Refreshments business thrives this hot season
CEBU, Philippines - With temperatures on the upswing, most Cebuanos find themselves at the mercy of summer specialties and refreshments prompting ordinary people to take advantage of the business opportunities posed by the hot season.
Plain housewife Margie Salas, 42, shelled out P1,000 in capital to put up a mini-refreshment booth just outside their residence in Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City.
She started the little business sometime in March and has since then managed to keep it running without investing additional funds.
“Istriktuhon lang g’yud nimo ang pagda sa kwarta kay bisan gamay ra ang ginansiya kada-adlaw, mahibong nalang ka nga dako-dako man pud diay kun matigom sa usa ka buwan (As an entrepreneur, I have to be stringent in managing my finances since I don’t earn that much in a day. But after a month of saving up, I’m surprised to see that I am actually earning pretty much),” she shared.
Salas said she regularly opens her stall after lunch where she sells normal summer refreshers such as “gulaman” or jelly drinks of different flavors, buko juice, hotcakes and fried banana on sticks.
After a day of selling, she is able to earn P200 to P300 net of her costs. The extra money from her sales will then be “rolled back” or used to buy raw materials for the next day.
“Ang mga tawo ‘ron, mangita g’yud og pampabugnaw tungod sa init. Pirmi g’yud hurot akong tinda, panagsa ra ko mabinlan (Because of heat, people nowadays really find something to quench their thirst. That’s why my goods always sell out; seldom do I have leftovers),” Salas told The FREEMAN.
Mobile fruit vendor Elecio Parasas, 53, also sees upbeat sales in his commodities this summer, saying that a lot of his customers buy iced-cold “pakwan” or watermelon and pineapple.
“Mas maka-ginansiya ko kun akong menuduhon kay daghan man ang mupalit og ginagmay (I tend to earn more if I divide a whole “pakwan” and sell them per slice since people don’t usually buy in bulks),” Parasas revealed.
In a day, he is able to trade around 15 to 20 pieces of watermelon giving him a revenue of P2,500 to P3,000 excluding the cost to buy them. Paying his suppliers leaves Parasas with P500 to P700 daily net income.
Similarly, some street vendors of iced-cold water are also experiencing a surge in their sales particularly this season.
A street vendor at Colon Street, Roger Dipdip, 27, said that before, only public utility jeepney drivers would normally buy from them but now, even commuters are also buying.
“Mas nidaghan ron ang mamalitay. Sa una gani, kami g’yud ang mangunay og duol sa mga pasahero, karon nay panahon nga sila mismo ang manawag kay mupalit (There are more buyers now. Before, we really had to ask PUJ passengers to buy, but now they’re the ones who would call us to buy water from us),” he said.
Every day, Dipdip and his company are able to exhaust about 800 bottles of a local brand of mineral water, though he refused to provide figures on how much they are actually earning.
In earlier reports, the Department of Health has warned the public against possible food poisoning that may arise from mishandling of food especially in summer.
The health department advised entrepreneurs to take extra precaution in preparing the food items they are selling since germs and bacteria are said to easily facilitate food contamination during hot weather.
Salas, Parasas and Dipdip in their respective interviews individually assured the public that they are only selling clean food and water.