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By Johanna M. Sampan, Reporter
A multitude of smiling faces was Cecilio
Pedro’s inspiration when he created Hapee Toothpaste in 1985. A
renowned all-Filipino product, an inspiring success story is behind
the brand.
Pedro’s companies—Lamoiyan Corp. and
Aluminum Container Inc.—both involved in the manufacturing of
collapsible aluminum tubes for multinational toothpaste companies,
were doing well in 1980. Then, a big trial came in 1985.
Pedro recalls the dismay he felt after learning
that many of his clients had switched from using aluminum tubes to
plastic tubes for their toothpaste containers. Suddenly, the future
of his company was in limbo. One thing that really bothered Pedro at
the time was the thought of his workers that he may have to let go.
But the stalwart businessman, though, refused to
throw in the towel. Armed with faith and determination, he decided
to take a big risk and produced his own brand of toothpaste. Thus,
in that same year, Hapee Toothpaste was born. Pedro had the masa in
mind as his target market, something evident in the product’s
tagline that says, “Quality You Can Afford.” He had also
committed to sell his product for almost half the price of that of
the popular brand. “This is our way of helping people,” he
explains.
Long after he saved hundreds of employees from
unemployment, Pedro’s benevolence towards workers continues to
this day. While most companies would turn down applicants with
physical handicaps, his business policy is to give such individuals
a chance to become productive members of society.
Pedro’s company, to date, has a 200-strong
workforce, 20 percent of this has hearing impairment. The fact is
not surprising since Pedro is also the chairman of the Deaf
Evangelistic Alliance Foundation, Inc. (DEAF), an organization
providing free education and life training skills to people with
hearing impairment. DEAF has a school in Cavinti, Laguna that offers
education from preschool to college.
“Treating everyone with respect and fairness
is important as I believe that each individual is unique and
precious in the eyes of God, and that each has an important role to
play in the achievement of our company’s goal,” Pedro relates.
The Lamoiyan Corp. has already bagged a number
of recognitions through the years, among which is the Most
Outstanding Toothpaste Manufacturer award for the years 1990 and
1993 given by the Consumer’s Union of the Philippines. He also
received the Agora Award for Marketing Company of the Year in 1992
from the Philippine Marketing Corporation.
Pedro himself was named one of the Ten
Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in 1991 and was recently bestowed the
Ozanam Award by the Ateneo Board of Trustees for his humanitarian
effort to aid those with hearing impairment.
Small beginnings
Though now on top of his game, Pedro is the
first to admit that the success he’s now enjoying did not happen
overnight.
He recalls that he first started honing his
business acumen during his high-school days in Hope Christian High
selling ballpoint pens to his classmates. “Some of them even
forgot to pay me,” he narrates smiling. After his early attempts
in entrepreneurship in high school, Pedro focused all his energy on
his studies, eventually bagging a degree in business management at
the Ateneo de Manila University. It was after college that he
entered the aluminum business.
Pedro is proud that his grandmother has
instilled in him Christian beliefs that he still faithfully follows
today. For one, he believes that God is the center and master of his
business. His deep spirituality evident, he reveals that his company
holds a weekly Bible study and monthly fellowship. “This is to
make sure that my employees are still on the ‘right track’,”
he comments.
Expounding on his spirituality and its
connection to his business, Pedro has the following words to say:
“I encounter difficulty because there are things that we can’t
do and there are things that we wouldn’t do. In competing with
other famous brands, we would fight in an honest, legal way. Being a
Christian is never easy, we are labeled—folks are stricter to us.
We are being tempted more but we will stand firm in our beliefs. In
this way, we can also influence other businessmen through our own
example.”
Pedro is indeed a rarity in the cutthroat nature
of today’s business world. He has proven time and again that
there’s no real line between the sacred and the secular—that
spirituality and entrepreneurship can blend well without conflict.
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