and supermarkets with dressed chickens.

But there is no going around the fact that volatility will always be a part of the poultry business, highly dependent on supply and demand. Ronald says that they are in full control of their business, from the grandparent farm to the hatchery, from the broiler farm to the feed mills and the processing plant to ensure the top quality of their products.  Even the prospect of devastating diseases or “peste” as they call it in the business, does not daunt him because, as he says, 99.9 percent of poultry diseases already have ready vaccines.  As long as one observes the prescribed processes, observes good management practices and attains strict bio-security so that other chickens from nearby unsecured areas cannot enter the perimeter, one is assured of healthy chickens.   

Bounty Agro Ventures is in full control of their business, but no one can ever be in full control of the market.  Embracing the prospect of highly volatile prices of chicken in the market, Ronald found it prudent to go beyond the poultry business and go into retail. Litsong manok as an offshoot of their poultry business fits into the Pinoy lifestyle. Other brands have been there and have done very well for themselves—Andok’s, Baliwag Lechon, Manok ni San Pedro are established brands with outlets all over the country. But Bounty Fresh had an edge—they ran their own huge poultry business so they were in full control of the poultry conditions and the supply, not to mention the price.  The company had farms with full set-ups, from veterinarian to salesmen, across the country. Bounty Fresh was ready to challenge the market leaders. 

When he broached the idea to his executives, Ronald was surprised to find out that one of the biggest challenges to his new line of business was the mind set of his employees, from top to bottom. The company was doing so well in the poultry business, why venture into retail, a new road  that they are uncomfortable treading? Why rock the boat?

Sorry if this is a little “bitin”—there is so much input for so little space, so let’s have part 2 of this feature next week.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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