Gelli de Belen-Rivera & Ariel Rivera Very Hands-On In Their Biko Business In Canada

Celebrity couple Gelli de Belen-Rivera and Ariel Rivera decided to venture into business while in Canada. This time they offered one of Pinoy’s favorite kakanin, biko!

Many Filipinos working and living abroad can relate to the difficulty of satisfying your craving for some Pinoy comfort food. While you’re far away from home, you realize how much these Pinoy foods actually felt like home. Gelli and Ariel know how these feel as they are in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, with their family.

Gelli de Belen-Rivera & Ariel Rivera Very Hands-On In Their Biko Business In Canada
Image by Lolo Ben’s Biko via Instagram

Thus, the couple decided to venture into a business selling biko and named it “Lolo Ben’s Biko.” According to Gelli, the biko recipe is from Ariel’s father, and it was her sons’ idea to start making and selling delicious biko. Gelli’s sons, Joaqui and Julio, have been making their Lolo Ben’s biko eversince they learned it and found a good business opportunity with it.

“Ito’s business na naisip gawin ng mga bata. This is the recipe of their Lolo Ben, Ariel’s father. And of course, the person behind this is his (Ariel) mom, my mother-in-law. Kasama rin siya sa kwento kasi she’s the expert,” Gelli shared on her vlog.

Gelli sells their bestselling biko for $18 for the original and $20 for biko with langka. Ariel is proud that they use fresh ingredients and use real langka in their special biko.

In a short Q & A, Gelli asked his sons why they wanted to venture into business. Joaqui and Julio’s answers were short and said in jest, “Because we’re broke college students!”

Gelli explained that it was actually Julio who was interested in business, and Joaqui decided to join his brother afterward. According to Julio, selling biko is “fun”, especially because he sees that people like the biko they cook. Joaqui also agreed and said they feel more proud of their biko because it’s their Lolo’s recipe.

Gelli de Belen-Rivera & Ariel Rivera Very Hands-On In Their Biko Business In Canada
Image by Lolo Ben’s Biko via Instagram

“It’s really fulfilling actually to give a part of us, of our family, to other people for them to enjoy. Because I love their feedback. I love how they enjoy and really like our biko. It’s like an extension of Lolo’s legacy. That’s really fulfilling,” Julio said.

Since then, Ariel and Gelli have been very supportive and hands-on with their family’s biko business. They personally prepare the biko and post them on their social media pages. According to Ariel, he realized that there are so many Filipinos who miss the Philippines, and their biko somehow helps them feel at “home.”

Biko is truly a Pinoy favorite, no matter where we are in the world! If you want to take a shot at making biko as a business, you can start learning the recipe for homemade biko. You can also try to make the trending biko balls that can earn as much as P30,000 a month.

You can watch Gelli’s vlog about their biko business via her Youtube channel:

 

Sally Mae

Leave a Comment