GO ahead and ask any Filipino in the US what do they sorely miss from the Philippines. Aside from family and friends, topmost is most certainly food.
Not just the regular type of Filipino dishes but the ones you’d find on streets anywhere in Manila.
You probably can’t find an old-fashioned cart with kerosene-fueled cooking stove roaming around neighborhoods in the US and sells everybody’s favorite “kikiam” and fish balls. So, Mekeni Food Corporation brought these street food faves to the US instead for homesick Filipinos to enjoy.
Mekeni Food Corporation, one of the largest food manufacturing companies in the Philippines, managed to gain an important foothold in the US market by bringing its packed street food products to the West Coast last January.
“If there is one thing that Filipinos living abroad miss a lot, it is probably their favorite street food. Through our partnership with Island Pacific Supermarket, one of the biggest Asian/Filipino supermarkets in the West Coast, we are bringing them not just authentic Pinoy flavors, but also the feeling that they are closer to home through our products,” Mekeni President Prudencio Garcia told FrontpagePH.com.
He said that Mekeni’s Kikiam and Fish Balls are now available in 17 branches of Island Pacific Supermarket located across the states of California and Nevada. According to Garcia, this is just the start for Mekeni as they are looking into expanding their presence by making their products available in other parts of the US.
“The past two years has been challenging. What inspired us, however, to push forward with this is our desire to showcase what ‘Timplang Atin’ is like to the rest of the world. We want to give them access to quality and taste that Mekeni can bring,” Garcia continued.
Aside from kikiam and fish balls, Mekeni is also eyeing to bring their flagship products such as tocino, gluten-free chicken longanisa, Pinoys’ all-time favorites, and of course their own brand of hotdog to the US.
Before conquering the US market, Mekeni has maintained its supply of food products to existing international markets such as Dubai, Bahrain, Brunei, Australia, Canada, and UK. Mekeni is also the first Filipino food company allowed by the Japanese government, known for its strict standards in food products, to export Mekeni products to Japan.
Garcia noted that by expanding their market, they also get to uplift the lives of their communities that are depending on them. “We have always been committed to helping our communities through generating jobs and creating product lines that can sustain their income. Bringing our products to the US could mean expanding our operations and employing more people across the supply chain amid the pandemic,” Garcia enthused.
Locally, Mekeni also exclusively manufactures Bayani, a street food line for entrepreneurs. Its product range includes Filipino snack favorites such as siomai, siopao, squid balls, fish balls, chicken balls, and kikiam.
For over 30 years, the Pampanga-based food manufacturing company has been known for its manufacturing capabilities recognized worldwide. Mekeni is the first in Asia and the second in the world overall to receive the certificate of compliance to ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System standard.
For more information about their products, visit Mekeni’s official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mekeniph.