She was raised in Manila but has always been a Bohol-anon by heart. When not busy with her full-time job as vice president for corporate communications of Century Properties Group Inc., Maria Theresa Fucanan-Yu pursues a passion born out of love of her parents’ home province, Bohol.
The 40-year old mom, a former journalist, had zero background in business when she started Love Bohol in 2019. Love Bohol acts as a consolidator of fine Bohol goods she directly purchases from suppliers at preferred rates.
With much of her childhood summers spent in the homes of her grandparents from both sides, she relished the sheer simplicity and beauty of Bohol’s culture and fine traditions. Growing up, she often wondered why Bohol had very little representation in Metro Manila.
“Weekend markets and trade fairs would always have products from Cebu, Bacolod, Ilocos and even Davao, but Bohol goods – zero. I felt that my fellow Boholanos were losing out on the growing interest and support of Manila and its expat community to locally produced goods,” Yu said.
With a few thousand pesos from her personal income, Yu set out to register the business in 2019, and did a test run via consignment in a store in one of the country’s malls.
To get the word out, Yu used social media, but rather than hardsell posts she put out accounts of experiences and traditions that show how the products are used and enjoyed in Bohol. She would order the products from her suppliers all over Bohol and ship them to Manila for distribution.
That started the ball rolling for Love Bohol.
According to Yu, Love Bohol’s primary target market are expats and the upper C to A market of Metro Manila who appreciate good quality, locally made products. Yu also aims to target younger consumers, the millennials and Gen Zs who are into responsible and ethical consumption.
But Yu admits introducing Bohol products to the market is a bit of a challenge. Bohol produces fine cacao and coffee products, but other provinces are much ahead in terms of presence and marketing. It is also a constant challenge to get a space in popular weekend markets.
Yu, however, also sees opportunities. “As the market becomes younger and more discerning, we also see new groups of consumers who may grow to appreciate the products of Bohol. We will continue to tap the expat market, but we will also tap a growing market of vegan and plant-based consumers in Metro Manila,” she added.
Yu carefully pre-selects the products Love Bohol carries from her own personal trips to the local communities and entrepreneurs.
She follows three criteria: one, the brand/entrepreneur/community must have products that are made of materials that are local or indigenous to the province.
“Because Love Bohol advocates sustainability, the raw materials must come from Bohol but must be sustainably sourced,” Yu said.
Two, the brand should be supporting local communities through livelihood opportunities, skills training or direct procurement of raw materials and three, the products should have a global appeal.
“There must be an effort to elevate the quality and design of the products to appeal to a global audience.” Yu added.:
Some of the products carried by Love Bohol are beaded raffia placemats and table runners from the Tubigon Loom Weavers Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Tubigon,; 100% Chocolate (tablea), a London Academy of Chocolate Gold Winner 2019, from Dalareich Chocolate House of Tagbilaran City, as well as Ginto Chocolate (their 75% Dark Chocolate brand), and Cacao Nibs in Milk Chocolate; Robusta and Robusta-Catimor Coffee of Café Nueva Vida of Buenaventurada Farms in Carmen; accessories such as earrings and necklaces made of sustainable wood from Crissander Enterprises of Loboc; handmade and packaging-free soaps from the Boholana Essentials of Tagbilaran City, featuring ingredients local to Bohol (coffee tablea, pink berry hibiscus, coconut olive, honey oats sweet orange, among others) and for a limited time, a custom-made cookie called Golden, a collaboration between Love Bohol and Delirious Cookie Co. featuring Dalareich’s artisanal Ginto Chocolates with hazelnuts.
Products from Tubigon Loom weavers and the chocolate or tabea are among the bestsellers.
Yu plans to put up a full online store so that people from all over the world can access Love Bohol products.
But it has been a long dream of Yu to put up the Love Bohol social enterprise cafe where all Bohol traditions by the local communities can be showcased.
The cafe will not only serve experiential Bohol cuisine cooked and served by locals, it will also become the outlet for sustainable and indigenous goods. Yu plans to allot a communal area in the cafe where locals can conduct product presentations, and hold demos like chocolate and coffee tasting, kalamai making, basket and loom weaving, etc. there can be scheduled weekend demos rotating provinces
For Yu, Love Bohol is a movement – it’s both a call to action and a message from its people. The orange pin on its logo represents the people of Bohol: hospitable, warm, and where the true beauty and charm of the province emanates from.
“The idea behind Love Bohol is to celebrate the beauty of the province through the stories and creations of its people — the village economies, artisans, farmers and small entrepreneurs who are creating good, quality products that are unique to the island.
We choose to focus on their craft and successes to spark new interest about Bohol – because yes, there is more to it than just the Chocolate Hills — and help local community enterprises to thrive.
