Bringing You A Flavour Of The Philippines

At RoniB's Kitchen, they aim to bring products that feature the bold and complex flavours of the Philippines. All of their products are lovingly recreated from family recipes and for Roni, who founded the business, her own memories of home. Made with the best local and Southeast Asian ingredients, their products are all-natural and free from artificial flavourings, colourings and preservatives. Paul Andrews spoke to Roni to find out more.

The business was founded in 2017 starting out as a hobby and becoming a full-time business in 2019.

As Roni explains, "We set out to take people on a culinary journey through the flavours of the Philippines, where great food shared with the family is the highlight of any meal, something that I remember fondly growing up."

"The business started as an off-shoot of our supper club business which we began running when supper clubs were fashionable. It was our way to start introducing Filipino cuisine."

"In 2016, I was invited to participate in a cook-off with Kristie Allsopps Handmaid Christmas where 4 supper club owners battled to cook and serve an Alternative Christmas Dish and I won this competition. This was my trigger to start looking at another way to introduce Filipino food and flavours to the UK and was the birth of RoniB's Kitchen," she continues.

"We are a husband and wife team and the business began with an idea back in 2010 when I noticed that Filipino food was unknown here in the UK. It still is, however, with the advent of more Filipino restaurants opening up, it is slowly being recognised by both consumers and the wider food industry and our mission is to bring Filipino food flavours into the mainstream," adds Roni.

At a very young age, Roni always wanted to run a business. As a child in school, she would sell food products, clothing and accessories. After working many years in corporate, the itch to open her own business bit her once again and in 2019, she decided to do it full time and make a go of it. Today, they are are an artisan producer of Philippine flavoured sauce, chilli products and preserves which they sell at markets, festivals, and supply to several shops in the UK, USA, Switzerland, and France.

RoniB's Kitchen continues to evolve and as Roni explains, "The business has changed from being fully home-based to semi-home-based. We now work with a manufacturing partner who produces the products on our behalf, which helps us scale the business and pursue other markets and distribution channels both nationally and internationally."

"We are a family business and as such values that are important to us are integrated into the way we do what we do," continues Roni.

"Quality, tradition, family and integrity are all important values to us as a family and in business too."

"We also build family ownership into our marketing and brand narrative through our mantra of creating products through family recipes, recipes that help families cook new dishes that everyone can enjoy."

RoniB's Kitchen continues to be on a growth journey, introducing new products to consumers such as their Banana Ketchup, which featured on a TV show and as a result is now stocked on the supermarket shelves of Aldi, the chain that were involved with the show. Roni is delighted with the way that things are going and appreciates all that she has learnt along the way.

Looking back she is aware of the journey they have been on and the advice that she has for anyone else considering launching their own family business are clear. "Do your homework, create a solid business plan, brace yourself for a roller coaster ride, prepare to hear many 'nos', accept the fact that you will get better support from strangers, ask for help and celebrate the small wins as they lead to bigger ones," are all lessons that Roni believes have helped them get to where they are today.

Awards and recognition continue to go their way too. In 2021, they were awarded the Great Taste Producer seal, and they now hold 8 Gold Stars at the Great Taste Awards from 2019 to 2023.

RoniB’s Kitchen is more than just a food business. It is a passion project that aims to share the rich and diverse flavours of Filipino cuisine with the world, something that they are proudly achieving through a range of products that do just that and a journey that continues to excite and tantalise the taste buds of their growing customer base too.

Find out more by visiting the RoniB's Kitchen website here