Salve San Juan, founder of Golden Mama, a brand known for its native delicacies and export-quality bottled laing, ginataang santol, and Bicol express, was invited by PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc. to their Merry Ang Vibes ng Pasko holiday celebration at their headquarters in Makati City. San Juan’s entrepreneurial journey has always revolved around food, and she shares that her store and production warehouse suffered from the devastating floods in her area. The invitation was given to San Juan as her family and the rest of Naga City were recovering from the devastation of Typhoon Kristine.

“I had seen in the news pictures of floodwater almost reaching the windows of the buses. I knew immediately that our store would be submerged in water. When we were finally able to go to the store to check, it was as if a tsunami came and destroyed everything,” she tearfully recounted.

But despite the crisis, San Juan found an opportunity to help her community. “After thoroughly checking with food experts in the area and then cleaning and sterilizing, we gathered all the salvageable items and proceeded with our relief efforts. We cooked the ginataang santol and distributed it in hot food packs to evacuation centers and churches so that the people there would have something else to eat besides canned goods,” she said. She could also distribute her remaining bottled goods to other typhoon victims who needed food.

However, Typhoon Kristine was not the first storm she went through in her life. San Juan started a small food stall several decades ago, until eventually, she decided to transition into a pasalubong business. With only 5,000 pesos and the will to succeed, she began selling local delicacies to tourists and locals in the transport terminal in her store, FSJ Pasalubong Sentral.

But her passion for cooking, her love for her family, and her treasured recipes for local dishes turned out to be her golden ticket to success. A loving housewife and a mother to five children, her ginataang santol had always been a hit among family and friends, so much so that her late son was the one who encouraged her to “i-bote mo na ‘yan, Ma!”

She initially struggled with production, as they sometimes had to travel long distances for the cancer treatment of her child. But no hardship could ever shatter the golden heart of this Bicolana. Little by little, she built her brand, “Golden Mama,” – coined by her daughter because she was 50 when they started her food bottling business.

She learned the ropes by attending almost all food-related workshops and exhibits by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). “As an entrepreneur, you must take your time, don’t rush, and be humble,” she said.

In 2023, she was able to attend PLDT and Smart’s digital upskilling to e-commerce program ‘eBizNovation’ through the telcos’ partnership with TikTok Shop, DTI, and the Camarines Sur Chamber of Commerce – an organization that she is also a member of.

PLDT and Smart have long supported the MSME sector through products and solutions that enable the growth of small businesses through innovation, as well as digital upskilling programs like eBizNovation, which onboards micro-entrepreneurs to online selling platforms, allowing them to participate in the global digital economy successfully.

“As entrepreneurs, we have to continue evolving. I am already 61 years old, but I know I have to employ these marketing skills to push our business forward,” she said. “That’s why I’m grateful for these PLDT and Smart programs that significantly boost small entrepreneurs like us.”

Despite all the storms, Golden Mama’s sails remain steady, carefully navigating the business world with digital marketing skills, one ginataang santol bottle at a time.

PLDT and Smart’s commitment to the digital inclusion of Filipino MSMEs, like Golden Mama, underscores the Group’s drive to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UNSDG #1: No Poverty and #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.