By Alithea De Jesus

Blessed with the mountainous area and rolling plateau, Bukidon is one of the few places in the Philippines that produce coffee beans, and this provides a lot of opportunities for the local folks to brandish their locally-produced premium coffee products here and abroad.

As the coffee industry in the province remains robust, many continue to venture in the growing market of the coffee, and just recently, JRED Food Processing joins other coffee processors in Bukidnon, as they are recently awarded a License to Operate (LTO) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) early this 2020.

Known for its Kape Roger or Señor Rogelio brand of coffee, the company is a longtime proponent of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) under the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP aimed at assisting micro, small, and medium enterprises to level up.

The DOST-X has been assisting JRED Food Processing since early 2018 by equipping them with a series of free training and seminars that include Good Manufacturing Practices and Food Safety. Since the approval of their SETUP proposal, the firm’s proprietors, Mr. and Mrs. Saguinhon, have been accommodating experts in the field to help improve their enterprise.

Apart from the free training and seminars given to Kape Roger under the auspices of DOST-X, they were also provided with consultants paid by DOST to assist them in their documentary and physical requirements to avail of the FDA’s License to Operate. Both the manuals and their actual plant layout are one of the most critical requirements of the FDA that have been provided for free to them through SETUP.

Other than the free training and one-on-one consultancy, Kape Roger was also able to upgrade its facility with higher specifications and brand-new equipment through SETUP. Some of the modern equipment they acquired are the coffee pulper, grinder, continuous band sealer, and the roasting machine.

With the acquisition of the LTO, the firm aims to expand its current market to include supermarkets throughout Northern Mindanao, plus the establishment of coffee shops in Cagayan de Oro City and Malaybalay City.

Kape Roger recently acquired their Intellectual Property Rights (IPO) on its official brand, Señor Rogelio. The recently granted IPO allows them to enjoy exclusive rights on their brand, which they have worked so hard to establish.

The Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP is a flagship program of the DOST that enables MSMEs to address their technical problems and improve productivity and efficiency through the infusion of appropriate technologies that will improve products, services, and operations; human resource training; technical assistance and consultancy services; and design of functional packages and labels.

For interested MSMEs who want to avail of SETUP, the agency requires a Letter of Intent or any inquiry via email at bukidnon@region10.dost.gov.ph or Facebook chat to DOST Bukidnon FB Page. For more information, please contact Ms. Julie Anne H. Baculio, Science Research Specialist I at stpromotions@region10.dost.gov.ph, or at 0917-709-3706.