Century Pacific triumphs in Canned Good category at Asian Export Awards 2020

The firm’s canned products have shown export excellence and growth amidst a pandemic.

As COVID-19 interfered with social and economic activities across the world this year, food manufacturers have had to manage supply chain disruptions whilst ensuring that the public has a sufficient supply of basic necessities.

Century Pacific Food Inc. (CPFI) was amongst the companies that have bravely faced the challenges posed by the pandemic. In the Philippines, restrictions in the movement of people and raw materials as a result of lockdowns exerted pressure on CPFI to stretch its plant capacity at 90%++ and find alternate supply sources of raw materials.

Throughout this period, CPFI’s priority is protecting the health and safety of all employees and factory workers, as well as making sure that sales operations are as normal as possible. In recognition of this success during a difficult time, CPFI has won in the Canned Good category, Large Corporate division of the Asian Export Awards 2020.

The company’s extensive safety protocols included screening, testing, use of protective gear (face shields and masks), and regular hand sanitising. Strict social distancing was also carried out, which required changes in operating processes.

The effectiveness of these safety protocols are evident in their employee health and safety, in which the safety score is 99.9% because virus transmission was prevented across 18,400 employees; consistent supply resulting in +75% profit and +65% revenue growth YTD for total branded export; and support for COVID relief operations including the shipment of more than $2M worth of canned products on short notice as part of efforts spearheaded by the African Union.

As a leading supplier of canned food, which has been in high demand during the pandemic, CPFI has responded to the global demand for its products. To meet requirements, the company continued to operate its Philippine factories while optimising its work with its 14 tollers globally so that requirements would be met.

The company’s coordination with toll manufacturers were mainly conducted through video calls and 24-hour messaging. As a key food supplier to retailers and governments, CPFI saw significant sales growth not only in the Asia-Pacific region (where sales were tripled) but also in the Middle East (40% growth) and North America and Europe (over 90% combined growth). For the March to July 2020 period, CPFI’s sales increased to a sustained 40% growth in the Philippines and over 80% worldwide.

Watch the interview below to know more about their winning product: