The brand behind Merci Buco makes more witty juice drinks

Paging Anthony Bourdain: there’s a brand from the Philippines bottling exotic juices and you’ve got to try it. Fellow Pinoys, I bet you never imagined a day when somebody would bottle sineguelas juice, but it’s almost 2018 and anything can happen. A brand called Locally has done it and it tastes exactly like the fruit, but better — and they’re calling it Save the Best for Sineguelast. The brand behind Merci Buco is once again doing what it does best, which is creating a Filipino product with Filipino ingredients and wrapping it in sharp Filipino wit.

Locally, a brand by NutriAsia is all about loving local. Group product manager Gretchen King says, “There has been a resurgent advocacy promoting homegrown brands and products. The country has seen an increase in fairs selling local produce, restaurants featuring their own take on local dishes, local art films being recognized…. Loving local is definitely in 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 about.

“Each of our flavors is created from natural, homegrown fruits sourced from different parts of the country — there’s the tamarind from Central and Southern Luzon, mangosteen from Davao, and calamansi from Isabela, among others. We aim to raise awareness and appreciation for our local produce, and in turn, support Filipino farmers and the farming community,” she adds.

Locally now has 10 indigenous flavors with pun-ny names: mangosteen (Mangosteenie Miney Mo), sineguelas (Save the Best for Sineguelast), dalandan (You’ve Dalandan It Again), tamarind (Tamarind My Bell), guyabano (Guyabano-body But You), calamansi (Calamansi’z The Day), pomelo (Pomelong and Lasting Love) and buco (Merci Buco).

How do they even come up with these names? Gretchen shares that they are a product of long brainstorming sessions with the team, which is made up mostly of millennials. The process of refining the taste of the product is just as meticulous — it has to be the right balance of flavors and textures, according to King.

My favorite, aside from the classic Merci Buco, is Calamansi’Z The day — where else will you find a drink that’s at once an empowering reminder and delicious, too?

Locally juices are available in leading convenience stores and supermarkets.