CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY–Owners of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Northern Mindanao should change their “mindset” in considering branding and packaging as important components of their products to increase global competitiveness, an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
Linda Boniao, director of DTI 10 (Northern Mindanao), said local entrepreneurs commonly harbor reservations in improving their branding and packaging.
Boniao attributed this to the additional production costs that branding and packaging may entail, which would affect pricing and could in turn discourage consumers from buying.
“It would be unfortunate for these good products (from local traders) not to create an impact in the international market simply because of bad packaging,” she said in an interview Thursday.
She added that while products from other countries have good packaging, some of them are of lower quality compared to Philippine-made goods.
Boniao pointed this out as the DTI is on the thick of launching its “Pack! Pilipinas”, a roadshow that enables local traders to meet and consult with packaging and branding consultants and suppliers.
For the Visayas leg, the roadshow visited Tacloban City on May 3-4, while the Mindanao leg concluded in Cagayan de Oro City last week, from May 16-17. The final leg in Luzon will be held in Carmona, Cavite on May 29-30.
Boniao said the roadshows aims to encourage MSME entrepreneurs to consider improving their branding and packaging styles to entice wider markets and consumers, as visual appeal remains a major factor among buyers.
DTI Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, who graced the opening event, said the agency can provide technical assistance to entrepreneurs wanting to avail of the program, which includes computations and payment schemes aimed at making it easy for traders to access packaging supplies. (Nef Luczon/PNA)
