Peanut butter maker gets help from Globe Business

MANILA, Philippines - Entrepreneur Jennilyn Antonio never dreamed that she would be highly successful someday — and in only seven years since she began her peanut butter business.

Today, she’s thankful to the mentors who taught her some of the important lessons for her success. Among those mentors is Globe Business, who, according to Antonio, taught her about the importance of using telecommunication technology to grow her business.

“My husband Boyong used to be company driver. I used to work as a laborer in a cellphone factory. I never thought that someday, I would be using not just a cellphone but the Internet and other telecom technologies, too — for my very own business,” she said.

Antonio and her husband own Ehje’s Peanut Butter, a business that started with a kilo of peanuts that she bought, had these ground at the market, and turned them into peanut butter. She herself created her own recipe. She then sold her homemade peanut butter to her co-workers. It tasted so good that she was soon getting a lot of orders.

The next step for Antonio was to sell her peanut butter to neighborhood bakeries. She thought that bread was a perfect match for her product, so she approached different bakeries and gave them samples of her peanut butter. Soon, some of these bakeries were taking orders from her.

Her biggest break came when an executive from a major mall chain, who had tasted her peanut butter, tracked her down and offered to sell Ehje’s Peanut Butter in the supermarkets in all of the mall chain’s branches. Two bakery chains with branches across the country have also become satisfied buyers of Ehje’s Peanut Butter.

Partner for success

According to Manny Aligada, head of corporate and SME segments of Globe Business, entrepreneurs like Antonio are exactly the ones that Globe Business is happy to support.

“Jennilyn’s rags-to-riches story is truly an inspiring one. It gives inspiration not only to Filipino entrepreneurs like her but also to us at Globe Business. Having the right telecommunication products and the right telecom network can really be a factor in one’s business success,” he said.

“This is why Globe Business is constantly improving its products and services to help entrepreneurs find ways that make running their business simpler, more efficient and at lesser cost.

“When Jennilyn was asked to supply Ehje’s Peanut Butter in bulk orders to supermarket chains and bakeshop chains, the telecom needs of her business became too much and too costly for her to handle on her own. This is when Globe Business was able to help her,” she added.

Antonio is currently using the TxtConnect and Business Flex products of Globe Business to meet the telecom needs of her growing business.

TxtConnect is ideal for businesses that need to send a lot of messages regularly — from text campaigns to alerts, to greetings and announcements to customers, employees, managers and suppliers.

TxtConnect messages are sent through the Internet, to groups of recipients with just a click of a mouse or by simply pressing a cellphone key.

TxtConnect is able to send messages automatically, following a pre-set schedule. Failed messages are resent automatically to make sure that important information is received.

“TxtConnect also charges me lower rates for my text messages compared to the regular text messaging cost, so that really helps to keep my expenses low,” Antonio said.

Flexibility for business

Another Globe Business service that Antonio is subscribed to is a Business Flexi Plan, a package of services and products that an entrepreneur may customize to fit business operations. The customer only pays for the services that he or she needs, bringing down the cost.

An entrepreneur like Antonio may choose to mix-and-match different telecom services. These include unlimited calls and unlimited texting. There’s also the Bloop (or Business-Loop) service.

Bloop allows a subscriber to set up unlimited call and/or unlimited texting service among a pre-determined network or circle of business contacts.

Other Business Flex services include mobile Internet and BlackBerry services (for those with BB handsets).

“Business Flex Plans by Globe Business helps entrepreneurs meet their telecom requirements more efficiently and at less cost,” Aligada said.

Prayers and hard work

Antonio still recalls the days when life was so hard on her and her family that they were barely surviving. Her eldest son even had to quit school so he could help the family earn a bit more by selling gum and candies on the street. Her family was in debt.

While she was used to hard work and she had tried several times to put up a business — like selling tocino and opening a small eatery — these ventures did not really succeed. At the lowest point in her life, she turned to prayer.

“I have realized that prayer is really important. My idea to make peanut butter came to me after I made a desperate prayer to God. It’s important to work hard but without the aid of prayer, your venture will not be as successful,” Antonio said.

Antonio and her husband Boyong are still very hands-on in their business. They keep their peanut butter recipe a closely guarded secret and have made improvements on it to keep their loyal customers satisfied.

They already have plans to expand the distribution of Ehje’s Peanut Butter to the overseas market.

Globe Business is the leader in providing business solutions for large companies, as well as small and medium enterprises, to help them operate simpler, more efficiently and at less cost. These solutions allow business owners to pursue their other passions in life.

Globe Business’ offerings include mobile plans, high-speed Internet connection, and online video surveillance, among others. Learn more about these business solutions by visiting http://business.globe.com.ph/ or calling (02) 730-1288.