Living through soap

          

            Business is not about big capital; it’s about taking risks.

            Have you ever heard of Biofresh Soap?

          Biofresh soap is a product made by the OBICHEM Enterprises owned by the Ocbina family. It is a small scale enterprise which specializes mainly on beauty soaps.

          Like most businesses, OBICHEM started from scratch. According to Jacobin Ocbina who is one of OBICHEM’s regional distributors and son of its present owner, his grandfather started the business. In 1995, they started making soaps and liniments in Bukidnon without any machines and with a very little capital.

          In 2005, when ownership was transferred to Jacobin’s father, they decided to focus on just one product and that is Biofresh soap. According to Jacobin, “Focusing on just one product seemed to be the wisest thing to do.”

          Today, aside from Bukidnon, Biofresh is also distributed at some parts of the Philippines. OBICHEM has regional distributors in Davao City, South Cotabato, Caraga Region, and Bukidnon who have the exclusive right to disperse the product in their respective places.

          They also have machines now which aid them in making soaps. However, they still use the traditional handwork sometimes to maximize time. They manufacture their products at Sasa and pack them up at Deca Homes Subdivision, near the Ocbina family’s residence.

          OBICHEM spends fifty pesos on each soap bars and sells five thousand bars every month just in Davao which makes approximately four hundred seventy-five pesos.

          The only problem they have about the business now is the competitors for there are already a lot of soap brands in the Philippines. But they try to be innovative enough to meet the needs and wants of the consumers. Soaps with glutathione are a hit now, so OBICHEM also focused on producing them this year.

          “Aggressiveness and innovativeness keep the business going,” Jacobin proudly said.

          And to all aspiring entrepreneurs out there, here’s a message from Jacobin, “You should not play on the safe side always. Sometimes, taking risks could be healthy.”