“I was in the Biscuit Group when I join Barkadahan, promoting Philippine products in the US. It was sponsored by the Department of Agriculture. There I saw Portos Bakery. It is a Cuban bakery where customers are lined up to buy products”.
Mommy Milada Valde told me in an interview.
Valde and her guests in New York.
The products of Portos are equally similar to our products, referring to Filipino products but being patronized by global customers. In Portos Bakery, you will see not only Cuban customers, but mostly foreigners.
She then asked me, “Why is it that there is no Filipino bakeshop in the US?” Filipinos are all over the US and they can benefit from locally made brand and it is also our chance to showcase our products.
So in 2014, Valde came to the US to visit her sons who is in New City, New York. Armed by the dream of having of bringing the Philippine-made cakes. She said that our cakes are very light referring to the chiffon cakes and the icings are not so sweet.
But the challenge is: Valde has no American friends. How can she market it?
So her creative mind worked again and she went to St. Agustine Chruch everyday. Religiously, she visited the church so that she can be acquainted with the Americans and make friends with them.
She had huge brooch in her dress making her look like Imelda Marcos. She would dress up and started inviting friends to her house.
When visitors came over, she would cook pancit, lumpiang hubad, lencho, ginataang manok with dahon ng sili.
Every dish she prepares, her guests would go home happy. They liked how it is prepared and cooked.
Then she introduced her own cakes. She’d bring this to her priest friends and later on she would be called “Cake Lady” in the church.
One day, during the mass, the priest, Msgr. John discussed the topic “Welcoming friends”.
The priest related that he knows a small lady here but a really big lady back in the Philippines.
She owns a bakeshop with seven (7) branches.
The priest then introduced Valde.
“Let us welcome Milada. Stand up MIlada… “
That introduction of Msgr. John was the start of everything. The rest, as may say, is history.
She was instantly loved by the Americans.
Business partnership underway
Currently, Valde is looking for business partners in the US. She prefers somebody or a company that knows the business procedures in the America. There were many offers like tie-ups and partnerships underway.
She prefers to start in Rockland because it is a suburb.
She would like to build her business in America like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs where their huge companies started in a garage.
To reach Milada Valde, you can send her e-mail at valdemilada@yahoo.com
