Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Export Marketing Bureau Director Senen Perlada recently implored to an audience at a summit for Negros Island Region (NIR) micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at the SMX Convention Center at SM City Bacolod to focus on creativity and innovation when promoting local products.
In terms of marketing, he called them “the two currencies of today.”
He used the example of marketing piaya, a Negrense pastry, saying it is difficult to sell on a mainstream market, whereas an item like siopao is renamed “steamed burger” in some areas to make it more marketable.
Perlada also used the example of Thailand marketing things like banana chips and tamarind paste and combining them to create new products.
“Those are two strong products they claim to have,” he said. “We have banana chips, muscovado, molasses, and products from sugar that should be looked at.”
The DTI official also encourages entrepreneurs to utilize e-commerce to sell their products.
“There are opportunities,” he stated. “We have to make use of these platforms.”/WDJ