Couple turn their giveaways into a promising business
A couple, who started selling books for a living, never thought that the homemade giveaways they gave to customers would eventually become their main business.
Carlito Balag and his wife now sell their homemade Herbal Liniment Oil and currently earn between P10,000 and P20,000 monthly from their business.
In early 2000, the couple used to go in groups to sell books about herbs. That changed in 2003 when Balag decided to make his own liniment oil mixed with different herbs, which he learned from the books he was selling.
“I started reading and learning about each herb and the benefits they give to our body,” Balag said.
With an investment of P800, Balag then started mixing herbs like peppermint, eucalyptus and camphor with virgin coconut oil for his herbal liniment.
“We were still actively selling books door-to-door then and when someone buys from us we give my liniment as a giveaway,” he said.
Article continues after this advertisementEventually, the couple decided to go into the herbal oil liniment business after the oil liniment giveaways became popular among their customers and orders started coming in.
Article continues after this advertisement“It came to a point when we were already earning more from the liniment oil than from the books. That was when I decided to focus on it more,” said Balag.
Balag now sells his Herbal Liniment Oil in two bottle sizes which he is currently displaying at the Kapamilya Negosyo Na (KNN) booth in Parkmall after he was chosen as among the top ten season 4 winners KNN.
Balag said he joined the KNN program of the University of San Carlos College of Commerce Alumni Association and ABS-CBN after hearing about the program on the radio.
“I figured I could learn many tips in doing business with them especially that I know I have a good product to sell,” he said.
Over the years, Balag said he focused more on improving his formulation of the herbal oil as well as developing other products under his company Rainbow Herbal Products.
From selling books, Balag and his wife now read more about the herbs and how they can be processed so that people can easily use them as alternative medicines.
“We have made our home our production site where we mix all our ingredients for the oil and put them in individual bottles which are empty syrup bottles that we recycled,” he said.
He now also sells dried herbs for those who would like to buy them for tea and other uses.
“For the oil, we sell the 60 mL at P68 while the bigger bottle which is 120 mL is at P129 only,” he said.
His herbal liniment oil was tried and tested by him to be effective for flatulence, rheumatism, body pains, nerve and joint pains, cramps, itch, cough, pimples, and carbuncles.
He also has a liniment oil for kids that has a lesser ginger content and is safe for sensitive skin.
To further his business, Balag said he was planning to get a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) for his brand so that he can start distributing them in major retail chains like pharmacies.
“Most pharmacies require a CPR before they will allow you to put in your products in their stores for display. For me this will be a major goal for my brand as it will define its success in the market,” said Balag.
Balag earns by displaying his products through the KNN Booth at Parkmall and orders from friends and referrals.
“The income we get from selling the oil is already enough to support the needs of my family, but I want to grow it further so that my children can have better future,” said Balag.
With the CPR soon achieved, Balag said he is confident that his products can go a long way.
“For this, however, we will need at least P500,000 in investment because there are many requirements to satisfy and standards to follow before you will be given a CPR,” said Balag.
One of the biggest requirement is to have a setup production area for his products that as of the moment is just housed within their home in San Isidro, Talisay City, Cebu.
Balag also said that he planned to develop more products in his herbal line once he acquires the CPR for his brand.
“There are many products that we can still develop but we are holding that off for a while because we want to focus on the oil first. We’d like to improve it more and get the CPR,” said Balag.
