What started as a simple kitchen experiment during the pandemic has grown into a thriving cassava chips business for Randel J. Perez and his family from Dapdap West, Tagaytay City.
Before becoming entrepreneurs, Randel worked as a store merchandiser while his wife was employed as a cashier. Their combined income was enough to cover their family’s daily needs, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their livelihoods when lockdowns kept them at home.
With their cassava plants flourishing in their backyard, the couple saw an opportunity.
Randel began harvesting the root crops, peeling and thinly slicing them before frying them into crispy chips. What initially started as a way to make use of their backyard harvest eventually became their signature flavored cassava chips.
The couple initially sold their products in simple packaging to former workmates, friends and neighbors. To make their snacks stand out, they experimented with different savory seasonings, receiving positive feedback that encouraged them to expand.
As orders increased, Randel and his wife personally delivered their products to local pasalubong centers and tourist destinations around Tagaytay. They also joined regional bazaars and partnered with school canteens.
They later brought their business online, allowing them to reach customers beyond their immediate community.
But growing the business came with its own challenges.
Sales were unpredictable, bulk orders took hours to prepare manually, and distribution remained difficult. At one point, Randel had to improvise a delivery system using his motorcycle.
“Para makapaghatid ng mga order, nagkabit ako ng slab or patungan na gawa sa kahoy sa likod ng aking motorsiklo upang maibalanse ko ang mga bag ng cassava chips,” Randel recalled.
Rain or shine, he traveled through Tagaytay’s winding roads to deliver their products.
Their persistence eventually paid off. After saving enough from their profits, the family purchased a jeepney, making deliveries safer and allowing them to transport larger volumes of products.
As demand continued to grow, the couple also needed additional capital to expand their operations.
Randel eventually became a client of CARD SME Bank, Inc., a thrift bank under CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institution (CARD MRI) that provides financial support to micro, small and medium entrepreneurs.
Through loans from the bank, the couple was able to address both family and business needs and invest in production machinery to replace some of their manual tools.
The upgrade helped increase their daily production capacity, enabling them to accommodate growing orders while maintaining the quality and flavor of their cassava chips.
Today, Randel and his wife continue to run their business, with their flavored cassava chips becoming a familiar snack in markets and pasalubong centers around Tagaytay City.
Their journey shows how an ordinary backyard crop can become a source of livelihood when matched with resourcefulness, determination and the willingness to take risks.
From a few cassava plants at home to a growing local business, the Perez family’s story is a testament to how small beginnings can lead to bigger opportunities.
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