Philippines-Fabricated Rotary Filling Machine 188.0
This hardy Filipino-fabricated machine is cause for cheer I could hardly contain my excitement at seeing a Filipino-fabricated rotary filler being set up yesterday – a working product from the minuscule Philippine machinery industry is on the ground before me! YAY! as my young friends shout. And LOL with that. Fighting against economic policies like [...]
Opportunities from Salt Replacement in Food Preparation 169.0
The scan-adapt-diffuse approach to technology acquisition. Consumers’ desire for healthier food creates opportunities for the enterprising innovator. A more sedentary lifestyle especially in the developed world and increasingly so in emerging markets makes a sodium-rich diet a high risk of cardiovascular disease. The major source of sodium in our diet is salt so that it [...]
Spices as Antioxidants and Salt Replacers 162.0
McCormick innovates in marketing traditional spices In the consumer space, massive Mc Cormick who truthfully prides itself as the “global leader in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of spices, seasonings and flavors to the entire food industry” has always been very creative in marketing what are essentially commodities. McCormick passes the true test of market [...]
Philippines As Emerging Market 157.0
Let us stop flagellating ourselves with negative news From 2005, Goldman Sachs identified the Philippines as one of eleven countries “that could potentially have a BRIC-like impact in rivalling the G7.” More recently, in September 2009, the FTSE Global Equity Index Series classified the Philippines as one of seventeen secondary emerging countries with regards to [...]
Green Energy from the Mountains Wind and Waves 155.0
With technical innovation, North Luzon has great potential Seeing the wind farm at Bangui, Ilocos Norte, I imagined twenty, one-legged Martian machines marching as in HG Wells “The War of the Worlds.” The wind turbines are benign, though, providing 33MW of power, a fourth of Ilocos Norte’s needs. Going around and talking to people, I [...]
Innovation Delivers Quality Food with Convenience 149.0
Pret a Manger and Nespresso deliver both at the same time Freshly prepared espresso from a Nespresso Gemini, pictured at left, and a sandwich from Pret a Manger comprise a quick and good meal for a harried Londoner at a relatively affordable cost of about ₤4.00 (₱280.00). Note the crema foaming! Both represent innovations in [...]
I will miss Flavia 147.0
Intimidating at first; yet easy in the end I am done at Oxford and getting into London today. And I shall miss Flavia. She may have been Italian; but I never bothered to check. She intimidated even some of the geniuses around me! Maybe because she was so new; one often does not see someone [...]
Innovative Kare-Kare 145.0
Qatar AIrways serves up a less allergenic and Halal version Kare-kare is a north Philippine dish normally made with peanut sauce and served with bagoong, a fermented shrimp product. The Qatar Airways kare-kare was made out of well-cooked beef and tasted similar to the original even without the peanut sauce; or maybe the high altitude [...]
A Different Take on Innovation from Adjacency 128.0
Tiny Tatua dives deep into milk to regularly deliver large payouts Tatua Cooperative Dairy Co Ltd of New Zealand shows another approach to adjacency. Instead of moving to an adjacent application (like BYD), Tatua dives deep into milk fractions and derives a more valuable mix of products to consistently return better payouts to its cooperative [...]
SALT Innovation to Recover Denuded Forests 90.0
SALT or Sloping Agricultural Land Technology is an innovation in agro-forestry developed in the 70’s to help stop erosion and rejuvenate our deforested slopes. The benefits to the country of its successful diffusion in terms of agricultural productivity and alleviating climate change effects are monumental. STI learning on agro-forestry for erosion prevention is ready to [...]
Intensive Learning-by-Doing in the Agribusiness of Black Pepper – 2 of 2
The question, “If the financial returns are so good, why is everybody not doing it?” is a fair one to ask with black pepper as well as with coffee. BSFil Technologies has done the science and the practice (in a long-standing pilot farm) with black pepper (Piper Nigrum) on Gliricidia (madre de cacao or kakawate). [...]
Intensive Learning-by-Doing in the Agribusiness of Coffee – 1 of 2
Intensive learning is the best innovation catch-up strategy for the Philippines (See Post #87 for more on intensive learning.). Nestle’s Robusta coffee is an opportunity where intensive learning will yield huge benefits in total factor productivity. Nestle used Scan-Adapt-Diffuse as the technique to find the appropriate technology in Robusta coffee for an emerging market like [...]
