“I started 14 years ago straight from college, not knowing where to start, which department to begin with or how to contribute. My mom said to start with sales but after a few months, I was able to conclude that there will be no sales improvement if there is no improvement in the product.”
ACROSS the globe, Filipino families are known to be closely knit. Parents are revered highly and are sought for their wisdom and counsel.
Paolo Victor Valderrama, vice president for operations of Marby Foodventures Inc., has been looking up to his parents, Mario and Baby Valderrama, for guidance in managing the company.
Fresh from earning his Business Management degree at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Valderrama gamely took over the leadership of Marby, now known for its loaves of bread.
“I started 14 years ago straight from college, not knowing where to start, which department to begin with, or how to contribute. My mom said to start with sales, but after a few months, I was able to conclude that there would be no sales improvement if there were no improvement in the product,” said Valderrama.
As a young business strategist, his mom agreed with this approach. As a brand, the white loaf bread expanded into the Superloaf bread, and these loaves became Marby's cornerstone together with the Whole Wheat Bread. Both the loaves were reformulated, rebranded and reintroduced, achieving exponential sales growth.
Last year, Valderrama proudly shared that Marby successfully registered its trademark as the “Pambansang Tinapay” with the Intellectual Property Philippines.
Valderrama eventually mastered the brands and now has a proven track record of creating baked goods and improving the quality of other food products for the company.
“Our loaf bread is not airy and is suited to the Filipino taste. It is more compact and refined, too,” he beamed.
“Inspired by the modest beginnings of my parents in the food industry, I aspire to work toward Marby's business growth alongside its product,” the young executive said, who is bent on expanding and ensuring the company's operational efficiency.
“I follow my dad's mantra, which has been, 'To maintain is to deteriorate.'” This principle was applied by the young Valderrama in refining the Superloaf and Whole Wheat Bread and the majority of its products.
At first, the Superloaf and the Whole Wheat Bread were slow at the start, but somehow, Valderrama has found ways to market these breads, improving their taste, quality, packaging and price.
Under the leadership of the young Valderrama, Marby is producing delicacies like piaya and other special to-go biscuits. He develops marketing and advertising actions for its in-store and online merchandising to generate an expanded customer base and boost sales.
Marby now has over 200 varieties of bread, pastry and frozen products distributed and sold in more than 5,000 locations across the country. It has now gone further as products are now available in e-commerce.
He also manages all maintenance and repair of the factory grounds, property and equipment in addition to overseeing daily operations of the plant, staff supervision and financial management.
Valderrama takes pride that Marby has received a string of awards such as Top 25 Suppliers by Puregold and Top Supplier for Bread of Isetann from 2018 to 2019 and from 2023 to 2024. It was also the Best Supplier from 2016 to 2018 of LCC Supermarket and Robinson's Apple Awardee in 2018.
Ultimately, Valderrama explained, what matters is the quality of the brand.
“No matter how you advertise, you have to be truthful.” He said that Marby hires bakers and R and D specialists to ensure that all products are suited to the discriminating taste of Filipino families. Marby has a partner laboratory to check on the parameters needed for the nutritional facts of their brands so that they are up to standards.
Marby, he said, is regarded as the largest Filipino-owned manufacturer selling volumes of bread loaves in supermarkets and groceries in the country.
He said he always studies the emerging trends. “We have created the right mix of developing brands which consider the Filipino's buying power and the capacity of the company to earn so that everyone is happy.”
Aside from Valderrama's parents, three sisters — Sheila Valderrama Martinez (marketing and export division), Vanessa Valderrama Obligacion (vice president for finance) and Stephanie Valderrama (finance) — have been assisting in the company.
In 2015, the company began exporting its frozen products to Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asean countries.
Marby has 3,000 workers, and Valderrama has been on top of the leadership ladder. When asked about his leadership style, he said he always aspires to lead by example.
“When I say or commit to something, I need to make sure I fulfill it to be able to set it as a good precedent and be a good example for the team. I approach members' mistakes and faults by not getting mad at them but by professionally and calmly talking about the errors, making sure that these are not repeated and are addressed quickly.”
But just like other companies, Marby was challenged by the pandemic. “The market for this period had dipped, so we needed to find ways to combat it. Then there was the boom of e-commerce or online selling, so we just had to adopt this trend, and it gave us good results,” Valderrama said.
But while he always listens to his parents, Valderrama has strived to develop his own ways but is guided by the strong principles and values of the elder Valderramas.
“It is always a good mix of the inputs of your parents and your own discovery and learning. We have to evolve. As my dad always says, 'To maintain is to deteriorate.'” In addition, this has successfully been guiding Valderrama in leading Marby.
In the company, Valderrama said that “everyone is motivated to meet the targets of Marby as one team. We provide incentives to the heads; we talk professionally with the team, from the supervisors to the staff. We empower people and give them enough confidence. If there are issues we cannot solve immediately, then we take caution, discuss and find ways to address them. We trust our people.”
“My goal is for the company to constantly grow as this will make our team more motivated and happy, and the result would be that our strides would just get better and better,” he said. He added that along with having a good and well-motivated team is ensuring customer satisfaction for the brands.
In the same way that he holds his parents in high esteem, Valderrama strives to be a good padre de familia. “I try to finish work as early as I can, although it is not easy to achieve this on a daily basis, but if I finish early, I spend more [quality] time with the family. Indeed, family matters all the time.”
Quick questions
What is your greatest fear?
Fear is that would be if loved ones experience a dire situation.
What really makes you angry?
When things don't go my way, and this is mostly work-related.
What motivates you to work hard?
To maintain is to deteriorate, like what my Dad said. Also, when studying and you see there is an opportunity for growth or an “aha!” moment, this gives me excitement.
What makes you laugh the most?
My son and wife, and this is when we have moments of clowning around.
What did you want to be when you were small?
I wanted to be a professional basketball player. But everyone can dream, right?
What would you do if you won the lotto?
Winning a lotto, I would first pay my credit card bills then save some for me and donate some to charity.
If you could share a meal with any individual, living or dead, who would they be?
That would be the lolo of my wife, Atty. Leonardo Siguion Reyna. I heard he was a great man, so it would be an honor to have a meal with him.
What's the most daring thing you've ever done?
Not much really, as far as I can remember, but the closest thing, I think, would be taking on the VP (vice president) position of the company straight out of college.
What was the last book you read?
Pregnancy book for my wife. I mostly listen to podcasts.
Which celebrity would you like to meet for a cup of coffee?
The pope, LeBron James, our president or Elon Musk.
What is one thing you will never do again?
Having too much tequila.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
With prayers, luck and hard work, I would want our company to have grown further and have a proud son, wife and family.
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