BESTFRIEND GOODIES, a food enterprise in Cagayan de Oro City, hopes to help combat malnutrition and stunting by producing science-based nutritional products like enhanced nutribun and ready-to-eat (RTE) items.

The company initially began as a pasalubong (souvenir) food producer, but the pandemic’s impact on local tourism prompted it to adopt new technologies to create food products for government-led feeding programs, said Bronson Mabulay, consultant for Bestfriend Goodies, in an interview with BusinessWorld.

He said the Department of Education (DepEd) requires a very specific type of food to counter malnutrition and stunting. Bestfriend Goodies’ food products, he noted, comply with the “green category,” which is a must-have food in the canteen as specified by DepEd.

Bestfriend Goodies’ nutribun is produced under a license from the Department of Science and Technology (DoST)-Food and Nutrition Research Institute, he added. Each 160-165 gram serving contains 504 calories, 17.8 grams of protein, 6.08 milligrams of iron, and 244 micrograms of vitamin A.

The RTE products, including Filipino favorites like Arroz Caldo, are packaged in convenient pouches under a licensing agreement with the DoST-Industrial Technology Development Institute, Mr. Mabulay noted.

The company also has a licensing agreement with the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines for four other RTE products: mixed fruit with coconut milk (bilo-bilo), sweet chocolate rice porridge (champorado), chicken soup with coconut milk, and mung bean-based food with coconut milk.

Mr. Mabulay said the RTE products have a two-year shelf life due to the water retort technology from the DoST, the same used for canned goods like sardines.

This year, Bestfriend Goodies launched nutritional cookies made from local ingredients like squash, moringa, cassava, and coconut.

Mr. Mabulay said children consuming Bestfriend Goodies’ nutritional products through feeding programs are showing positive results.

“They said, ‘Yes Sir, it’s effective,’ because the following year, the number of children they had to feed decreased as the children gained weight and were no longer on the list,” he said in Filipino.

Mr. Mabulay said Bestfriend Goodies currently produces 17,500 RTE meals and 10,000 cookies daily.

The company aims to improve its online retail presence, as 99% of its sales come from government contracts, he added. — Edg Adrian A. Eva