Mega Global Corporation began as a fishing vessel in 1975 and is now one of the Philippines’ most successful canned sardine manufacturers. It has 88 ships, two functioning factories, one under development, and two headquarters.

The company’s founder William Lim said that her wife was from a fishing family and his enthusiasm for fishing sparked his successful business – but his entrepreneurial journey wasn’t easy.

Be a risk-taker

He advised taking calculated risks and anticipating outcomes. “When we came up with advertisements, in three to six months, our sales started to improve slowly. You need to spend to build your brand name so people will have confidence in your product,” he told Esquire.

Good Brand Communication

By learning how to communicate effectively to store owners and consumers about your brand, you will be able to differentiate it from its competitors. “Because nobody knew our brand, supermarket owners did not want to accept our products to be on their shelves,” he told Esquire Magazine, he had to personally visit the stores to convince them for a chance to sell their product. 

Adapt to the times

Simply abandoning ineffective old methods, and always taking opportunities to improve.

Remain focused on your vision

Never forget what the goal was when starting and always remember what the company stands for. He added that when it comes to making decisions about the company, these guiding principles will serve as the primary motivation and compass. “If you keep changing your focus, you have less time to succeed. You have to put your heart and mind to your vision and never give up, no matter the odds,” he tells Philstar.

One of the leading groups in the food cart industry in the Philippines, Fruitas Holdings Inc., owned by Chinese-Filipino entrepreneur Lester Yu, has expanded its brand portfolio with the acquisition of Ling Nam, a 72-year-old establishment that operates three locations in Manila, Philippines. 

Fruitas’ wholly-owned subsidiary Soykingdom bought 100% of LN Banaue Inc. This firm operates Ling Nam restaurants such Peter K. Fung and Wanton Parlor.

Established in the 1950s, Ling Nam has long served authentic Cantonese noodles, congee, and dim sum. Beef Wanton Noodles, along with various other sizzling and mouth-watering dishes, can be found on the menus of restaurants in Manila’s Banawe and T. Alonzo districts in Quezon City.

Yu’s 25+ brand portfolio is one of the assets to be purchased as part of the acquisition. Soykingdom will pay 60% of the acquisition price when the deal closes. The remaining 40% will be paid till March 2023. The acquisition price is less than 10% of Fruitas’ March 31 assets and book value.

Fruitas had 720 stores across the country as of the end of December 2021, according to Bilyonaryo where they provided customers with fresh fruit shakes and juices, lemonade, coolers, milk tea, desserts, meat-filled pastries, soya-based products, baked goods, and lechon.

Aisha Ibrahim has been announced as the new head chef of the famed restaurant Canlis in Seattle. She is the first female executive chef at Canlis and joins a long list of notable chefs who have worked at the restaurant over its seven decades.

The management at Canlis was looking for a chef who was interested in that way of thinking, someone who was interested in not simply putting his or her ego on a plate, but rather in actually trying to help inspire an entire industry.

Ibrahim was a sous chef at California’s three-star Manresa. She worked with chef Eneko Atxa at Aziamendi and Azurmendi, developing her culinary horizons.

The new head chef was drawn to Seattle’s wealth of locally sourced ingredients, according to the New York Times, her Canlis dishes would explore the region’s microclimates, traditional cuisine, and Asian influences.

Brian Canlis, a co-owner of the restaurant, considered Ibrahim’s test meal as the final step in the long process. “We set out to find a leader who could help rebuild a broken industry,” he tells Eater. Many kitchen cultures are toxic, he added. They want to continue creating a new norm for how individuals are regarded in kitchens and restaurants.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canlis, along with many other restaurants in the past year, experimented with a variety of different service formats. These formats included everything from parking lot yurts to drive-through burgers. 

The famed restaurant has informed that they will soon be opening a restaurant that will be distinct from the one that they previously operated but which they shut down a year ago. They have no interest in going in the other direction and would much rather proceed in the future path.

Canlis will be led by Ibrahim into the post-pandemic future, with the debut of her menu slated for July 2021.

Cookbook author, activist Indian chef Asma Khan is so much more than just being in the kitchen. 

In addition to owning London’s Darjeeling Express and hosting her own online cooking class, YesChef, she uses her platforms to advocate for world hunger, mentoring immigrant women, gender equality, and calling out toxic work cultures in kitchens.

With the release of ‘Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking to Nourish Your Soul’, The Bengali chef continues to redefine how women are portrayed at home and in restaurant kitchens, with a loving ode to her Ammu (or mother).

“Ammu [is] a tribute to these powerful women”, Asma tells Elle Canada, “the sharp things in our lives and the anchors that kept us going in difficult and stormy times. There [are] births, deaths [and] marriages in our culture; food is a very important element of that. That’s what this book really reflects.”

Ammu is filled with 100 dishes that will leave your mouth-watering recipes that have been carefully passed down from generation to generation.

Asma hopes the readers to try her chicken biryani, “Because I’ve worked so hard on getting the recipe right and I [know] people have recreated it” she tells Elle Canada.

According to The Guardian, Asma Khan’s biryani has the power to make you cry — not in the hyperbolic, internet vernacular sense, where food is considered “amazing”, “divine” or “to die for”

Asma also recommends trying out cooking any of the kababs, fish dopiyaza, and prawn malai.

“So much of our food is bastardized into [something that is] super spicy, oily, with cream and butter. If I put [that] much cream and butter in my shoe, it’ll taste nice! Our food is actually light and refreshing, but most people don’t associate those words with Indian food.” 

As the only female-founded, all-female kitchen cooking Indian food globally, she hopes that the next generation of women would surpass her, “That will be my greatest victory.”