DOST SETUP helps improve famous Hopia Malitbogan

Jairus Bakery is home of Malitbog, Southern Leyte’s famous pasalubong, Hopia Malitboganon. The product is an original creation of the owner, Denny D. Arsenio, because of her desire to give a local pasalubong to a friend from Manila. The product became popular among the locals and visitors in Southern Leyte because of its unique form and taste.

The bakeshop is a family business and its only source of income. It was previously owned by Denny’s in-laws but had closed due to competition. Denny’s family reopened the business 1n 2008 and with her management it was able to grow and has become the favorite bakeshop in Malitbog. Initially, the couple were the only workers in their firm processing only eight kg of flour per day. They managed to grow the bakeshop to employ 12 production workers and 9 peddlers and can process up to 150 kg of flour per day. Even so, they were unable to meet the demands of the market because the operations were highly manual.


Denny who is sensitive of her employee's needs observed that they were unhappy while working because it was labor intensive and the operations lasted for more than 12 hours. She considers it God’s blessing that DOST approached her and introduced the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP). Because of the equipment provided thru SETUP, the firm’s operation become more efficient so that they can finish a day’s work earlier even when they have increased production volume and are able to meet market demands. The processes are made easy and less stressful for the employees which resulted to pleasant dispositions even while working.

Denny is also happy to see that they are able to go out for leisure after work and are able to balance work and family. Income from the business also increased that the family was able to generate savings of Php 260,000.00 from less than a year of operating with the new equipment. It is the first time that Denny was able to accumulate that much savings considering that all the expenses of the family are paid through the bakery’s income.

The firm was also provided with food safety and MPEX consultancy services and are already on its way to acquiring a license to operate (LTO) from FDA. With just a SETUP assistance of Php 180,000.00 and the owner’s willingness to adopt technology innovations, she has found solutions to her long time problems of low productivity and unhappy employees. “With DOST’s assistance, me and my workers became more happy with our day to day work in the bakery”