Food Export Show IFEX Philippines Returns on Site this September

IFEX Philippines, the country’s long-running and biggest export-oriented food show, is back on the trade show floor at the World Trade Center Metro Manila in Pasay City from September 22 to 24, 2022.

With the theme “Discover your love affair with Filipino Flavors,” the event is set to offer international food importers, buyers, and aficionados a multi-sensory food experience which has been missed by many at the height of the pandemic. IFEX Philippines is organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). 

 

“This is the first time that IFEX Philippines is going to be back on site since the pandemic in 2020. We look forward to welcoming our participants, especially buyers and guests, and for them to see and taste first hand what the Philippines has to offer in terms of food exports,” said CITEM Deputy Executive Director Ma. Lourdes D. Mediran. 

 

It’s a Love Affair 

Built on the Filipino concept of a “love affair,” IFEX Philippines 2022 seeks to “pursue and enthrall” participants and guests by capitalizing on the practice of “panliligaw” or local courtship traditions. “Love affair is the heart of Filipino food. We’re tapping into local culture to evoke a sense of discovery and romance in creating a unique Filipino food experience. Through IFEX Philippines, we want to highlight the reasons why Filipino flavors stand out in the world and why the Philippines is a premier destination for food products and ingredients,” said Mediran. 

 

Expected to join the expo are more than 300 companies and enterprises all over the Philippines from the following sectors: beverages; fine food and specialties; fruits and vegetables; biscuits and confectioneries; snacks and crispy savory food products; meat and poultry; dairy products; cereals, grains, and starch; seafood and marine products; organic and natural; raw materials and food ingredients; and allied services. 

 

A Showcase of Familiar and New Flavors 

IFEX Philippines 2022 will have multiple trade components including exhibitions, business matching activities, seminars and talks, and special events. The event will also feature a thematic showcase of distinct Philippine food and ingredients, dynamic cooking demonstrations, and product presentations. These on-site activities will be complemented by digital components such as virtual business-to-business (B2B) meetings and online streaming for special events. 

 

This year’s trade show will also introduce a special section named Flavor Finds as its main highlight. It will feature new and innovative products from NXTFOOD PH, the banner for products developed under CITEM’s food innovation program, as well as currently in-demand local products like ube, plant-based food, and handcraft beer among others; and new products from select exhibitors. 

 

The event will also pilot Coconut Philippines, the country branding of the most versatile food produce of the Philippines, through a showcase of coconut products from food SME exporters. CoconutPhilippines is presented through the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) which aims to increase the productivity of and modernize the country’s coconut industry. 

 

IFEX Philippines 2022 will be held in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Regional Offices in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Bicol Region, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, and CARAGA, as well as the DTI-Export Marketing Bureau, DTI-Foreign Trade Services Corps, Philippine Exporters Foundation Inc. (PHILEXPORT), Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, Inc. (PHILFOODEX), Integrated Food Manufacturers’ Assn. of the Phils. for Productivity (INFOMAPP), and Coconut Farmers & Industry Development Plan (CFIDP). 

 

To learn more about the event, visit IFEXConnect.com or email ifexphilippines@citem.com.ph. END 

About CITEM 

The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) is the export promotions arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). 

 

For nearly 40 years, CITEM has established the country’s image as a premier destination for quality export products and services. It continues to set the highest standards of creativity, excellence and innovation to achieve competitiveness in the home, fashion, lifestyle, food, creative, and sustainability sectors. 

 

CITEM is committed to developing, nurturing, and promoting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), brands, designers, and manufacturers by implementing an integrated approach to export marketing in partnership with other government and private entities. 

 

About IFEX 

IFEX is the country's most comprehensive trade promotions program for the domestic food industry, helping Philippine and global exporters promote premium quality food and ingredients to the world through physical and/or digital trade shows and business-to-business platforms, digital marketing efforts, an online community, and a product innovation program. 

 

IFEX Philippines (formerly International Food Exhibition) is CITEM's long-running trade event and sourcing program for Philippine and global food and ingredients. 

 

Together with IFEXConnect.com, IFEX Philippines serves as a one-stop business-to-business (B2B) platform aiming to optimize their sourcing experience of buyers from anywhere in the world. 

 

IFEX Philippines is organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions & Missions (CITEM). 

THE UPSer WHOSE JOB IS TO KEEP PUSHING BACK

Manila, Philippines — It is often said that the difference between a good colleague and a great colleague is the willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty. If that’s the case then Mang Boy Salas – one of the longest-serving employees at UPS’s Clark hub in the Philippines – is a great guy to have on your team.

Since joining UPS in 2002, Mang Boy has built a reputation as one of the most accomplished members of the company’s ground crew – and when it comes to his knowledge of one particular skill, he’s recognized as one of the best in the business.

Humble Beginnings

Mang Boy was born in Baliuag, Bulacan to a poor family of eight children, the older of two boys. His father passed away when Mang Boy was young but before he left, he urged Mang Boy to continue with his studies. The young son didn’t follow his father’s dying wish but looked instead for work to help his younger siblings complete their education. 

At 11 years old, he started shuttling regularly to and from Bulacan to Manila to do odd jobs, including working in a restaurant owned by his uncle. One day, he heard there was work available at Manila International Airport (MIA), where he eventually became a baggage loader. He did well and when one of the airport’s senior managers moved over to the then newly-opened UPS facility in Clark Pampanga, he asked Mang Boy to join him as one of the first employees. 

He was thrilled with the new job. It offered additional benefits on top of a basic salary and it meant he no longer had to take odd jobs on the side to make ends meet. 

Thanks to Mang Boy’s help and hard work, all seven of his siblings were able to finish college.

Knowing how to push back

It is now 2022, and Mang Boy is celebrating his twentieth year at UPS Clark. He has risen steadily through the ranks and established himself as the go-to guy for one of UPS’s particularly important ground operations tasks. 

“Push back” is the movement of an aircraft from a nose-in parking position to a taxi-ready position using specialized ground equipment. To the untrained eye it looks pretty simple, but it’s a delicate operation. Any error could compromise the aircraft, its passengers and cargo, as well as put the lives of the ground crew at risk. 

“It’s the final step in the loading procedure,” Mang Boy said. “Your maneuver should be calculated, the speed of movement precise.” 

He’s more than happy to share his expertise and experience with his team. New recruits who undergo further training in the United States have returned stressing how Mang Boy’s lessons helped them pass the stringent training requirements. 

Work ethic, reliability, legacy

“When people ask me why I’ve decided to stay at UPS so long, it’s because UPS is a company that has always rewarded diligence, expertise and loyalty,” said Mang Boy. 

Angelo Yutuc, UPS Clark Hub manager, said, “After 20 years, we’re still impressed by Mang Boy’s work ethic, and amazed by his outstanding results day in and day out; he’s one of the most reliable employees we’ve ever had.  

“All of us, from management to ground crew, enjoy working with him. We really look forward to him sharing his expertise with the younger members of our team, which is important for the development of the group as a whole. For UPS, being able to retain top talent for the long term serves as an inspiration to the younger members of the team and shows that having a good work ethic is an important characteristic for every successful professional.”

UPS Philippines’ Managing Director Russell Reed described Mang Boy as one of the most valuable employees of the organization. “We are grateful to Mang Boy for always putting the interests of others ahead of his own. He embodies both the customer first and people-led principles that guide everything we do at UPS.”

Mang Boy hopes his younger colleagues will be able to draw as much joy and satisfaction in their job, and at UPS, as he has. These are his three top tips for how they can do it:

• “Deliver – on schedule and in good condition. The customer paid good money and they expect good service in return.”  

• “Come to work well-rested and be prepared for the day’s tasks. You’re handling equipment to maneuver a very expensive plane and its cargo, so your full focus needs to be on the job at hand.”

• “Stay humble; don’t be arrogant. ‘Pakikisama sa kapwa’ is always important but make sure to work for a company that treats its people in the right way.

Mang Boy says he will continue to remember and share his advice with others until he finally decides to hang up his UPS uniform for good. When that day comes, he says he’s looking forward to enjoying more of the finer things in life.

“When I retire, I'll spend time with my family and friends, eat out more often, exercise a lot, go biking with my children. Maybe a few shot-shots every now and then,” he adds, grinning. 

“And I’ll be very happy and contented seeing my colleagues and the company continue to succeed for many years to come.” 

About UPS

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is one of the world’s largest companies, with 2021 revenue of $97.3 billion, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 220 countries and territories. Focused on its purpose statement, “Moving our world forward by delivering what matters,” the company’s 534,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First. People Led. Innovation Driven. UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes an unwavering stance in support of diversity, equality, and inclusion. More information can be found at www.ups.com, about.ups.com and www.investors.ups.com.

MINAMAHAL KITA: THE ART OF FILIPINO LOVE SONGS(A TRIBUTE TO THE 2022 NATIONAL ARTISTS) ALL SET ON SEPT. 15

A crossover artist generally refers to an artist who has had substantial success in multiple genres of music. It’s been used particularly to refer to a handful who have marketed themselves as performers of the classical and pop repertoire.

One can make the argument, however, that most of them are simply pop artists who try to sing in a classically trained style. 

Going by its definition, or at least by its generally agreed notion, a crossover artist must be someone who, let’s say, has professionally performed operatic roles or oratorio solos while concurrently rocking pop music establishments. If we go by this definition, then Rogelio B. Peñaverde Jr. is a bonafide crossover artist par excellence.

Peñaverde is a homegrown Filipino who moved to the US to pursue a scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City for a Master’s Degree in Voice. After graduating, he carved a career in opera, sacred music and musical theater with critical acclaim.

The New York Times praised his “sweet sound” while Opera Magazine lauded him as an “incisive tenor”.

Some of his career highlights include the role of Ferrando from Cosi Fan Tutte (W. A. Mozart) with the Martina Arroyo Foundation, tenor solo in Missa Solemnis in C (L. Mozart) at the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral of New York, and the role of Basel in the Off-Broadway run of Figaro 90210 by Ragman Ventures. 

He has also performed as a featured artist at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, the Manhattan Center, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and wiped away all his engagements, Peñaverde rediscovered his passion and gift for songwriting. While it began as an outlet for anxiety, it became a serious creative endeavor as he churned one pop song after another. 

By 2021 he was sitting on 12 compositions that he collectively called the Pearl Drive Project.  When Covid restrictions eased, he debuted selections at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn, an institution in New York’s independent music scene. 

It was so well-received that the show was picked up by the iconic Mercury Lounge in New York City, a hallowed ground of pop music that has featured the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran.

Performing as Ilustrado (his pop alter ego), Peñaverde became the first homegrown Filipino to play a full set of his compositions in this hall. He is scheduled for a repeat after the commercial release of 2 singles from the Pearl Drive Project this fall.

Catch the artistry of Rogelio B. Peñaverde Jr. as this consummate crossover musician visits home in a featured performance on September 15 (Thursday), 5:00 p.m. cocktail reception 6:30 p.m. show proper, at the Main Theater Lobby of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Entitled MINAMAHAL KITA: THE ART OF FILIPINO LOVE SONGS (A TRIBUTE TO THE 2022 NATIONAL ARTISTS), the show was conceptualized by Peñaverde and produced by the Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines (FCCP) under the leadership of its current president, Martin Lopez. 

It will also feature the following guest artists, most of whom are FCCP Scholars:  Athena Macatangay  (Soprano), Giuseppe Diestro (Cello), Kris Gonzales (Baritone), Lance Capitan (Guitar), Madeline Jane Banta  (Piano), Myramae T. Meneses  (Soprano) and Nathan Gemina (Piano). 

Directed by Manolet Garcia, the ensemble will be performing Filipino love songs from both the classical and contemporary repertoire.

The gala is part of Peñaverde’s advocacy to present quality performances of Philippine music here and abroad that educate as much as they entertain. 

Proceeds will go towards funding the tuition or travel expenses of the 26 FCCP scholars studying in local and foreign schools. 

For more information, or to buy tickets, please visit the Facebook page of the Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines or call Angie Godoy at +63927-2292128.