CARMEN鈥橲 BEST, known for its ice cream, will be stocking supermarket shelves with a new line of fresh milk, thus expanding its dairy portfolio and signaling full-fledged dairy operations for its parent, Metro Pacific Agro Ventures (MPAV).
The new line of Carmen鈥檚 Best Fresh Milk includes variants Whole Milk, Low Fat Milk, Chocolate Milk, Salted Caramel Milk, and Barista Fresh Milk. Guests tried the milk variants during an event on Jan. 22 at The Fifth at Rockwell.
The brand also boasts of a new dairy facility in Bukidnon in Mindanao, enabling them to serve the Visayas and Mindanao markets. During a group interview, Jovy Hernandez, MPAV and Carmen鈥檚 Best president and chief executive officer said that the Laguna plant was able to service all the major island groups when it only made ice cream, a frozen product, but with the thrust towards fresh milk, with a limited shelf life of seven days, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a different story.鈥 Currently, they鈥檙e working on solutions with their Israeli partners to prolong the shelf life of their products. 鈥淲e just have to make sure that what we produce in terms of protocols in Laguna is the same in Bukidnon,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he expansion opportunities in Bukidnon (are) immense,鈥 he added. The property consists of more than 400 hectares of land. 鈥淚f the demand is there, and we need to double the herd, we can always do it in Bukidnon.鈥 The facility, acquired from a previous dairy producer, came with 1000 cows, adding to their initial herd numbering about 300. This has increased their production to 1.5 million liters of milk annually (from a video presentation at the event) from an initial 250,000, with the target set this year at two million. Carmen鈥檚 Best, founded in 2009 by Paco Magsaysay, was acquired by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), in turn MPAV鈥檚 parent, in 2022.
Asked about the difference between their fresh milk and other milks already in the market, Toby Gatchalian, MPAV and Carmen鈥檚 Best Chief Commercial Officer said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 100% fresh, and it鈥檚 100% local,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou will see, really, the difference between fresh milk and something that, as Jovy says, you burn (undergoing ultra heat treatment, UHT), and it stays in the shelf for a very long time.鈥
Mr. Hernandez added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e not here to compete with them. We鈥檙e just saying that 99% of the dairy demand of this country are all imported. We鈥檙e only 1%. That鈥檚 not correct in my view. If we can increase the local production, ergo, help the local farmers as well… every time you buy a Carmen鈥檚 Best milk product, you think to yourself, 鈥楾his is 100% local, I鈥檓 helping the local Filipino farmers, and I鈥檓 helping the local dairy industry,鈥欌 he said.
鈥淥ur forecast by 2026, we will be self-sufficient in terms of milk supply for the demand that we are seeing. That鈥檚 roughly 25% of the local dairy production,鈥 he added.
As for other dairy products, the company has a target to have a full line of milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and butter by 2027. 鈥淲e have formu-lations already for yogurt, which we will launch when the time comes. We have cheeses, butter, cream, and many, many more.鈥 Addressing the trend of plant-based milks, Mr. Hernandez said, 鈥淭hese are in the pipeline. Plant-based milk products are a thing now, it鈥檚 a growing industry. We feel that we should be part of it.鈥
The presence of more cows also raises the question: Will they enter the beef market soon? 鈥淲e already have the value chain, the barn, the technology on how to care for the cows. Maybe the next logical step would be getting into beef production. Maybe. We鈥檙e thinking about it. I can鈥檛 confirm to you today that we are. But it makes sense,鈥 he said.
MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of First Pacific, the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in 大象传媒 through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
Carmen鈥檚 Best Milk is soon to be available online at www.carmensbest.com and in stores nationwide. 鈥 Joseph L. Garcia
