Innovation

Coco Craze was initiated as an entrepreneurial capstone project by De La Salle University students.

The group's objective was not only to put together a traditional business plan but also to integrate a sustainable element into the business. What they came up with was Coco Craze - a business that would provide local coconut farmers with a secondary source of income while at the same time upcycling coconut husks. The company specialized in creating candles and bowls out of these coconut husks. The candles offering had four different scents: Fresh Bamboo, English Lavender, Warm Cotton, and Coffee Bean. Manufacturing and sourcing of materials are all done locally in the Philippines. As Charlene, one of the founders of Coco Craze, stated in our interview with her:

“These candles are crafted by local artisans. As for other raw materials such as wax, fragrance oils, wicks, and other materials used in production, these are sourced from local suppliers.”

Featuring Coco Craze's Coco Bowls and Coco Candles

Inspiration

Charlene Tia, one of the company's founders, stated that the core focus of Coco Craze's operations is sustainability. Measuring the impact of sustainable practices on the environment has been the main driver for her to start this company.

For Coco Craze's products, Charlene and her business partner have been sourcing raw materials from local farmers and artisans in the Philippines. Charlene sees a business opportunity in the Philippines concerning coconut production as the country is widely regarded as one of the largest coconut producers in the world. However, only a few coconut-based products are sold in the market. The founders identified this gap as an opportunity for innovation to introduce more coconut-based items commercially and reduce waste in the coconut supply chain. This was in line with Charlene's interest in sustainability. The Coco Craze team decided to upcycle the used coconut husks into bowls and candles, ensuring no elements were discarded.

“There is a growing public awareness concerning sustainability in business practices. Businesses are now more socially conscious and ensure their operations follow sustainable practices. As an entrepreneur, I was motivated to start a company focusing on sustainability because I've seen its importance and how it can greatly impact the environment if implemented properly.”

– Charlene Tia, Founder of Coco Craze

On the other hand, it is worth noting how Coco Craze chooses to work with local communities of farmers and artisans. To reiterate, it was Charlene’s business partner who worked closely with the said community, which led to the start of this collaboration. In addition, it was previously mentioned that making an impact is the driving force behind Coco Craze; farmers and artisans can create a more sustainable livelihood by manufacturing the coconut-based products of Coco Craze. In addition, the company is also a strong advocate for the environment and empowering Filipino workers, especially in the agricultural sector.

Overall impact

Coco Craze achieves its vision and objectives of promoting product life cycle sustainability by creating saleable goods from items that are typically considered waste. Its products fill the gap in the waste management process and improve circular waste management. According to the Greenspark website of its parent company (Simula PH, 2022), Coco Craze’s sustainability efforts have contributed to CO2 avoidance equivalent to 23 years of carbon dating plants or 113,211 kilometers driven. The company has also contributed to planting trees equal to more than 1,296m² of forest area. Additionally, Coco Craze has benefited the local economy by providing locals employment with a sustainable source of income and the complex skills necessary to manufacture these products and perfect their craft.

Furthermore, Coco Craze's activities also benefit these communities from a business growth perspective by helping farmers earn more from their "trash" and showcasing the value of locally made materials.

“In the long run, the company aims to further help the said communities by providing them with a sustainable source of income.”

– Charlene Tia, Founder of Coco Craze

Apart from offering these benefits, the organization has partnered with the Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to share developments and best practices in sustainable management throughout the industry while demonstrating the company's commitment towards Sustainability.

Business benefit

Coco Craze began as a locally owned enterprise by graduates of De La Salle University Entrepreneurship program.

The business idea was to sell coconut-based goods. Coconut husks are sourced from local farmers in various provinces in the Philippines, such as Kidapawan in North Cotabato, Majayjay Laguna, and Virac in Catanduanes. Local artisans transform these husks into candle vessels, bowls, the local dish "atsarang ubod," and room & linen spray.

What's impressive is that these are not used just as ordinary coconut husks - local artisans craft these husks into beautiful pieces. In addition, the company supports other local businesses by buying raw materials such as wax, fragrance oils, and wicks in bulk from preferred suppliers.

Coco Craze sells its products through multiple channels, including direct selling, online through Shopee and Lazada, consignments, and bazaars. And to ensure that its customers receive their orders on time and in good condition, the company has partnered with third-party local carriers, including Lalamove, Grab, Gogo Express, J&T, and Flash Express.

The organization takes pride in providing customers with top-notch products while also contributing to the growth of local communities and businesses.

“Despite being the world's second-largest coconut producer, the Philippines' full potential remains untapped. We noticed a lack of value-added coconut goods, so we wanted to highlight offerings using more coconut by-products besides coconut meat and virgin coconut oil.”

– Charlene Tia, Founder of Coco Craze

The founder stated that the Philippines is the world’s second-largest coconut producer. This means this market has abundant untapped potential since most coconut goods produced here are coconut meat and virgin coconut oil. The organization has stayed up-to-date with industry developments and emerging best practices in sustainable management through partnerships and coordination with the Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). These partnerships offer multiple opportunities that could help expand its product line within the Philippines and across the globe. In addition, the founders are continuously looking for ways to develop the product line and grow the production rate. The company offers innovative and sustainable alternatives using coconut husks which are abundant in the Philippines.

The current primary roadblock for Coco Craze is scaling its business to improve revenue growth. The founder stated that the company had problems transporting sourced raw materials from farmers and local artisans in the different provinces.

Transporting large quantities of materials to warehouses or manufacturing locations has proven challenging. Furthermore, the supply of the primary material, coconut husks, is often insufficient to meet customer demand as it is extracted and polished by hand, requiring a significant amount of time. This is a critical issue for the company to scale its operations.

Coco Craze has established partnerships with government agencies such as TESDA and ATI to provide farming and artisanal courses to the community to address this problem.

Coco Craze also incorporates multiple sustainability-related practices within its business model, serving as a role model for the industry. For example, there is a focus on eco-friendly packaging alternatives such as honeycomb wrapping paper instead of the traditional bubble wrap and mailer boxes for product shipments. The company also encourages its customers to adopt sustainable practices. To reduce waste, customers are informed that the coconut husks vessel can be repurposed as a plant pot, table accessory, or accessory holder once the candle wax has been used.

Social and environmental benefit

As we know, local farmers in the Philippines are struggling with various problems, including rising costs of materials like fertilizers and the constant threat of competition from overseas, significantly reducing the profitability of their local crops and fruits like coconuts.

With that, Coco Craze's business has provided numerous lives and communities the opportunity to gain extra income from raw materials like coconut husks, often disregarded as waste.

By providing local farmers an additional income from using every element of the coconut, the company helps to support the local economy, and the farmers are paid a fair price for their products. Farmers are empowered to advance their growth and development. In addition to local farmers, Coco Craze employs local artisans for their unique craftsmanship and ability. The local artisans not only have a secondary source of income, but these actions also promote the community's local culture, giving visibility and recognition to the artisan skills and opportunities for locals to find more work.

Coco Craze is an example of a business enterprise that can be both environmentally sustainable and commercially successful.

Coconut husks are considered an environmental waste hazard because they take years to decompose fully and significantly contribute to landfills and greenhouse gas emissions. In the long run, this could harm the climate and the local environmental ecosystems. Coco Craze offers the solution to mitigating the overall husk-related waste contributing to landfills and the environment.

Aside from directly reducing waste, Coco Craze exemplifies that caring for the environment and conducting business is possible with ingenuity and thinking. To change their business mindset, stakeholders must see the positive outcomes of implementing environment-friendly practices. This will serve as an impetus to reevaluate our current business practices to implement environmentally sustainable ecosystems within our communities.

Interview

Charlene Tia, Founder