From leftovers to local favorite: The rise of Camiguin's Granel's Meat Shoppe

MAMBAJAO, Camiguin —From finding a way to make use of leftover meat to a booming food business in Camiguin, this local entrepreneur now supplies beloved Filipino delicacies on the island-province.

Started as a meat shop in their local wet market in Mambajao Town in 1997, Nelpher Catacutan and his wife, Grace, were looking for a way to utilize lean meat, hard fats, and skin of pork.

"We started yung mga (with) leftover. We processed it into longganisa, chorizo, and yung mga skin, chicharon," Catacutan said in an interview.

"So, leftover lang muna (we used leftover first). Then, after a while, may mga orders na, may mga demands na," he added.

From utilizing 30 kilos of leftover meat per day, the demand in Camiguin increased to 60 kilos, then 200 kilos per day.

Now, they import their raw products from Brazil, The Netherlands, and Belgium to meet local demand.

More organized process

Started in 2024, Catacutan's Granel's Meat Shoppe is one of the beneficiaries of the Department of Science and Technology's Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP).

The entrepreneur shared that under the program, the production process of his business became more organized as they upgraded their machines and improved their facility.

"Doon may mixer, cutter, may stopper. May mga machines tayo dito out sa DOST na sila nag-source out. Then sa building, ito, nimanage properly," Catacutan said.

(We now have a mixer, cutter, and stopper. DOST also sourced out some of the machines, and the building was then managed properly.)

Currently, Granel's Meat Shoppe has four branches on the island-province and supplies longganisa and chitcharon to the five municipalities of Camiguin, namely Mambajao, Catarman, Mahinog, Guinsiliban, and Sagay.

Venturing outside Camiguin

Granel's Meat Shoppe currently employs at least 10 employees who not only process their food products but also manage their cold storage.

Under Phase 2 of SETUP, Granel's Meat Shoppe is working on applying for a Food and Drug Administration product certification and license to operate to bring their food products outside Camiguin.

Catacutan shared that they aim to bring their food products to Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro, and hopefully, to other countries.

"It's a dream. Wala namang bayad yung dream (We are free to dream). So we'll do all we need to do," Catacutan said.

Persevere, innovate

For those who wanted to pursue a similar business, Catacutan advised them to persevere and be open to innovation.

"In every business, isa lang talaga masasabi kong tiyaga lang. Lahat ng business papasukan mo, kailangan ng tiyaga," Catacutan said.

(In every business, learn to persevere. In every business you enter, you need to persevere.)

"After tiyaga, don't stay there. Innovate, diversify, yun lang. Para hindi naman stagnant yung business mo. Anong makikita mo pwedeng pasukan, Pasok lang natin," he added.

(After you persevere. Innovate, diversify so that your business will not be stagnant. Try the options that are available to you.) —LDF, GMA News