The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
In every disaster that hits the Philippines, Filipinos’ strength and resiliency always emerge. One may ask: Where do they get their strength of character when life’s biggest challenges come their way? This strength came after years of nurturing, which started from their very own homes.
Powdered-milk maker Bear Brand leveraged its efforts to nourish Filipino families when it first launched its “Laki sa Gatas” campaign, which has benefited almost 4 million children, 3 million parents and 168,000 teachers since 2006. Through this campaign, Bear Brand raised awareness on micronutrient deficiency (MND), one of the country’s major public-health concerns.
On the 10th year of its nutrition advocacy, Bear Brand recently rebranded it as “Laki sa Tibay” as proof of the company’s commitment to continue strengthening what it calls the tibay of Filipino children and help them achieve their goals.
For Bear Brand, tibay means facing life’s challenges by having strength of body, mind and will, achieved through a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition, with daily milk-drinking at the center of it. Through Laki sa Tibay, Bear Brand aims to reach more public schools every year to engage more teachers, parents and schoolchildren on the role that tibay plays in overcoming challenges and fulfilling their dreams.
“When life turns sour, the world sees not our vulnerability, but our resiliency,” said Alfredo dela Cruz, business executive manager for Dairy, Health and Nutrition Solutions of Nestle Philippines. “This is why we want to instill the importance of having tibay ng loob, starting from the children in our very own homes. When they carry that strength of character as they grow older, they will be able to provide better lives for their families and contribute effectively to the community.”
As the campaign transitions to Laki sa Tibay, Bear Brand will continue to “push the fight against MND and ensure that all Filipino families get the right vitamins in (order to go) through their day-to-day activities through continuous milk intake,” he added.
“Children need the right amounts of iron, zinc and vitamin C because these nutrients keep them from experiencing (fatigue), a weakened immune system, loss of concentration, and illness. For them to get these tibay resistensya nutrients, it is important to regularly drink milk that’s specially fortified with iron, zinc and vitamin C, such as Bear Brand, as these nutrients are depleted every 24 hours,” dela Cruz said.
Under the new campaign, Bear Brand will also launch its Milyon-Milyon sa Ambisyon raffle promo, in which the company will collect empty packs of Bear Brand products from the entries and convert them into school chairs. These chairs will be donated to select public schools in the Philippines.
“Bear Brand is more than just every household’s companion to get the tibay resistensya nutrients they need in going through the day. Bear Brand also helps each and every member of the family get the tibay they need in facing what life has in store for them. In the coming years, we will continue to nurture Filipinos to be matibay, so that they can have the strength of body that can match their strength of will.”