Siomai is definitely a Pinoy favorite! Since siomai stalls are almost everywhere, how can you set your product apart from the competitors? Of course, you must come up with an innovative idea! Catherine Marquez of Solid Siomai shares their creative idea of upgrading their siomai by giving it unique flavors.
Have you tried siomai with quail eggs or siomai with cheese? These are just some of the bestsellers at Solid Siomai. Catherine Marquez, the owner of this siomai shop in Sta. Mesa shared how they were able to come up with this unique business idea.
According to Catherine, their business thrived during the pandemic. However, they started to lose their customers as the lockdown restrictions relaxed and many people returned to work. “Expected po namin na mas lalakas pa yung siomai pero baliktad po. Medyo humina po kami,” she explained in an episode of GMA’s Pera Paraan.
This prompted their family to start thinking outside the box and come up with different versions of their classic siomai. “Kaya nakaisip po kami ng alternative na bakit di natin baguhin. Si classic siomai ng Solid Siomai, palitan ng ibang version,” she added.
Aside from quail egg siomai, they also have takoyaki siomai, cheese bomb siomai, and other flavors. It was a success! Their push for innovation brought them more customers. Catherine used to be concerned about having too few customers, but now she’s more concerned with how to meet the rising demand for their products. That’s the kind of problem that many business owners would like to have!
“Mahirap po kasi nagsimula kami na apat lang. Yung nanay ko lang, ako, kapatid ko, at yung partner ko. So yung demand po sumobra po, at nagkulang kami sa manpower,” she shared.
Now, Catherine and her team can make up to 60,000 pieces of siomai in a day to keep up with the demand. They consume an average of 150 kilos of meat a day. Their business has grown as they now supply flavored siomai to milk tea shops and other food businesses. Looking back, Catherine said their journey to success was definitely not easy. However, their efforts were rewarded. Their Siomai Solid business now earns around P50,000 to P70,000 per month.
“Ito na po yung nagbibigay sa amin ng pambayad ng kuryente, mga bills namin, tapos medicines ni nanay,” she said.
Making changes to your products or business can be risky. But for Catherine, the risk they took in upgrading their products was definitely worth it!
You can watch the video from GMA’s Youtube channel:
- IT Engineer Quits Job To Sell Siomai, Now Earns P5,000 A Day - June 30, 2023
- From Chocolate Cakes To Noodles: Maricar Reyes’ Food Businesses - June 25, 2023
- How To Be A Cebuana Lhuillier Authorized Agent - June 17, 2023
