By Jonah May Nueca, UPLB Intern

Kiosk at the Ayala Mall Cloverleaf

Resilience, commitment, and empowerment have become GlowCorp’s keys to sustaining its financial and social responsibilities to shareholders, suppliers, and partners despite the effects of the pandemic. Since its establishment, GlowCorp is considered as a social enterprise valuing a balance between its social commitment and profit. With a mission to primarily support the less privileged rural farm households and help them improve their quality of life through better access to mainstream markets, GlowCorp relied on the power of resiliency to combat the effects of the pandemic and recover together with the community. Resiliency resulted in the diversification of GlowCorp’s marketing strategies given the changing market situations. It entered the digital market while also strengthening its traditional market arrangements to continuously support farmer suppliers. 

GlowCorp became part of the Alagang AyalaLand, a community engagement program of the Ayala Corporation which aims to help social enterprises recover by providing spaces in its malls and estates to serve as an avenue to market and promote local products. Supporting the growth of small businesses and social enterprises is the corporation’s way to speed up the recovery of the country from the effects of the pandemic. In September and October 2021, GlowCorp officially opened its kiosks in Ayala Malls TriNoma, and Ayala Malls Cloverleaf, respectively. 

Although the spaces are rent-free, there is indeed no free lunch. GlowCorp is grateful to be offered with more than two spaces to arrange kiosks but setting them up comes with a bit of an expense considering the location and independent operations. The first few months were also challenged by a few mall consumers. The sustainability of two operating kiosks is major concern before further expansion. 

Nevertheless, engaging in such a program is a good move for GlowCorp. It is a great opportunity to maximize market exposure and preserve its mission. With the kiosks, GlowCorp is able to market not only its existing brands from which muscovado sugar, organic rice, adlai, calamansi concentrate, and tablea are the top products, but also other local products from its partner social enterprises such as coffee produced by cooperative from Ifugao, vinegar, and cocojam from Quezon Province, dried fish from Cebu, gabi leaves from Camarines Sur, and pastries like biscocho from Aklan.