‘Never doubt what startup businesses can do’ – Katrina Andrea Tolentino

When the family of Katrina Andrea Tolentino opened Papa Jun’s FoodHub this May, they only spent around P6,000.00.

But going into this business was somewhat a given.

“Our family loves food so much,” Katrina said, “and my father, Jun Tolentino, is a great cook (who has) been into food catering business since 1986 but was not able to sustain it due to personal reason.” But then “we were given a chance to pursue his love for cooking during this pandemic since he has all the time to prepare and cater food for stay-at-home customers.”

That this is a family endeavor goes without saying.

“We have been accepting ‘paluto‘ and catering services even before this pandemic started but this is the time that we officially launched our food business with logo, packaging and marketing,” Katrina said.

Katrina runs the business with her sister Krisna, brother Marlon, and of course, their parents.

“I graduated Mass Communication, my brother is a nurse, my sister is a psychology graduate, my mom is a housewife and my dad was a car salesman before. Our fields of work are not related to food,” Katrina said. “But food is life!”

There are some continuing challenges.

The “number one challenge is going out almost four week to do groceries to supply our stocks with the threat of the pandemic, but we as a family plan everything from our individual responsibilities. So we are still able to do this business while taking precautions.”

It makes her happy that “so far, we don’t have any negative feedback from customers because we see to it that the quality of the food is maintained.”

And yes: This is a profitable venture.

“We got our return of investment a month after we launched our online business and it’s safe to say that this is a profitable venture at least for us.”

For people who may want to also open their business, what tips can Katrina give?

“Just do it,” she said. “Seriously, thats the best advice we can give. Never doubt what startups can do and achieve.”

If interested to try Papa Jun’s FoodHub’s offerings, head to FB: Papa Jun’s FoodHub, IG: papajunsfoodhub, call 09957941930 and 09157850667, or email papajunsfoodhub@gmail.com.