The Startup CPG Podcast

00:00
Daniel Scharff
Welcome to the Startup CPG podcast. Today we have a special bonus episode for you with our friend Jake de Leon. He is the founder of Phila Manila, which makes award winning sauces and spreads inspired by Philippines most iconic flavors. And he's also the creator of foundersheritage.org, a community of founders and global flavors. Jake recently got the incredible news that his nunut. Nunut Nuna. No, his shark Tank episode would be aired. And because we love Jake and his brand so much, we wanted to quickly serve up an episode for everybody in anticipation of the airing. There won't be any spoilers here since this is recorded before the show airs on Friday the March 1. So welcome, Jake. How are you feeling right now?

00:46
Jake Deleon
Daniel, thank you so much for having me. I've been obviously a huge part of startup CPG. I love the community you're building, and just being here, talking about the shark panting is just something that I would have dreamed of but never even thought I'd be doing. But thank you for having me. I'm doing fantastic.

01:01
Daniel Scharff
Are you, though? Are you? Tell me how you're actually doing right now. You must be getting ready for everything.

01:07
Jake Deleon
It's busy. It's kind of like batting down the hatches and prepare the defenses for the onslaught that's going to happen. Hopefully we'll see what happens.

01:16
Daniel Scharff
What is going to happen?

01:20
Jake Deleon
The shark Tank bump. You know what I mean? Hopefully we'll get some good online orders, we get some good buzz, and hopefully just at least try your best to be prepared for it. We don't get too much time to prepare for it in the lens of the CPG industry, but we'll try our best.

01:36
Daniel Scharff
Well, yes. Millions and millions of people watch shark Tank. I think probably it's one of the top shows still on. So that's super exciting there. Honestly, nothing cooler than when I see my friends going on Shark Tank and knowing what it's going to do for your business. The only two kind mean, I don't know if it's a game show, I guess more like entrepreneurship. I watch that and I watch Snake oil, which if anyone hasn't seen it, is awesome. And all of you will love it because it is loosely CPG related. It's with David Spade and he has someone on there. They have a bunch of people presenting products and half of them are fake, meaning snake oil, and the other half are real and they're very wacky.

02:13
Daniel Scharff
But it's super fun to watch because you have to try to guess which one is snake oil. I feel like I have about a 70% hit rate, which I think is pretty good because they're hired actors. They're very convincing, and they're just talking about bonkers stuff. But anyways, they don't pay us to say that, but it's a funny show, so definitely watch it. David Spade is hilarious. Now back to shark Tank.

02:33
Jake Deleon
All right, thanks for the tv show tip.

02:36
Daniel Scharff
Yeah, good to have some r r tv shows all. Jake, can you. Before we talk about shark tank stuff, can you just give us a primer on who is Jake, who is Phil Manila?

02:47
Jake Deleon
Yeah, of course. I'll start back from a very brief, kind of like us in a nutshell and a history. So I'm a first generation filipino american immigrant, Daniel. So my opening joke is that in my case, that means I was born in the Philippines and raised in the exotic land of New Jersey. But I think with most immigrant families, especially filipino families, food was always an important part of our household. It was the center of our house, the kitchen. And so my earliest memory in the food business was helping my mom and grandmother make these filipino delicacies in our kitchen because we would resell them to friends and family for extra family income. I think we didn't have a lot of money growing up, so any way that we could bring money into the house is always amazing.

03:26
Jake Deleon
But life is ironic because I end up working for food as a career, working in big CPG companies like Procter Gamble and Starbucks with these giant food brands, Pringles, Iams, pet foods, and know, Starbucks beverages. But with most crazy entrepreneurs that you've interviewed and that we met along the way. I'm a builder. I like to create, and so I left that world behind. And then I started my first startup, which is not Phil of Manila, but it was actually a beverage company called Origin Almond. So it was like almond milk. And I started that in a table at a farmers market in know. I built that to distribution with Walmart, with Whole Foods. Even Kraft Heinz was their earliest investor through their accelerator. But were doing really well up until March of 2020.

04:13
Jake Deleon
And you can kind of guess what happened in the lens of the lockdowns and of COVID so much of our revenue was tied to store traffic. Once that store traffic went away, our revenues declined, like, jeez, I'd say, like 80% over six weeks.

04:26
Daniel Scharff
Did it sound like this?

04:29
Jake Deleon
It did, yeah. But a lot more scarier at the march and April. What in the world, right? But so, sadly, we made the choice to discontinue origin almond just because nobody knew what was going to happen. During that period moving forward in the industry, and there was just a lot of going on. But I look back at that period with full gratitude now, right? It's like, number one, were refrigerated. We sold off all of our inventory. Number two, look, we all had friends with businesses 20 times larger than our own that lost everything overnight. And lastly, look in the lens of what was happening in the world. Like, I didn't get sick. My parents didn't get sick at the time. So it's hard to feel sorry for yourself when the world was in a lot of pain.

05:09
Jake Deleon
But I'd say everything happens for a reason, I believe. And so, if that didn't happen, the founding of Phila Manila would not have happened as well. And the story goes that it was in May of 2020. You remember that fun time we had, the running death counts on tv and all this stuff going on? I saw an article. The article in the paper said in some areas of us, 20% of the healthcare workforce fighting on the front lines of COVID were Filipino. And it's an inside joke in most filipino families because we have these, like, seven cousins who are nurses, except for me, right, in the food business. But it was kind of that weird fact that made me inspired to do more research on my community, like, who I grew up, us.

05:50
Jake Deleon
And it turns out we are a thing in the second largest asian american group at the time, the largest in eleven states, including California. But I came from CPG, and I was like, wait a minute. This is true. Why is it when you go to all these national grocery stores, there's actually no filipino cuisine on the shelf, even though the cuisine itself is, like, growing in popularity? And so that was kind of, like, the spark that started Phila Manila. So, in true immigrant grit, I used my stimulus check, I built the first prototypes, and I sold it into retail during that summer of 2020. In fall of 2020, we launched the brand in Whole Foods Northeast. So, long story short, we launched in one store, one product line, fall 2020.

06:29
Jake Deleon
In the years since then, we've expanded to three award winning product lines with national distribution, with retailers like Whole Foods, Target, Meyer, stop and shop. And based on spins data, we're actually the number one filipino american food brand in the US, with Filipino being the fastest growing global flavor. So it's an exciting time to be where we are now. It's not easy, but it is exciting.

06:50
Daniel Scharff
That is amazing. Oh, that's so cool. I never knew that story. So, man, it sounds like you guys got out to market really fast. What was the product development process, like, who did it? And can you just also tell everybody a little bit more about your product lines?

07:08
Jake Deleon
Yeah. So our very first product line during that 2020 year was a line of cooking sauces. And the reason we started with cooking sauces is, my idea is, like, we got to come out with something that represents Filipino cuisine. Right. That was the whole gist of the concept. And, like, thinking back in my childhood, most of our dishes in the Philippines were mostly, like, stewed based dishes, like meat, some veggies, and some sort of a sauce. So I figured a simmer sauce would be the logical kind of first step with our unique filipino dish flavors. And so the development was pretty straightforward. I just used the recipes my mom and dad had, and then I just kind of, like, tweaked it for commercialization. Right. Because I was familiar with the industry.

07:48
Jake Deleon
I know what kind of tweaks you have to do for copackers like the PHS and stuff like that. And then we launched a product right away, just as an MVP to get it out into the market. And that was the very first product was, like, a line of three cooking sauces inspired by popular filipino flavors or dishes. Since then, we just went a bit excited with new products. And then we launched our condiment, which is a banana ketchup, a very iconic philippine condiment. And then we then launched a line of our spreads. And our spreads are based on Ube. It's the flavor of the year, according to the New York Times, and the recent flavor house, I forget, for 2024.

08:24
Daniel Scharff
And what does it taste like?

08:27
Jake Deleon
It smells like a nice, creamy vanilla with hints of sweet potato. It's hard to explain, but it's taking social media by storm because it's a beautiful purple hue. But we make the only ube in the US that's clean label and nationally distributed, so it's very exciting.

08:42
Daniel Scharff
Oh, that's cool. Oh, I can't wait to try it. It's cool hearing you talk about that. I can hear that you're good at this. It really sounds like most people would not come in with that level of knowledge already starting out. So I know you'll have had a lot of lessons learned along the way, but probably anybody listening is like, oh, yeah, he's got this. So what did you learn, though, between the first product line and the second and the third about how to launch a product line out into market. What did you learn how to do better?

09:14
Jake Deleon
Yeah, for sure. And thank you, Daniel. Like, I gotta say, my strengths, I'm really good at impression, not you.

09:22
Daniel Scharff
I thought you were going to say impressions. I was like, oh, do me.

09:26
Jake Deleon
Not impressions, but impression. But I'd say it's really a lot of lessons because we moved really fast, as mentioned. Right? Like, we did all the development within two months in the summer of 2020, and we just got the product out on the shelf within the same time period, like, within months. And so a couple of lessons that we learned is that, oh, man, maybe it's just a founder vision. We just get so lost in our dreams and what we think is going to happen because I get so excited about our vision, about, like, oh, my God, a filipino food everyone loves. It's amazing. It's going to be the next japanese food, which is true, but maybe it takes some time. So what I learned is that when he first went to market is, like, not everyone knows about the cuisine.

10:08
Jake Deleon
I mean, they may know Filipinos, but they are not familiar with the cuisine. So there was a lot of education that needed to be done in the early stages. Right. And if you think about 2020, 2021, you really couldn't do, like, store demos, right? Remember that period? And then. So you had to find different ways to educate consumers. And it was definitely a slow burn in the beginning.

10:27
Daniel Scharff
I don't know why I just remembered this, but I think around May of 2020 that you brought up before when all of. Oh, my God. The lockdown stuff and the fear was just wild. My family actually was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal because they had created this Covid, not a bunker, but just like, a really great way for my family to get together outdoors. My parents had gotten all these heaters. They put a bubble up around their pool. And the funniest thing in that article, I think it was talking about how they were microwaving the newspapers when they came in because we just didn't know. Do you remember the early days? And everyone's like, oh, I have to take my shoes off when I get home outside because I don't know if I have Covid on my shoes.

11:08
Jake Deleon
I remember going to the whole. Remember going to the whole foods, and it was like preparing for, like, a SWAT mission. Do you know what.

11:15
Daniel Scharff
Wanted when we came out of COVID I wanted to have a pantry party where everyone would bring the weird stuff that they bought that first load up shopping trip because of what was just the only stuff that was left on shelves. Like, all right, everyone bring that stuff that, you know, you're never actually going to eat. We'll have a party, and everybody will try to figure out how to eat it. Well, man, really interesting environment for you to have launched and excelled in. Wait, hold on. Let me just think for a second.

11:48
Jake Deleon
Yeah.

11:49
Daniel Scharff
The editor will cut this out. Let me think about the next thing I want to go into. Okay. So from your background, Jake, you were really well prepared, I think, to do this. Nobody is perfectly prepared because there are so many learnings along the way, even when you come around to do it your second or third time. But can you talk a little bit about how your background as a brand manager at Procter Gamble and a category manager at Starbucks prepared you for this and also how those perspectives influenced your approach?

12:21
Jake Deleon
Yeah, it's a really good question. And I've been asked this before, and, yeah, for sure, that background definitely prepares you for what we do in our industry now. Right. So it just familiarizes yourself with all the functions needed to manage a product. When I say functions, think about supply chain finance, r and d, marketing. Right? So, I mean, we're usually, as brand managers, we're a jack of all trades, not really a master of one. So we're familiar with all parts of it. That said, I will say there are definitely aspects of entrepreneurship that nothing can prepare you for. Right. So, I mean, for example, you work in corporate, you work in CPG, but you still need that grit to call the grocery buyer to kind of get your shelves merchandised properly. Just a lot of things that, it's tough. Right?

13:10
Jake Deleon
And so even if you don't come from that corporate background, you still have to learn a lot of things and get humbled in many ways when you're launching your own brand. And then I say, too, it's like, hey, if what coming from a background in CPG equates to success, it's not true at all, because, as you know, some of the most successful entrepreneurs in our Field, they don't have any CPG experience at all. Right? It's like they just have a lot of that real, true entrepreneurial grit. Really good at sales. They know their product. They know their audience. So CPG helps, but it's not a key to success by all.

13:46
Daniel Scharff
Like, Procter Gamble is known as the top place to go and be a brand manager to get training, right? Like, if you're in business school, like all my friends there were trying to get jobs at P G, and then you get the best possible training there, right? And then you're kind of minted. You can go and be a brand manager anywhere you want. Were there a couple things that you really picked up there that you could share with.

14:12
Jake Deleon
I think, you know, the benefit with that company, P G. Is that when you enter, they assume you know nothing about marketing. It's fascinating. And so they really train you from step zero all the way up to, hopefully, you become the CEO. That's how their thinking is. And so, as an undergrad, I was an art student. So when I came to the company, it's like, I really didn't know that much about marketing. Based on what I just saw on tv and articles, I would say some of the key lessons that we could apply even today as entrepreneurship, is, number one, just really understand who your audience is. Like, who are the people that are willing to buy your product and who are going to be the evangelists, right.

14:50
Jake Deleon
Who are going to be super excited and are going to buy more and more of it as you come up with new products, right. And number two, it's like, really just identify what is your product differentiation. But it's like a general marketing thing, what makes your product so unique that it stands out against either competitors or within the category you play in. And so with Phil and Manila, were really fortunate because we didn't come out with another granola. We didn't come out with another salsa. It's something so unique and dare I say weird in a good way where it's difficult to ignore it if you're the audience. So if you're a buyer from a grocery store and you're looking at your asian set and it's, you know, Jake says, second largest asian american group, but, oh, that's weird.

15:34
Jake Deleon
I actually don't have any filipino stuff here. It looks like he's the only thing in, you know, it makes you more likely to be part of that set. So finding that differentiation and solving a problem for the person who's receiving it is always key to making a good sales transaction.

15:52
Daniel Scharff
That's pretty interesting. I think a lot of the time, I think back on my days in big CPG, I'm like, oh, those guys don't know anything about emerging CPG. They wouldn't know how to do this. But actually, when you distill that PNG learning, I'm like, yeah, that is actually the most important stuff to get right, the brand. That's pretty, you know, I imagine I just have done two interviews, actually, with a couple buyers, one from Dwight from town and country, and then Jonathan from freshtime. And actually, both of them mentioned very specifically their dedication to getting the asian set right, because they have a lot of asian consumers. They overindux on that, and they need to have a great assortment.

16:30
Daniel Scharff
And so I imagine that buyers especially are really receptive to a product that speaks to filipino heritage like yours, and is just so interesting. So I imagine that has helped you get a lot of traction and just, yeah, congrats to you for that. And then just overall, because you have all of this experience, you were based in Asia, right?

16:52
Jake Deleon
Oh, yeah. For my corporate, I was living abroad.

16:54
Daniel Scharff
For, like, okay, so for people who haven't spent any time in foreign markets and maybe, can you just help them imagine what the biggest differences would between Asia versus the US?

17:07
Jake Deleon
Well, it's hard to say because even honestly, in Asia, the different countries are just so unique from each other as well. So I'll give you an example. So when I was at P G, the assignment I worked on for Pringles was specifically for Pringles, Japan. And so working in a japanese market, it's like, oh, my gosh, it's probably one of the toughest retail environments in the world. Like, similar to Canada, very few retailers, so a lot of power is controlled by a few key players. And number two, the local competition was so intense, as in, for example, japanese brands. The quality is incredible, so delicious, really good price. And so competing with an imported, for example, a us brand like Pringles, was really difficult to fight against kind of the local powerhouses. And so the biggest difference really is, like, country by country.

17:57
Jake Deleon
But in essence, it always boils down to, like we talked about your differentiation, whether it be price, whether it be your positioning or even your product. And how does that resonate with the target audience you're trying to get to buy your even, you know, at P G is a big company. It was not an easy time for us, like, working in these nations. Like Japan, which is so different than Thailand, which is so different than Australia. Right. Because it's such a different battlefield, quote unquote, in every.

18:23
Daniel Scharff
It's something I really would love to try to understand better over the next couple of years is what is it like to be a startup CPG in China or Japan, or like, a lot of other emerging markets as well around the world, like India. I spent a bunch of time in Asia, I mean, specifically China, with Mars chocolate. So I got a sense of what it's like to be a big CPG there, but I have no, like, is there an ecosystem that helps support, know, what are your chances, like, there versus here? I'd be super interested. Hopefully we can learn more about that together in the coming years. But back to Phila Manila. So one thing that I have been pretty impressed by from you guys is your TikTok strategy.

19:06
Daniel Scharff
Could you talk a little bit about it and what's been the most viral stuff?

19:11
Jake Deleon
Yeah, for sure. So I think it's a no brainer out there, but a lot of folks are really bullish on the power of micro video, specifically on TikTok. Right. I mean, we've seen this huge emergence with brands having a lot of success, and I'm in awe of the people that built their businesses on TikTok. I'm just fascinated by it. Just people who just make TikToks, and they build these million dollar businesses. And so if you look about what we're doing on the company, it's funny because we have two TikTok accounts. We have a company one, and we have my account, which is kind of like founder of Philip Manila. Right. Phila Jake. That's my TikTok handle.

19:46
Jake Deleon
And what we learn is that the angle that we go with on Philadelphia, more talks about this idea of representation, like filipino food representation, finally in grocery stores, and also the entrepreneurial journey, and just kind of like these stories along the way. And those are the kind of angles that seem to resonate with a lot of the audiences. So I'll give you an example. I think one of our most highest viewed TikToks, a few hundred thousand views, was surprising my mom with our launch at Target. I saw that one. It was great products at Target. And then we just surprised my mom because she was just shopping there. She loves to shop at Target. And then she was, like, passing by the asian section. He was like, oh, my God. And then my mom has funny reactions with any filipino mom.

20:30
Jake Deleon
So it was really good to have on camera, but it's obviously a very touching moment, because never in her wildest screams would she imagine what she went through or my dad went through as immigrants. And then her children would finally have something that's on a national kind of like a high level in terms of retail distribution.

20:47
Daniel Scharff
That's wonderful. I was talking to Vanessa from Jaju Pierogi in an episode that'll come out pretty soon about her TikTok strategy. And one of the things she mentioned is that content that does really well is things that resonate with people that they could see themselves in. And I could imagine that I did see that TikTok, and it was incredible. And I think we get the feeling of, like. And, gosh, I would love to be able to do that with my mom, or that's the kind of person that I would be if I had that success is, I would do this video with my mom, and, well, anyone who knows me knows I do have my mom a lot of videos also. You can check her out on the startup CPG Instagram. She's a very fun and willing participant.

21:26
Daniel Scharff
But I think it's warming to people for that reason because they share that kind of connection with their parents or they want to. Right. It makes sense why that kind of content would perform really well just kind of randomly. Yesterday, I was watching a funny youtuber. There's this guy who is just, like, super white dude, and he is completely fluent in Mandarin and I think a couple dialects as well. And so the videos are just of him in China at some very local establishment, just, like, ordering food. And the way that people look at him are just as if he has three heads. Just so surprised that he can speak Mandarin so well.

22:08
Daniel Scharff
And I think, why do I like, you know, I spent a lot of time learning Spanish and Portuguese, and I like that about myself, that I can speak those languages and go in and so watching that, I just am envisioning myself like, oh, God, wouldn't that be cool? And it resonates with me being able to do that. There was also a very funny video that he posted yesterday where he surprised another youtuber, who the other youtuber's channel is him just walking up to people in New York and speaking Mandarin to them and their confusion. And he found out the guy was recording in Washington Square park, and he went there and planted himself there. So the guy finally came over and tried to confuse him and Mandarin, and he just looks at him and he's like, oh, you're looking for water?

22:52
Daniel Scharff
Like, it's over there. And the guy's like, wait, what? I've never seen this. Anyways, total aside, but I watched that yesterday and found it funny. All right, so speaking of good content, let's get to the meat of it. Let's get to shark tank. So can you just tell us from the beginning, man, how did this happen? It's so cool. Can you take us through the journey of how did you learn about it? How did you get up the confidence to apply for it and take on probably fairly rigorous application process?

23:25
Jake Deleon
Yeah. Well, first I got to say, I've been a fan of the show for years. We're talking since season three or four. I remember watching the show when I was based overseas working in corporate. It's like, oh, wow, this is really cool. I love the fact that these people are just bearing their soul on this carpet, getting publicly embarrassed and stuff like that. It takes a lot of guts, right? And I got to say, I told the folks as well of the team, it was one of the reasons that made me do the leap from corporate to entrepreneurship. I mean, obviously it was not the only shark tank, but it just really inspired me. I love listening to everyone's stories. I learned from their pitches. I just learned from how the sharks ask questions. Just different ways to frame entrepreneurship.

24:08
Jake Deleon
Like, what do you go through? So it was always like a dream to go on the actual show because my parents were fans too. Like my mom, my dad, they would watch too. And so when I started origin omen, I applied and I didn't get it. And then with Phil Manila, I actually applied, just like with any other person online. Oh, actually, I think I applied. I emailed Mindy because I had Mindy. I know Mindy was a guest. Mindy is known everywhere in the industry because I had her email back from my origin omen days. And then like, hey, mindy, I heard this crazy thing and I think I first applied in 2021, but the casting thought it was probably too early. Didn't get much traction. 2022, I tried again. I'm like, I emailed, like, hey, we're still here. This is what we did.

24:52
Jake Deleon
And then 2023, last year, I emailed them again. I think it was shortly after Expo west. I'm like, hey, I'm still in business. I'm still alive. This is what's going on. This is our traction. You're like, oh, cool, yeah, let's go through this. So I guess third time is a charm. So the whole process started spring of last year, shortly after.

25:12
Daniel Scharff
That's awesome. Yeah, we did a webinar with Mindy, who's the casting supervisor for Shark Tank. She said actually, the record for number of times applying before somebody got in was eleven. I think one person applied eleven times and then finally got accepted. So I definitely appreciate keeping at it. And for anybody looking to contact Mindy, I think you can get her on Instagram. Also, if you just look for Mindy casting, and she is super nice and really engages with people. The webinar we did with her was one of the best attended ones we've ever done. Unfortunately, weren't able to record it, but it just had so many brands and she knew so many of them. And she does walk around Expo west and a bunch of other places. So good to contact her and that's great.

25:59
Daniel Scharff
Okay, so you did the application process and then what was it like getting through the successive rounds?

26:06
Jake Deleon
So it is a lot of work without going too much detail. It's basically like going through due diligence if you're working with a potential investor. So you have to be very transparent with where your business is at in terms of traction financials, like where do you think you're heading into some of the headwinds you're facing. And they also want to make sure that you really understand your business as well. And I think that's one of the intentions of the process. They want to see if the entrepreneur really has a good grasp on their numbers. What are they actually selling? What is the product you're selling? The differentiation, do they have a compelling story? Right. So it's a tv show.

26:42
Jake Deleon
So you have to kind of build this really interesting story about yourself and the products and your company to make an interesting story that they can interpret on tv. Right. If you think about it in that lens. Right. And so there was a very long process of that, and it is quite exhaustive, but in a good way because it teaches you as an entrepreneur to learn more about your business. So that went on for a few months, I'd say. And then if you're lucky enough, you get the notice to fly out to film the.

27:14
Daniel Scharff
So I know you know what happened because you were on the show, but we don't, you know, obviously there's a pretty strict NDA that shark Tank makes you sign, so that it's really a surprise when it actually airs finally. But when you were thinking about the valuation before you were filming this and going into them, how did you think about doing it? Because I know they expect a deal. Right. That's what the whole show is about. And especially in the current environment, they're probably even a lot tougher on people. So how were you prepared for that discussion?

27:50
Jake Deleon
Well, luckily I've been a fan of the show. So I've seen so many past entrepreneurs and also in the food business as well, right. Come in with their valuation and their rationale behind it as well. So I came up with our valuation just based on what we raised at the point, our traction and kind of like the cultural impact and really unique differentiations about our business and our product, right. So it's not just another granola, it's not just another salsa. This is something really unique. It's really interesting. And so you come into the show and then you expect that you have to negotiate, and then you're familiar with how the sharks negotiate as well.

28:26
Jake Deleon
So you have to come in with that mentality, because if you do make a deal, you're probably starting from way up here, and they're going to want to bring you way down here, right? So you have to think about the mentality of being somewhere in the middle. And somewhere in the middle should hopefully beneficial for both sides because there's obviously benefits of working with them. And you can bring your own things to the table as well with your product.

28:48
Daniel Scharff
I cannot wait to watch you negotiate with them on there. There are a couple of memories that I have from friends, from our community that just came rushing back to mind for me. One was quan from prickly, so they tried to negotiate with him, and, you know, like, Mr. Wonderful will always jump in with some absolute horseshit deal, like, okay, I want $0.20 for the rest of your life and then your first born and all of this stuff. And in return, I'll give you almost nothing. You better take this. But he spun it so cleverly, and he was just like, well, let me ask you, how am I going to be able to be successful as a company if I'm not going to be able to have enough money to run it?

29:31
Daniel Scharff
Because this is just like, a ridiculously low valuation and a small amount of money you're giving me. Like, how am I going to be able to then have the capital to grow this? He said it much better than I did, but it was just such a smart turn of it. And then watching Sandra Velasquez on there was epic because they tried to negotiate with her, and she was just like, nope, I know my worth, and I'm not negotiating this down at all. And she didn't get a deal on there because she wouldn't negotiate. But, man, I think she came out looking the best out of almost anybody for it. It was just like, whoa. That's a pro. She knows how much her business is worth, and she still got aired on Shark Tank, which is what you need more than anything.

30:09
Daniel Scharff
And, gosh, that was impressive.

30:11
Jake Deleon
Well, I got to say. So I applaud those entrepreneurs because they are amazing, because it's hard to imagine what it's like until you're actually there. So the best way to describe it is, like, imagine you watch jeopardy and you know all the answers, but if you're actually on the stage with a thingy, it's very different, right?

30:30
Daniel Scharff
Somebody said one thing they didn't anticipate is how cold it is actually on the set.

30:36
Jake Deleon
Well, one thing is surprising to me is that when you walk onto the stage, it's like I was expecting to see all the camera crew and people like, no, you don't see anyone. You just see five really larger than life personalities in front of you. And I've been watching the show for like a decade, right? So I know these people. Like, oh, my God, I know them. I know. But you can't act crazy.

30:58
Daniel Scharff
So that's what was going through your mind is like, I know them.

31:01
Jake Deleon
I know. Like, ask for their autograph. You're about know, Jake, stay in that thing and then I'll tell you when to.

31:07
Daniel Scharff
Man, that's mean. One other anecdote was, so Mark Cuban actually is really famous for being very responsive to, like, you can kind of find his email out there. And I cold emailed him out of the blue and he responded and it was amazing. And even I started this program teaching kids in public schools across the country how to become beverage entrepreneurs. And so I was recording the digital curriculum. And actually, I think you got involved in that also to help teach a lesson for them. And I just sent him an email about it and he just sent me back a video for it. And it's so cool.

31:44
Daniel Scharff
It's him at a table and he sings the shark Tank theme song and then says, hey, kids, like, I'm Mark Cuban from Shark Tank, and I hope your kids shark tank goes really well and that you do so well that you can come onto the show and hopefully replace Mr. Wonderful and save me from. It's so, it's so funny. And you can actually hear the national anthem in the background because he recorded it during one of the home playoff games that the Mavericks were playing. I was like, oh, my gosh, what a baller. But such a nice guy to take time out and actually do mean he really, he won't get on a call with you. He's going to engage with random people, but he will answer emails. He's very prolific in that, which is super cool.

32:27
Jake Deleon
He's a legend. Love what he's doing with cost. Plus. The drug company is amazing.

32:31
Daniel Scharff
Yeah, I totally agree. And then the other one that just came to mind was Rosa from Wild Wonder. I don't know if you've seen her episode, but for sure it was the thing that convinced me that I would never want to go on Shark Tank because she has a great product. I will say, honestly, it's one of the products that if I'm going and getting a sandwich from Erwan or something, that's one of the things that I would personally buy to have with my meal because it's flavorful and it's like clean ingredients and it looks beautiful. And the actual flavors are great, also. And so she was on there. I'm like, man, she's going to kill it. Her brand is just absolutely ripping. She's got incredible distribution, and they gave her such a tough time. I couldn't blame, like, are you guys crazy?

33:15
Daniel Scharff
Like, this brand is amazing. It was like, well, that's it. I'm definitely never going on there. So I really applaud you and your bravery for going on there. So, without telling us what happened, did you feel like it was fair, a fair experience? Were they, I would say, kind with you? Were they harsh with you? Did you feel like you were under attack, or did you feel.

33:44
Jake Deleon
Mean? The experience itself was amazing. Like, incredible. I mean, it was so overwhelming. So I talked to an entrepreneur that's been on there before, Caitlin from pulp pantry, and she gave a really good advice, because once you're done with the pitch, you're just so overwhelmed with emotion to write a journal. I never write journals in my life, and I wrote a six page journal just because of so much craziness that happened during that session. But to answer your question, completely fair. I mean, their questions they asked were very what you would expect, not only from the sharks, but just from any serious investor. Right. So that's why it's important you know your numbers. You can defend your business, because they know nothing about your business before you step onto the carpet.

34:26
Jake Deleon
And then what I will say, though, is that it's different, because instead of walking or going to a call with some vcs in the food world, you're stepping in front of five people who are millionaires and billionaires who know what's going on. They're all entrepreneurs. They know what's going on. Right. So be prepared, because at the same time, it's not like, oh, let me just wait until they ask a question, then I'll ask my questions. No, they are. All of them are talking over each other, and then they get upset if you don't answer their questions. So there's a lot of crazy stuff. So you're playing the moderator, you're playing the entrepreneur, and then you're also being kind of like the fortune teller, because you know where the conversation is leading, and you want to lead them away from it.

35:06
Jake Deleon
At the same time, Daniel, you have to remember, like, holy poop, I'm on tv, so you can't look crazy. Right. There's so many things happening in your head at the same time. It's just like, there's a lot of stuff that you're going through on this page. So.

35:22
Daniel Scharff
Man, that's incredible.

35:23
Jake Deleon
And maybe we could get you to.

35:25
Daniel Scharff
Actually read that journal entry once the thing goes live. I think that would be a really cool thing to have here on the podcast.

35:32
Jake Deleon
Well, I'm sure you heard from the other founders that were in the show, but they actually bring back a therapist to see you after the pitch. Everyone gets to see a therapist, and their therapist is basically. I joke around, but they go like, oh, my God, are you okay? But they don't say it like that. I just joke around. That's my joke. But they just want to make sure you're okay after the.

35:53
Daniel Scharff
That's who I would like to have on the podcast, is that therapist. Tell me some stories.

35:59
Jake Deleon
God, are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine.

36:05
Daniel Scharff
What do you hope will happen as a result of the show? We all want those big orders. What, for you? Would be a perfect outcome over the next couple of weeks.

36:16
Jake Deleon
Yeah. So our vision at Phila Manila is to represent the next generation of filipino american flavors. And I said, what's exciting for mean, aside from the sales bump, is I almost feel like, in a way, it's like a coming out party for filipino culture and cuisine on a premium, national level. Right? Because you never see a filipino food brand on something like shark tank. I want to show how amazing our cuisine can be and just show our dishes with millions of us households, and they know just the fact that you're on the show, that it's a premium product. Right. And then hopefully, I did justice in explaining what our culture is like, my family background, and what led us to create the brand. But on a personal note, honestly, Daniel, it's like, here's the thing.

37:02
Jake Deleon
So my mom and my dad has been a huge fan of the show. My dad passed away in 2022, and so it's just my mom and then. So I never told my mom anything about the whole experience up until a few days ago, just because I wanted to make sure I got an air date, because I just want to protect my family against disappointment, because you never know, right? And so my mom's a huge show, but in these months where I was waiting, the thing I was waiting the most and excited for was, like, I get to tell my mom that I'm going to be on shark Tank. And so for me, I was more excited about that once I got the notice that I was airing rather shopify stuff.

37:39
Jake Deleon
And I was just like, it's just something I want her to be proud because she sacrificed so much growing up for my brother and I. That the fact that she gets to see her kid on her favorite show is just mind blowing. Yeah.

37:51
Daniel Scharff
That's beautiful, man. That's incredible. I'm very sorry to hear about your father also.

37:58
Jake Deleon
Thank you.

38:02
Daniel Scharff
So what was it like telling your mom? What was her reaction?

38:04
Jake Deleon
Did you record it for TikTok also? I'm curious. Of course I did. Yes, I recorded it for TikTok. My mom has amazing reactions, like a very overreactive filipino mom. So she went like, oh, my God. And then she even tried to break my NDA. She's like, I'm your mother. Tell me who you made a deal with. Like, no, mom, ABC is going to sue me. I can't break the NBA. But it was hilarious. She's so excited. We're going to do, like, a live stream during the airing on Friday. I don't know, to get in trouble, but FaceTime, the tv screen. Because she's in the Philippines, she's retired, so she doesn't have access to ABC or Hulu.

38:42
Daniel Scharff
Oh, that's so exciting. So, yeah. What are your plans for watching the show? And then do you have any asks for everybody out there because this will be airing and a lot of people will listen to this before the show. Anything you want them to do or follow along with you somewhere or how can we help?

38:59
Jake Deleon
Yeah, for sure. So we're going to have a small airing party or viewing party. So just like some good friends, some of the team members, some family, and just folks around DC as well, just who happen to be around. My only ask is that definitely tune in. If you can't watch it on Friday night, watch it on streaming on Hulu the next day. Definitely visit all of our social media channels on Instagram, it's eat Phil Vanilla. On TikTok, it's Philadake. And like. And follow us and all that fun stuff. But try our products out. If you've never had filipino food, try experiencing it for the first time. It's pretty delicious.

39:32
Daniel Scharff
And one extra bonus for the episode, actually, is that our friends from Funky mellow are also on the.

39:40
Jake Deleon
Crazy.

39:41
Daniel Scharff
I guess you wouldn't have run into them there because who knows when they actually did their filming, right? Or maybe it was the same day, actually. I guess maybe because I guess they probably have the same sharks for each episode, right? So maybe it was filmed at least with that same set, because when they air an episode, they'll show three different brands, but the sharks are the same, possibly. All right.

40:08
Jake Deleon
Okay.

40:09
Daniel Scharff
Mystery. Mystery. I love it. But, yeah, really excited for them. You can check out an episode of theirs. If you scroll back a bit in our feed, were really lucky to host them a while back, and they are just some of the loveliest people in the world, and their product is delicious. And I hope both of you get record setting deals and make Mr. Wonderful cry and all of that. Good. And Jake, before I let you go, I just wanted to ask you also to tell us a little bit about Founders heritage.

40:41
Jake Deleon
Yeah, so thank you for asking. So, founders Heritage, it's a community of founders, specifically in the global flavor space. So we got a lot of inspiration from the community that you built. Daniel, with startup CPG, we're definitely not at the scale, obviously not at a scale of startup CPG, but it's very kind of close knit within, usually like BIPOC founders, because we make foods that are directly tied to our heritage. And so the thinking is, you know, we know the same manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, buyers, distributors might as well just kind of talk together and see how we could help specifically in the global flavor space. Right. It's just very small nuances that we know that we could help out in very specific ways. So if you are a founder of a global flavor brand that you're interested in, join.

41:26
Jake Deleon
It's free, obviously, as evidenced by our website. Just visit foundersheritage.org and then learn more and join our community.

41:32
Daniel Scharff
That's beautiful. Do you get interest from abroad for your products just because they're unique and have a global nature? So, I mean, all of the founders in your founders Heritage organization, do you guys talk to each other about that at all?

41:48
Jake Deleon
Yeah, we do. So we do get interest. I'm part of these food export programs, so there's a lot of interest from Canada and the, you know, we're still a startup. I mean, we'd love to be everything everywhere, all at once, like the movie, but we have to be conscious about where we deploy capital and where we focus. But maybe one day, hopefully we do well enough where we could find our products in different countries.

42:13
Daniel Scharff
All right, so just to end off here, is there any upcoming news or distribution coming up that you'd like people to know about? And how can people also best stay in touch and follow along your journey and learn more about Phila Manila.

42:27
Jake Deleon
Yeah, so we're just coming off the heels of a huge product transition. So we used to be in glass jars, but we moved over to pouches and squeezy bottles. So this year we're going to focus on just driving our core flavor Skus, like ube, adobo, banana, ketchup. But then new products we have lined up for 2025 will be pretty exciting. And we have a couple of new distribution use that we can announce just yet. But hopefully you'll see some exciting stuff happening in the second half of the year. But definitely follow us on social media. Eat Phil Manila on Instagram and Phylla Jake on TikTok and visit our site@philamnell.com and then hopefully you could watch our airing on Shark Tank this Friday, March 1 at 08:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time on ABC.

43:07
Daniel Scharff
All right, Jake, thank you so much for joining us. This is really a privilege to have you on in this very exciting week. And I'm super excited to check back in with you afterwards and hear everything went and celebrate and laugh and maybe cry. Who knows with you? Who knows what actually happened? But I know one thing for sure is I'm sure you made yourself and your family and all Filipino Americans really proud. I'm very confident that you would have just crushed it there. So I can't wait to watch.

43:39
Jake Deleon
Thank you, Denis, for having me. It's just an honor being on your.

43:42
Daniel Scharff
Thank you. All right, bye, everyone.