Bacolod’s Merzci markets its way to nationwide success

By Edg Adrian A. Eva, Reporter

MERZCI, a household name in Bacolod City’s pasalubong (souvenir) food scene, credits its nationwide success to a relentless marketing push that transformed it from a small bakery into a multi-branch enterprise.

Founded in 1995 by Jonathan Manuel T. Lo, a marketing specialist turned entrepreneur, Merzci has grown from a single stall in Bacolod’s Libertad Market into a 73-branch brand recognized across the Philippines.

Its signature product, piaya — a local flatbread filled with muscovado — remains a bestseller, with daily production reaching 150,000 pieces thanks to heavy investments in automation.

“Our goal is not to be No. 1, but to be top of mind,” Neslie Anne L. Sibayan, the company’s public relations and event coordinator, told BusinessWorld in Filipino during a recent site visit to their Bacolod City factory. “When people think of pasalubong, we want them to think of Merzci.”

Ms. Sibayan said the brand’s marketing playbook is built on consistency and visibility. “We’re aggressive. We invest in advertisements, re-run ads on Facebook and other social media platforms, and stay active in business conventions,” she said.

That strategy has paid off in an increasingly competitive market dominated by heritage brands and regional players. Even during the pandemic, Merzci kept brand recall through digital engagement and community initiatives.

The company also extends its presence beyond traditional retail. It recently joined the Department of Science and Technology’s Disaster Preparedness Visayas Leg event in Bacolod as one of the featured exhibitors — part of its broader effort to align with government and institutional programs.

Apart from breads, Merzci expanded into nutritious food production in 2023, making fortified food products for schools and local government clients, Maria Alicia M. Beba, the company’s research and development manager, told BusinessWorld.

“Since they saw that we had the capacity, facilities and resources, they decided to invest in us to make products like fortified rice,” she said, referring to their supply partnership with the Department of Education.

One of its Bacolod factories now produces iron-fortified rice, fit bars and cheese curls designed to support school feeding programs.

For the 2025–2026 school year, the company is set to produce five million fit bars, with three million more to be completed by March.