In Wellness and In Health
Life partners Patricia and Dale Bandalan’s unique ingenuity has led them to promote exotic and Filipino fruits in powdered form - and the market is positively responding.
In this era and time, if John Lennon were still baking fresh billboard hits, he could pen a masterpiece about how ordinary people are going to extraordinary lengths to stay fit and healthy. And every gym in the Metro would have a copy of the remix.
The next best thing to this would be the list of all natural herbal teas we see in everyday supermarkets. The ones that have replaced artificial fruit drinks our grandparents used to buy for us as presents are now more than ready to go head-to-head with bottled iced teas.
And thank heavens for Global Partners, Inc., a four-year-old company owned by life partners Patricia and Dale Bandalan dedicated to making each health buff’s all-natural herbal fruit experience more than just sipping and putting down the cup.
Recognized as the first and only natural fruit and herbal powder manufacturer in the Philippines, Global Partners boasts of three lines of products: Health First, Green Power and McSpice.
Health Spice, an array of natural unsweetened fruit powders, comes in eight flavors: calamansi (Philippine lemon), dalandan (tangerine orange), mango, pineapple, strawberry, ube yam, golden tea and green tea. All in both 1 kilogram and 15 kilogram packaging, the Health Spice products are made entirely in the Philippines, from fruits homegrown.
Green Power is an all-organic and natural healthy green food highly suitable for individuals with diabetes. If you’re suffering from arthritis, high blood sugar, neck pain, lack of energy, lack of strength, sleepiness, obesity, high blood pressure, rheumatism, severe back pain, constipation, gout, rhinitis, high cholesterol, bad breath, menopausal symptoms and pre-menstrual tension, then Green Power is perfect for you.
Quality Assurance (QA) representative Terry Alonde explained, “Green Power contains two of earth’s most ancient plants-Kamut Wheatgrass and Alfalfa. Kamut causes chemical reactions in the body that can cleanse, detoxify, rebuild and fortify cells and at the same time, boost the immune system, combat fatigue, increase energy and add alkalinity to today’s highly stressed over-acidic body systems.
“Alfalfa, on the other hand, is rich in Vitamin A, B, C, K, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorous,” he said.
On the other hand, for those who love calamansi without the after-smell on your fingers) now have McSpice, their all-natural lemon juice extract. For convenience, Global Partners have decided to pulverize natural squeezed lemon juice extracts and can them in a shaker. Just dash it into your favorite noodle or soup, rice porridge or barbecue and you can get the real taste of calamansi with the rigorous squeezing.
Behind all that sales talk and promotion lies an amazingly original brainchild, right? These products are longstanding proof of the Filipino’s business-mindedness and craftsmanship.
Alonde continued, “What’s unique about the products is that these are Filipino products, Filipino fruits. These are actual food people eat and find in their kitchen and to be able to add convenience to that is amazing.”
The shelf life of these herbal products is same that of the real fruits they’re extracted from, he assured. And the taste, needless to say, leaves no smell where you don’t like it.
“After receiving our purees - which all come from Dalisay, Quezon and Dole, they go straight to production-to the milling area, the holding tanks, vibro sifters, shelf life test ovens and spray dryer cones. When we say it’s all-natural and herbal, we mean just that. No preservatives whatsoever,” said Alonde.
Even at just four short years, Global Partners have established their niche in the market and within the roster of distributors they have to date-restaurants, corporate companies, small business and others. They are now able to deliver four to six tons a day, meeting the demand that continues to grow one day after the other.
In fact, they have begun to cater to the foreigners as well, like Canada, Germany and Japan. And even with the word out about small-time Chinese companied planning to mimic this idea, Alonde said, “They don’t have the fruits that our country has. That alone makes these products more than just unique.”
True. And as the growing number of health buffs continue to gain velocity, it’s refreshing to know that more and more entrepreneurs are finding more ways to make staying fit, in shape and healthy an experience close to listening to a John Lennon CD.
