If there’s anything good that came out of this quarantine, it’s the growing number of people who are coming to realize their entrepreneurial potential. With the pandemic affecting the majority of our livelihoods, a lot of us are forced to get our creative juices flowing and think of the many ways we can turn our skills into something profitable—hence the noticeable rise in online businesses dominated by those who love to cook, bake, and craft anything and everything under the sun. Case in point: The Drink Shop, a bottled beverage business owned by 22-year-old Bien Canunayon, who started his venture with only a five-thousand-peso budget.
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“The idea of putting up your own business is a really big risk. But given the situation now, I think this is the best time to use your creativity in putting up your dream business,” Bien tells Preview, whose job as a video editor was also put on hold when the Enhanced Community Quarantine was enforced in Metro Manila. Being based in Cavite with no means to come to work, he focused his efforts and used up his small savings to jumpstart his own business instead. Using a capital of five thousand pesos, which he used to release two initial flavors: Avocado Loco (P70) and Watermelon & Mango Delight (P65), he was able to turn its early profit into another batch for sale—and the rest is history.
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According to Bien, it also saved him a lot of money since he was able to use his creative skills in terms of producing the needed marketing materials for The Drink Shop. “As a Multimedia Arts graduate, my creative skills helped me a lot in putting up this business. I create all the social media materials for posting, video edits, photography, and also the labels and the packaging of my product. I saved a lot of my budget because I was able to do the creative side of my business on my own,” he reveals. “I also made sure that our labels and packaging are as aesthetically pleasing as possible, so everyone could get their Instagram-worthy content.”
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The Drink Shop, which initially only had two fruit-based beverages, has expanded to offer a bevy of milk tea flavors, including their best-selling Kokoa Seiji (P89), a creamy chocolate-infused milk tea; and Ryukyu Okinawa (P85), a classic Okinawa-flavored drink for milk tea loyalists.
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“The Drink Shop is your go-to drink in a bottle,” Bien says of his brand. “I wanted it to be a place where you could find all the drinks that you're craving. Be it a healthy fruit drink, a creamy blend of milk tea, or a soothing bottle of coffee—it’s a literal haven to quench your thirst.”
For orders and inquiries, send The Drink Shop a message on Instagram @thedrinkshopmnl.
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