A Most ideal Corporate Christmas Gift

This Christmas, express your gratitude and appreciation to your business associates and friends. Show them how much you value your partnership in the season of celebration and giving with a sweet token from Villa Del Conte.

Ideal for corporate Christmas gifts, Villa Del Conte gift boxes come with their signature artisanal chocolates from Padova, Italy and a bottle of Italian wine, or a can of Italian coffee elegantly wrapped in a wooden box.

With the Yuletide season just around the corner, now is the best time to start your planning for the best corporate Christmas present. Beat the holiday rush and let Villa Del Conte help you with its premium gift boxes which can be customized according to budget, including ribbons and gift tags making it a perfect holiday present.

To order or know more about how you can make your corporate gifts this season more special, visit Villa del Conte stores in Greenbelt 5 and SM Megamall. For bulk orders and to know more about Villa Del Conte’s indulgent creations, contact 893-2575, visit www.villadelcontecioccolato.com, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram: @VillaDelContePh and on Twitter: @villadelconte.

What's Next for the PH Coco Industry? ProSource influencers Speak

For many years, coconuts have been a popular alternative amongst consumers for a multitude of reasons. First is the versatility of coconuts to be converted to different forms, and second is the wide variety of health benefits it provides.

For Philippine-based coconut processor ProSource International Inc. (ProSource), seeking further ways to innovate on the fruit is their primary mission. With its growing popularity and the presence of new-breed technology, ProSource, with their international brand NUCO, received positive attention during the recently held 2nd World Coconut Congress, where they introduced their unique product offerings.

Led by an outstanding lineup of manufacturing experts locally and abroad, the event brought together decision-makers and health enthusiasts alike, as they discussed fresh ideas relevant to the Philippine Coco industry.

ProSource and NUCO feature delightfully satisfying products perfect for people looking for healthier options.

Coconuts for a plant-based living

“I use coconut-based products every day, and in almost every way I can,” said Filipina celebrity Bianca King. “I use it for my personal skin and hair care, and even when I cook or bake. It’s a local fruit I swear by.”

Taking part in the lineup of activities during the 2nd World Coconut Congress, King starred in her cooking show segment where she prepared two delightful plant-based meals, all featuring her favorite products from ProSource and NUCO: their bestselling Coconut Wraps, Crunch, and Virgin Coconut Oil.

For her, switching to a plant-based diet has helped her achieve her personal goals, and with the exceptional properties of coconuts, she has found it as one of her preferred alternatives as a more refined product.

Actress and TV Personality Bianca King puts a spotlight on ProSource and NUCO products during her live cooking demo at the 2nd World Coconut Congress. King presents two plant-based dishes: Burrito in NUCO coconut wrap and cooked with ProSource’s VCO, and Green Parfait using NUCO’s coconut crunch and cereals.

Coconut for health and wellness

Marco Reyes, now one of the key players in the local coconut industry, is a living testimonial for the miracle fruit as an option for weight loss. “I used to be big, like really big, and I have also tried many fad diets before which never worked. But when I tried out this local weight-reduction plan, wherein I put ProSource and NUCO products at the core of my daily intake, I lost about 50lbs. in a span of 6 months. No exercise at all,” he shares.

Marco Reyes, President of Virgin Coconut Oil Producers and Traders Association of the Philippines (VCOP), shares his success story on using coconuts as a food replacement targeting weight loss and balanced sugar levels.

For Marco, the coconut has been his best ally in his weight loss journey, but to further examine if it were truly an advisable alternative for his overall health and wellness, he subjected himself to a series of medical tests. “Losing weight was one thing, but for me to truly test if it’s working, I had my blood levels checked. There, I discovered that I achieved the healthiest ratio for cardiovascular health. I have been the happiest since then,” said Reyes.

In the business of transforming lives

For ProSource and NUCO Director Ricky Santos, growing up in the Philippines allowed him and his family to see poverty and the struggles of a Filipino coconut farmer firsthand. While the Santos family lived comfortably, the case was not the same for the men who nobly tilled the soil. Since then, the Santos family has made it their mission to create a positive change in the Philippine coconut landscape, thus giving birth to the healthsome brands ProSource and NUCO.

“We put our business at the heart of transforming lives,” said Ricky Santos. “Our dedication lies in helping Filipino coconut farmers benefit from the trade of their sustainably-grown harvest. With the social responsibility projects we do as a team, we’re happy to take part in spawning a positive impact not only on our business, but our community as a whole. This has always been our mindful philosophy at ProSource and NUCO,” Santos added.

Bianca King joins the family of ProSource and NUCO for the 2nd World Coconut Congress. In the photo (L-R) Ricky E. Santos, ProSource Managing Director; Bianca King; Teresa Santos, ProSource President.

To know more about how ProSource and NUCO can help you achieve a more sustainable lifestyle, check them out on BeautyMNL and their online store at www.shop.prosourcecoconut.com.

DOST Gives P33 Million Grant to QBO Innovation Hub to Build Stronger Startup Ecosystem in PH

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato de la Peña and PLDT and PLDT Chairman and CEO and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan reinforced their commitment to Filipino startups at a joint appearance last week sealing DOST’s P33 million grant to QBO Innovation Hub, a public private sector partnership among DOST, the Department of Trade and Industry, J.P. Morgan and IdeaSpace, the innovation foundation of the MVP group.  The grant calls for QBO to raise the level of 12 Technology Business Incubators (TBI) around the country. Also present at the event were staunch supporters and partners of QBO Carlos Ma. G. Mendoza, Senior Country Officer for J.P. Morgan Philippines and Patricia Anne Javier-Gutierrez, J.P. Morgan Philippines Head of Communications.

Working towards the vision of creating over a thousand innovative startups around the country, and seeing the emergence of a Filipino unicorn in the next five years, the grant will support QBO in carrying out a nationwide project to strengthen TBIs. The grant also serves to help them develop more programs that will create an enabling environment for Filipino tech founders to scale their businesses and become globally competitive.

“I really appreciate that in addition to our own initiatives, we have a collaboration with QBO. The signing of the Innovative Startup Act authorizes us, together with DTI and DICT, to support and assist Filipino startups. So, thank you to IdeaSpace and most especially to QBO for inspiring us to help Filipino startups,” said Secretary de la Peña.

"It’s about time to focus on science and innovation and there are  efforts for that — thanks to DOST," said Pangilinan, who is also the chairman of the board of IdeaSpace Foundation. "We believe that with our stronger commitment, we will be able to put Philippine technopreneurs on par with its regional, if not global, counterparts."

"The DOST grant recognizes the enormous progress achieved by the public private sector partnership that produced QBO,” said Rene Meily, president of QBO and IdeaSpace. “DOST has been continuously holding activities with QBO, IdeaSpace and other partners to discover the Philippines' next unicorn and we are grateful to them for their support. I hope that the golden era for Philippine startups may be just within reach.”

DOST has been working side by side with QBO since it was established in 2016. Since its inception, QBO has grown to have more than 5,000 members and over 300 tech startups representing various verticals. On top of implementing hundreds of startup development programs, including mentorship and specialized coaching and consultation sessions that have opened global opportunities for the founders, QBO, together with DOST, DTI, and J.P. Morgan, has also yielded gains in multimillion-peso funding and revenue raised for startups.

To learn more about QBO and its projects for startups, visit https://www.qbo.com.ph/.


About QBO

QBO (‘ku-bo’) is an innovation hub or a platform for the startup community to collaborate, develop talent, and grow. It provides startups with support and resources through events and capacity building programs as well as focused interventions designed to improve access to markets, knowledge, capital, and talent. QBO is the country’s first public-private initiative for startups, created through a partnership between IdeaSpace, J.P. Morgan, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry.

Spurred on by the vision of Filipinos startups changing the world, QBO’s mission is to create a globally competitive startup ecosystem in the Philippines.