The company’s bottled Puso ng Saging, is an all-natural creation made
of banana blossoms, coconut cream, salted shrimp fry, and spices that
can be used as a spread, topping or the main dish. Consistent with the
company’s vision for the highest food standards, it contains premium
ingredients, no preservatives, and no added flavoring.
The award is a back-to-back win for the Filipino-German company,
having won the Katha Award in the same category in 2015 with their
ready-to-eat bottled Laing or Taro Leaves in Coco Cream.
"Kapfer and Rivera deserves
recognition for its consistency in delivering high-quality and
inventive Filipino-inspired products, such as Laing and Puso ng Saging,
which helps propel the Philippine in the international market as a
source of premium healthy and organic food products,” said Clayton
Tugonon, Executive Director of Center for International Trade
Expositions and Mission (CITEM), the organizer of IFEX Philippines.
A joint venture by Maria
Rivera, who came home from Singapore in 2012 with German husband Chris
Kapfer, the Kapfer and Rivera United Inc. started in 2012 with the
creation of their fine mango jam using premium ingredients.
As a boutique company, it is
committed to bringing new products to the market that are affordable
and authentic, never cutting corners with the use of artificial
additives like flavoring, coloring, and preservatives.
“I’m glad that our line of
healthy products is recognize here in IFEX Philippines,” said Kapfer.
“For this year, we are hoping to get more high-quality buyers from
Korea and Japan and this recognition in Katha is a big boost towards
this endeavor.”
Aside from tapping markets
abroad, Kapfer and Rivera Inc. aims to focus growth on the local
market, a segment that they believe has great potential and lacking in
premium quality locally made food.
“The Philippine economy is
doing well. More manufacturers are coming up with higher quality,
because people are demanding it,” said Managing Director Maria Rivera
Kapfer. “The problem is we tend to serve cheap stuff, synthetic stuff
for the Pinoys. Why give fruit-flavored jams? We give them real
fruit.”
Rivera added: “We deserve
quality goods for our people and we want to make it mainstream and
affordable. We could have chosen to go to go to gourmet shops but we
said no, we must democratize good quality food and make it more
affordable. You can’t always say, pwede na yan, local naman yan eh.
That’s really bad. We deserve better than that.”
Aside from Puso ng Saging
and Laing, the Filipino-German company is selling single-serve fruit
fillings, such as Strawberry, Calamansi, Guava, Mango and Pineapple,
as well as Macapuno and Ube de Pastillas, under their Island Gems
brand. The company is also offerings manufacturing and toll packaging
services.
As of now, Kapfer and Rivera
United Inc. have established retail stores in Urban Pantry (Green
Hills Metro Manila), Connie's Kitchen Deli (New Manila, Quezon City),
Real Food (Molito, Alabang), Landmark (Makati and Trinoma), Unimart
(Green Hills, Metro Manila), Ritual (San Lorenzo Village, Makati),
Shell Gas Mart (Slex to Batangas, after San Pedro Exit), Enchanted
Kingdom (Agila - The Eksperience) Duty Free (Kalibo, Palawan), and
selected stores of Robinsons Supermarket.
K&R United embraces the
traditional values of integrity, reliability, quality and
cost-effectiveness in dealing with its business partners and clients.
The company’s facility is
located in Cavite, an area in the southern region of Luzon in the
Philippines. We are licensed to operate (LTO), with Good Manufacturing
Practice (GMP) certifications, and registered in US Food and Drug
Administration (USFDA).
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Island
Gem’s Laing – Processed Fruit and Vegetables 2015 Katha Award
Winner. |
