Nanay Catherine A. Rugnao is a Balik-TSPI (returning client) on December 2020 from Vigan Branch. She has four children, two of which are already professionals. She was married to late Jershon Rugnao, whom she greatly owes the “Kap Salt-making factory” business, the only registered Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-certified salt factory in town.
Nanay Catherine and her late husband lived in San Sebastian, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, a place known for salt production because of its river “Kulintipayan”. Historically, salt producer would gather the river’s most uppermost layer of sediment to extract naturally occurring salt. Basically, the couple started by selling salt in neighboring barangays and registered their business in 1999. However, the couple made a big decision on 2001 to start their small factory utilizing an alternative manufacturing facility that made the salt production faster and easier. They invested in a water generator equipment to produce desired coarse-fine texture of salt commonly utilized in commercial and household settings. They employed 5 workers then. In 2010, they decided to transfer their factory to a procured site closer to the sea, from which the saltwater required for production was obtained. A year after their transfer, they constructed additional manufacturing facility. This meant employing 6 more workers and producing more salt. Consequently, more wholesale vendors were catered to distribute bulk quantities of salt to their clientele across various municipalities of Ilocos Sur. As the salt-making factory grew, they were being assisted by Department of Science and
Technology (DOST) and the Department of Trade Industry (DTI) in improving their label and packaging. They attended training to enhance product branding which made a very significant identity for their business.
Digital Marketing of the Product
Nanay Catherine started promoting their product through “Friendster” in 2009. Until the Facebook platform was introduced to her in 2010, she had already focused on posting their product on her personal Facebook account. Her son also helped out in the digital marketing of their product by creating business FB Page on the first quarter of 2020. Little did they know this promotion through social media would make their product known even during the pandemic. There were teacher groups, LGU team and parishioners who searched for them to purchase salt to be given away as “ayuda”. With their product posted in social media, Client Catherine received queries for the possible supply of salt in the Visayas region and other places. However, with limited
production, they were not able to comply with the great volume needed. As they foresaw a bigger demand for salt, last year (2022), Nanay Catherine deliberately employed an additional
eleven workers, a total of 22 workers.
Kap Salt-making Factory is truly a legacy from the Client’s late husband. Her family stays committed to the business’ higher goal – to provide quality salt and provide livelihood in their community.
