Ozamiz entrepreneur ‘from scratch’ to 177 stores nationwide

Julieto “Oyos” Mendoza, chief executive officer and founder of Purple Yum Homemade Cakes and Pastries in Ozamiz. (DCC/PIA10)

Julieto “Oyos” Mendoza, chief executive officer and founder of Purple Yum Homemade Cakes and Pastries in Ozamiz started like everyone else in business, ‘from scratch,’ however, 10 years later and a pandemic, his ube cake became a household name which blossomed to a total of 177 stores nationwide with one new venture, a restaurant named Purple Haus at the Asenso Global Gardens, Tangub City.

“Hindi ko ito lubos maisip na mangyayari lahat. Not even in my wildest dream na what happened now will happen. Kasi dati lang naman ang eni-envision ko lang naman is lumago yung tindahan namin. Yung maka bu-o ako ng isang tindahan, kasi gumagawa lang ako ng cake sa boarding house, sa apartment, hanggang nakabuo kami ng tindahan. Wala rin cake na display kasi preorder lahat. Hanggang nabuo talaga ang totoong tindahan. Nabu-o naming yung tindahan na na replicate namin which are the 177 stores now,” he said.

(I couldn't imagine it all happening. Not even in my wildest dream that what happened now will happen. Because before, my only vision was to grow our store. When I can build a store, because I only make cakes in the boarding house, in the apartment, until we built a store. There is also no cake display because everything is pre ordered. Until the real store was actually formed. We have built the store that we have replicated which are the 177 stores now)

Oyos did not come from a wealthy family, in fact, he did not have a father growing up. He wanted to change his life realizing that his family was in so much debt. He thought he would become an engineer as he took up civil engineering at the University of the Philippines (UP), but unfortunately, or blessing in disguise as he would consider it, that he was dismissed from UP Engineering.

He then started collecting his passion for baking when he transferred to Ozamiz City and continued his civil engineering degree at Misamis University.

Since then, he started his small baking business. “I delivered and sold it to my university canteen, to our neighboring carenderias and food courts, and it led me to perfecting my craft in baking, especially my recipe in Ube Cake,” he shared.

Delicious and pure ube cake by Purple Yum. (Photo from Purple Yum)

Raw Ube, the heart of the business

The very heart of his endeavor is their advocacy to use raw natural ingredients which is ube.

Oyos shared that it is very essential that they are using real ube in making this product.

“Hindi kami gumagamit ng ibang [We do not use other] substitutes when it comes to our raw materials, our main ingredient is derived from the natural ube crop,” he said.

In addition, Oyos would also like to help farmers grow by purchasing local produced ube. “Since the beginning, kilo-kilo lang yung ginagamit namin, ngayon umaabot na kami ng 25 to 30 tons a month of ube requirement para gamitin namin at i-process at i-distribute namin sa buong Pilipinas,” he shared.

(Since the beginning, we only use kilos, now we reach 25 to 30 tons a month of ube requirement for us to use and process and distribute throughout the Philippines)

Due to this high demand, he reached out to farmers in Bukidnon and sourced raw ube from there.

“But we have the proposal now that this ube propagation will be brought here in our province because saying din naman po yung mga naka tiwang-wang natin na mga lupain sa bundok ng Misamis Occidental kung hindi natin sila magagamit into ube propagation kasi nandito na rin po ang processing ng ube natin, why not bring here also yung mga farm na pwede natin pagtamnan ng ube,” he said.

(But we have the proposal now that this ube propagation will be brought here in our province because we are also saying that our abandoned lands in the mountains of Misamis Occidental if we cannot use them for ube propagation because they are already here the processing of our ube, why not bring here also the farms where we can grow ube.)

Food from Purple Haus at Asenso Global Gardens, Tangub City. (photo by Purple Haus)

Purple Haus at Asenso Global Gardens

A booming tourist spot in the province, Asenso Global Gardens is a structure built by the provincial government of Misamis Occidental where local and foreign tourists can enjoy mountain views and local products.

“Isa lang po kami sa privileged few na binigyan ng opportunity to be part of this [We are only one of the few given this opportunity],” Oyos shared. More importantly, Oyos took the opportunity of not just featuring his famous ube cakes but building a restaurant featuring Filipino food.

“So aside from serving our products in Purple Yum, we also offer a full meal, a variation of food here, basically, traditional Filipino food. In the next few months, we will be offering international dishes also,” he said.

It is always a risk to put up a new business, but Oyos took a risk at Asenso Global Gardens because he believed that the place will become something in the future, a future destination that the province can be proud of.

The opening of Panguil Bay Bridge further brought more customers and visitors to the restaurant.

“You can dine here with a view, with a pleasure of the Panguil Bay and the nearby provinces. Ang maganda kasi dito is everytime na may isang tourist destination, na mabubu-o, kasama din mabubu-o ang mga pangarap ng mga negosyante,” he said.

(The good thing is that every time there is a tourist destination, which is brought to life, alongside this is the coming to life of dreams of entrepreneurs)

Oyos at Purple Foods Operation Center in Ozamiz City. (DCC/PIA10)

From college dropout to fulfilled entrepreneur

“It makes me so fulfilled na ang isang taong dropout, isang taong walang kasiguraduhan in the future, meron palang pag-asa sa buhay kasi ginagawa mo yung the very passion of what you are doing which is ako baking,” Oyos shared.

(It makes me so fulfilled that a person who is a dropout, a person who has no certainty in the future, finds out that there is hope in life if you are doing the very passion of what you are doing which is for me, baking)

Oyos has been baking for 20 years.

“Ginagawa ko siya without any “ifs” hindi ko iniisip kung dati kumikita ako, hindi ko iniisip kung lalago ba ito. Ang iniisip ko lang is I'm doing this because I love this so much. Wala naman akong degree, hindi naman ako anak ng mayaman. So, ito lang ang ginagawa ko sa buhay,” he said.

(I do it without any "ifs" I don't think about whether it used to make me money, I don't think about whether it will grow. All I'm thinking is I'm doing this because I love this so much. I don't have a degree, I'm not the son of a rich man. So, this is all I do in life)

I asked my mom, “Ma, unsa di imong gi ampo sa Ginoo? Nganong gihatag niya ni tanan? Ana siya nga, because you are a blessing to many, that’s why you have the blessing,” she said.

(Ma, what are you praying to the Lord? Why did He give all this? She said, because you are a blessing to many, that's why you have the blessing)

Oyos encouraged those who are starting or confused on what business to start or going through pain, “It is worth another try; it’s worth another starting kasi (because) the spotlight will be yours one day,” he said.

He advised young ones to “Always do the thing that you love doing, because that is your passion.”

It's good to do business when what you do is the thing that you love doing, your passion becomes your business. That is the best investment in business and all the challenges that will come, frustrations, fatigue, all the insults, will disappear because when you wake up the next day, you will love doing it again, over and over again. (JMORucat/PIA10)