TADIAN, Mountain Province – If you are looking for good bread and pastries while in this town, visit Marie June Bakeshop, a homegrown business that has been operating for 20 years now.
Milagros Caridad Guerrero Obedoza opened Marie June Bakeshop in 2000 and in its two decades, it has consistently been serving quality and delicious breads, cookies, and cakes to its patrons.
A dentist by profession, Obedoza said she never thought she would venture into business.
She learned how to bake when she was practicing her profession in Mankayan, Benguet. Her older sister had a bakeshop in Lepanto then.
When she returned to Tadian in 1995, Obedoza started baking cakes, cheese cupcakes, banana breads, brownies, and tarts as a sideline while working as a volunteer dentist at the rural health unit.
Five years later, she decided to work as a full-time entrepreneur.
Venturing into a business has its ups and down. Obedoza said she initially incurred challenges in putting up more capital for equipment and vehicle to be used to deliver her products, but through perseverance, the bakeshop continued its operations and business has been getting better through the years.
The bakeshop gradually increased its products necessitating the hiring of more people.
In August 2014, Obedoza opened an outlet at the Tadian public market that serves as a coffee shop and product display/selling area.
To boost the business, Marie June Bakeshop applied and become a beneficiary of the Department of Science and Technology’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (Setup), the banner program of DOST that aims to assist micro, small, and medium enterprises become productive and competitive through the provision of holistic package of science and technology interventions.
The Setup assistance provided to the Marie June Bakeshop includes technology upgrading, manufacturing productivity extension consultancy, current good manufacturing practices training, and laboratory analysis.
At present, Marie June Bakeshop is supplying 100 market outlets in other towns of Mountain Province and some areas in Mankayan and Atok, Benguet with breads, carrot cakes, brownies, personalized cakes, cheese cakes, and tarts.
Obedoza is grateful to her loyal and hardworking workers, customers for their trust and patronage, and the DOST for its technical assistance.
In its 20th year, the bakeshop was recognized as the 2020 Best Provincial Setup Implementer for Mountain Province. – Carlito C. Dar with reports from DOST Mountain Province
