The Sweet Journey: From 20 Pesos to Bianca’s Ice Candy Empire.

"People [didn't] think much of our business. Lagi nilang sinasabi, 'ice candy lang yan! Pero tingnan mo, napalago namin."

A Heartbreaking Decision

It just about broke Rudy and Rosiell de Leon's hearts when they told their daughter Nica she had to transfer to a public school because they could no longer afford the tuition at her private school in Antipolo. With just P20 left in her wallet, Rosiell de Leon had to think fast. Her husband, Rudy, had lost a well-paying job and could not find anything else. Their savings had dried up, with two kids to raise, and mortgage and credit card bills to pay.

The Birth of a Business

Having just moved into their new home in Antipolo, and knowing they were the only ones in the neighborhood with a refrigerator, the couple decided to sell ice. Rosiell used her last P20 to buy 100 pieces of plastic bags to make ice. The P20 grew to P300, enough to buy ice candy ingredients, which Rosiell knew they could make a go of as a business. Says Rudy, "Nag-full time kami dito kasi kailangan namin kumain araw-araw." With that in hand, she bought ingredients to make ice candy—enough to make 100 pieces. She sold each treat for P5, in turn, growing the money to P500. "Nang maubos, bumili lang kami uli ng ingredients, hanggang sa dumami ng dumami," she says.

Expanding the Reach

Like many home-based businesses, at first, the couple focused on the market around their neighborhood. But they needed to grow the business to make ends meet. So, they convinced a street vendor who hawked fish around their subdivision to sell ice candy while doing the rounds along his route. The couple also targeted sari-sari stores, carinderias, bakeries, and even cigarette vendors around their neighborhood and farther into the surrounding areas. To sweeten the deal, the couple told their consignees they could keep P1 from each ice candy sold. The business, which was registered as a single proprietorship and named Bianca & Nica's Ice Candy Factory, after the de Leons' two kids, really took off when the couple decided to sell the treats to a nearby public school, which their daughter attended at the time. "She gave us the idea to try selling at public schools," says Rudy.

Finding Success

After managing to land their daughter's school, the couple worked hard to grow their network—in two years, they were supplying 13 schools. Right now, the couple supplies to more than 100 schools in Antipolo City, Quezon City, Pasig City, and other nearby towns of the Rizal Province and National Capital Region. Based on numbers alone, the market is compelling—there are 21 million students in public schools in the Philippines.

The Overlooked Gold Mine

"It's an overlooked market," says Rudy. "Assuming one school has 9,000 students, and each kid has a P20 baon that means may P180,000 na nasa loob ng school...eto yung pera na dapat hindi na lumabas dun—and that's just in one day," he says. "Isang school lang yan ha," Rosiell adds. The market proved to be a gold mine, despite the couple selling the ice candy for only P3 apiece. "We gross more than P400,000 in sales every month," says Rudy. The couple is unfazed by competitors nosing into their turf because they're confident they have an edge over potential rivals. "We know the market because we came from the public school system," says Rosiell. "Some have tried to copy us before, but their efforts fizzled out," she says. The couple also made sure they had a delicious and affordable product. "Yung mga estudyante, deprived sila ng masasarap na pagkain. 'Pag binigyan mo sila ng masarap, labas sila ng pera," says Rudy. Armed with these insights, the de Leons sought a meeting with the principal at their daughter's school to convince the administrator to give them a chance.

The School Connection

They offered generous returns to the school, knowing the school could use the money. Word spread about the de Leons' ice candy business to other schools in Rizal. Principals with thin budgets sought out the couple to ask them to supply ice candy to their schools. "Kumakagat ang schools dahil may kita sila. Mas malaki pa nga ang kinikita nila kung tutuusin. Mas malaking school, mas malaking kita," says Rosiell. Rudy says he never expected the business to grow the way it did. "Iniisip ko lang noong una, simulan namin ito para makatawid lang ng pang-araw-araw," he says. "Alam ko magbu-boom, but I didn't imagine it would grow this fast. "Simple lang ang business namin," says Rudy. "Ice candy lang," Rosiell adds. But now, Bianca & Nica's Ice Candy Factory supplies 60,000 pieces of ice candy daily to more than 100 public schools in Rizal and some parts of Metro Manila. Rudy, who enrolled Nica back in her old school as soon as they could afford it, credits the success of the business to hard work and doggedness amid people's skepticism about their business. "People [didn't] think much of our business. Lagi nilang sinasabi, 'ice candy lang yan! Pero tingnan mo, napalago namin."