Market insight fuels CDO’s commitment to innovation

Family values and customer insight are among the key factors that drive CDO Foodsphere, Inc.’s longevity. According to president and CEO Jerome D. Ong, listening to the market was what led them to some of their bestsellers, like the jumbo hotdog with cheese.

“We noticed that many consumers eat their hot dogs with cheese, so we said, why don’t we save them the trouble of looking for cheese to put on their hot dogs?” he said in an October 2025 interview.

The first cheese dog, which came in a clear-colored casing, was offered from 1993 to 1994. The red-colored variant debuted between 2007 to 2010.

“When it comes to cheese hotdogs, I’m pleased to share that we’ve been the market leaders for a long time,” he added.

CDO was founded 50 years ago by Ong matriarch and Mr. Ong’s mother, Corazon D. Ong.

Her purpose was not to build a company but rather help augment the family income. The business started small, operating from home, after Ms. Ong took short courses on making longganisa (a Filipino sausage) and tocino (a cured pork dish). Her husband Jose joined her in the business a few years after.

Mr. Ong now runs the company together with his siblings Charmaine, who handles corporate purchasing and treasury, and Jason, who heads both corporate social responsibility and the emerging business arm.

CHALLENGES AND LESSONS
The company learned lessons borne from challenges over the years, Mr. Ong said.

The first is the “big headache” of credit risk.

“When we were rather small, uncollected debts really put pressure on our cash flow and finances,” he told BusinessWorld. “We learned to put control measures in place to establish credit limits, [and] to do our due diligence before extending credit.”

Another is supply chain issues, such as logistical disruptions that increased shipping time by up to 20 days which led to the company diversifying its source of raw materials like meat.

A third one is the war on talent, which prompted the company to improve its hiring process and retention program.

Their staff care about the company because management demonstrates that it cares for their welfare, Mr. Ong also said.

During the pandemic, he said, CDO operated at full throttle, so everyone who wanted to work was able to. Food, vitamins, and transportation were likewise provided for.

“If we want our people to have malasakit [the Filipino value of showing concern and empathy], we have to walk the talk and show that we have malasakit for them,” he added.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
The biggest ongoing challenge, however, is market competition.

“We continue to stay relevant by developing products – or improving existing products – to meet the evolving preferences of consumers,” Mr. Ong said.

One insight gleaned from the company’s market research, for instance, led to the formulation of its Karne Norte corned beef.

“Research told us that it’s not just the taste of the product that attracts customers,” he told BusinessWorld. “Aroma is an important factor too, because once the consumer opens the can, the first thing he or she notices is the aroma, so we made sure that Karne Norte had that flavorful aroma.”

Another insight came from the dwindling sales of its now-shelved hamonado (flavored smoked pork sausage), which used to be a bestseller in the 1990s.

When it gradually lost its relevance as new types of longganisa emerged in the market, the company tried to revive sales of the hamonado by offering promos and samplings, but to no avail.

“We can keep on nurturing a brand, but we cannot fall in love with it,” Mr. Ong said. “When the market says, ‘time is up,’ we just have to pull the plug and move on.”

CDO’s goal is for its brands to be patronized by nine out of 10 Filipino households in five years, up from the current six out of 10.

Mr. Ong says this goal, as well as the challenge of taking on the future, is doable with the guidance of the core family values that brought them to where they are.

“The most successful companies continue to thrive and flourish and enter new avenues of growth even after the founders have retired,” he said.

“What’s important for us is to prepare the next generation of family members, the next generation of leaders, to future-proof the company for the next 50 years and beyond.” — Patricia B. Mirasol