Jake Deleon, Fila Manila - A Strategic Saucy Leap of Faith

Jul 21

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This week, I spoke to Jake Deleon, founder of Fila Manila, the first modern Filippino-American food brand. His products consist of a range of authentic Filippino simmer sauces inspired by the rich flavors of the Philippine islands. He created Fila Manila to celebrate and share the joy of the Filipino family, culture, and delicious cuisine with the world.

Jake is a first-generation Filippino American Immigrant, born in the Philippines and raised in New Jersey. He was introduced to the cooking scene as a toddler; his parents had to work several jobs and have several side hustles to make ends meet. He helped his mother and grandma prepare Filippino delicacies, and they’d sell them to their friends and family.

“They didn’t have a lot, but we had a lot of love, we had a lot of laughter, and we had a lot of good food!” - Jake

After graduating with a Computer Design degree, he landed a job at Procter and Gamble, and got a lot of exposure to Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG). During his time at Proctor and Gamble, he worked on a number of assignments with top brands like Pringles before transitioning to work for Starbucks. One day while on a hike, he felt the intensity of the entrepreneurial itch, and he decided to quit his dream job and start his first startup.

Jake founded his first startup, Origin Almond, a line of functional almond-based beverages, and received investment from the Kraft Heinz Accelerator. It was a major success in its five years of existence, and was distributed to Mom's Organic Market and Walmart shelves. In February 2020, Origin Almond celebrated their highest grossing month and in March 2020, the covid pandemic lockdown impacted their business, and they decided to close shop and shift strategies where Jake forecasted greater opportunity would exist.

“The road of entrepreneurship is not always easy - Jake

The setback did not stop Jake; he remained grateful and resilient. Inspired by a news article on Filippino frontline health workers, he did some research and discovered that Filipino cuisine was underrepresented and he decided to bridge the gap. His goal was to create authentic Filipino sauces with clean ingredients, and he smashed it! Fila Manila currently retails on Amazon.com and in Whole Foods, and has already been listed as the fastest-selling Asian food product.

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