For over four decades, Cuenca, Batangas-born Tinapayan Festival has offered a slew of soft and sweet baked products ranging from breads and cakes to pastries. As it celebrated its 40th anniversary in time with the World Bread Day last October 12, Tinapayan Festival continues to stand by its commitment to make a conscious effort to talk about bread, work with as many bakers as possible, and put premium on the future of the local community bakery industry.
“40 years is no easy feat and we are very grateful to all of our partners, suppliers, and loyal customers for always being at our sides through all these years… Our goal as a responsible business and entity is to continue committing to work closely with both the public and private sectors to uplift the local bakery industry in the country,” shares Lucito ‘Chito’ Chavez, the brand’s founder.
Community-based growth
Chito has always lobbied for the inclusion and use of agricultural products into their baked goods to help support farmers. As early as 1985, Tinapayan Festival has been at the forefront of this advocacy to make baked products not only yummy and cost-efficient, but also to support a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle for community consumers.
“One way to ensure that the bakeries survive is by being smart about raw ingredients. My father has always taught us to think of all possible solutions, and the one that has really stood the test of time is the use of agricultural crops in what we do. From our local bread options to our cakes, we utilize everything that we can to serve our customers,” shares Production and Research Head Luis Chavez.
Luis has gunned for the innovation of almost 200 products available in their stores.
Tinapayan Festival is also working with the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Education, and the Office of Sen. Imee Marcos in producing and distributing a new version of the “nutribun” that has been distributed to schools to address malnutrition in schools.
Surviving a pandemic
Just like other business, the pandemic hit Tinapayan Festival hard. From several stores pre-pandemic, they started out with one main branch again in 2021.
“We had to take care of our employees most especially when the pandemic hit. But we realized we needed to continue serving our community during one of the toughest times in all our 40 years… It has helped us a lot to be working with longtime partners and suppliers to get through the difficult days” recalls Chavez.
Long-term partnerships with trusted suppliers propelled Tinapayan amid the pandemic. Among whom is Ben Garcia from Unicomm Ingredients Philippines, Inc. who has supplied the brand with quality materials and ingredients, including ube for Tinapayan’s Ube Loaf since 1984.
“Ang maganda sa Tinapayan Festival is that they have one recipe but they were able to come up with different variations that suit the local taste,” Garcia says.
40 years strong and still pushing forward
In the next four to five years, Tinapayan Festival will be launching new brands that focus on different offerings – premium baked products, cafe, pandesal shop, and so much more.
Visit Tinapayan Festival at 1650 Dapitan St. corner Don Quijote, Sampaloc, Manila or call +02 8732 2188 or +639617152714 to place advance orders. Send them an email at sales@tinapayan@gmail.com. Tinapayan Festival is also available in GrabFood and FoodPanda. To learn more about Tinapayan Festival’s new products and treats, follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
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