{"id":598,"date":"2012-05-17T15:18:22","date_gmt":"2012-05-17T15:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=598"},"modified":"2013-05-17T15:26:10","modified_gmt":"2013-05-17T15:26:10","slug":"godiva-inc-s-fred-reyes-globalizing-the-filipino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/godiva-inc-s-fred-reyes-globalizing-the-filipino\/","title":{"rendered":"Godiva Inc.’s Fred Reyes: Globalizing the Filipino"},"content":{"rendered":"

By P.A. Castro<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometime in 1996, chemical trading firm Chemworld Marketing Corp. (CMC) had problems selling licorice extract to local manufacturers of skin care products, this even if clinical studies promoted it as the best natural ingredient that can be used in skin-whitening products.\u00a0 Instead of getting disappointed, however, the lack of interest spurred Fred C. Reyes, CMC president and chief executive officer, to establish Godiva Inc. (GI), which offers personal care products using licorice extract as the major ingredient.\u00a0 \u201cI saw promise in licorice extract, the star ingredient in most of GI\u2019s products,\u201d Reyes recalls.\u00a0 \u201cAnd although I know that venturing into it would be a gamble, given the huge price of the ingredient, I went for it anyway.\u00a0 And now, I could only be grateful for that opportunity that made GI what it is today.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Fred<\/a><\/p>\n

Thus, in many ways, and in his own words, Reyes\u2019 \u201centry into the world of entrepreneurship wasn\u2019t exactly a carefully planned venture for me,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was (only) when I was trading chemicals\u2026that I stumbled into a promising business opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not that things were always easy for GI, since \u201cthe early years of the business certainly didn\u2019t come easy for me and the company,\u201d Reyes recalls.\u00a0 To begin with, major distributors rejected carrying GI\u2019s products because they were considered a risky proposition \u2013 an unknown brand with a high price tag.\u00a0 Not that GI can do much, too, considering it had limited budget for advertising, thus unable to compete with multinational corporations when it comes to promotions.<\/p>\n

The solution came in the form of, especially initially, niche marketing, with GI\u2019s products offered only on a trial basis. \u00a0Eventually, when the sales increased, so did the number of outlets, so that GI\u2019s products are now sold from CSI Pangasinan in the north, to Gaisano General Santos City in the south.\u00a0 Later, too, GI developed its online retail store, so that approximately 20% of its sales are from Internet transactions, growing by 5% annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s one important lesson that these challenges infused in me, I guess it\u2019s learning how to take each and every challenge with confidence.\u00a0 One should never give up.\u00a0 Keep in mind that all these, no matter how big or small take part in making the business grow.\u00a0 After all, there is always a lesson or two that these problems leave in us so that we don\u2019t repeat the same mistakes in the future,\u201d Reyes says.<\/p>\n

Reyes believes that any business can only reach its fullest potential if the leader immerses himself into all the various aspects of the business, thereby inspiring employees to also do the same and, ultimately, excel in their work.\u00a0 \u201cA great business leader should not only possess business expertise, but also exceptional characteristics with ideals grounded on humility, respect, and righteousness.\u00a0 A leader brings out the best in his people to achieve greatness.\u00a0 He empowers people, thus providing them with a sense of fulfillment.\u00a0 He commits to a higher purpose, serving others beyond just the interest of business profit,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Reyes also believes that \u201crelationship is more important than money.\u00a0 So I am disappointed by instances when business becomes the cause for personal relationships to sour up.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one of the industry leaders, GI is now available in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and Japan through its online store; and in Indonesia and the Middle East through its distributors.\u00a0 The company has already diversified, however, as it expanded its business with the launch of skin centers called Godiva Skin Stations.<\/p>\n

For GI\u2019s success, Reyes has been given, among others, the 2008 Outstanding Chemist in Industry from Philippine Federation of Chemistry Societies, 2007 Most admired Entrepreneur from the Entrepreneur Magazine, and 1996 Most Outstanding Chemist\/Entrepreneur from the University of the Philippines Chemistry Alumni Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than anything, I think the biggest and most fulfilling achievement I\u2019ve had is being able to bring the company to greater heights.\u00a0 From starting off as a neophyte who only had sheer guts, a great product, and a tight budget, to actually making the business grow and realizing its full potential is really something I\u2019m proud of,\u201d Reyes says.\u00a0 \u201cOne day, I\u2019d like to see GI as the number one choice for skin care.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fred C. Reyes established Godiva Inc. by offering personal care products using licorice extract as the major ingredient. \u201cAnd although I know that venturing into it would be a gamble, given the huge price of the ingredient, I went for it anyway. And now, I could only be grateful for that opportunity that made GI what it is today,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,12],"tags":[328,329,327,72,73],"class_list":["post-598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-profiles","category-spa-trade","tag-chemworld-marketing-corp","tag-entrepreneur","tag-fred-reyes","tag-godiva-inc","tag-licorice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":600,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions\/600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}