536. And you thought Presto only made chocolates: PRESTO COFFEE, 1962

PRESTO COFFEE INTRO AD, "Magnifico!", 1962

“When you want-a good-o coffee, get PRESTO! It’s the very best-o!”

The local PRESTO brand of the Gokongwei-founded Consolidated Food Corp. (CFC)  is so well-associated with chocolate products-chocolate powder drink, cocoa, chocolate bars. Many have forgotten that its pioneer product was a coffee brand.

In 1961, after John Gokongwei Sr,  surveyed the local coffee landscape, decided that there was room more for new coffee brands. The market leader then was the post-war brand Café Puro of Commonwealth Foods Inc., which, by 1951, had become the no.1 selling coffee brand, a position it kept till the 1960s.

And so, New PRESTO COFFEE was launched in 1962—a 100% soluble coffee made from a unique blending process of choice coffee beans. Thus, PRESTO COFFEE claims to have a livelier aroma, and real perk-up flavor. An illustration of a distinctive bemoustached Italian coffee connoisseur accompanied the print ad.

The PRESTO Coffee brand, however was no match to Commonwealth Foods’ popular line of coffee brands that are so well-entrenched in the market. Nestle’s Nescafe, on the other hand, was gaining ground due its more premium image backed by a massive advertising budget.

So, Gokongwei looked at another more viable product venture—and saw SERG’s, which practically monopolized the chocolate market. In the second half of the 60s, CFC introduce a chocolate drink under the PRESTO Brand to test the market. Shortly after, it expanded to include chocolate products. The PRESTO chocolate line began to gain traction in the market, and the PRESTO coffee brand was discontinued. The rest is history for its successful chocolate line that came to include PRESTO ice cream, PRESTO Tivoli  and PRESTO fun fruit drinks.

CFC however, never forgot its coffee beginnings and launched Great Taste Coffee in the 70s. With its superior taste, product quality, and better, more sophisticated marketing support, Great Taste also became a huge better-late-than-never success for CFC.

390. CELEBRATION Luxury Ice Cream by CFC (Consolidated Food Corp.), 1980

CELEBRATION LUXURY ICE CREAM, Launch Ad, 1980

CELEBRATION ICE CREAM, was a premium ice cream brand launched by the Consolidated Food Corporation (CFC), founded in 1961 by John Gokongwei Jr. By 1980, CFC was a major player in the manufacture of foods and beverages,  with an enviable portfolio that includes Great Taste Coffee, Blend 45, and Presto Chocolates and Ice Cream.

To this array of products, CFC added CELEBRATION Luxury Ice Cream, a premium-priced ice cream that was the company’s answer to Magnolia’s Gold Label. “The new standard in ice cream excellence”  was the brand’s battlecry, as it was “richer, smoother, creamier”.

CELEBRATION ICE CREAM Flavors Ad, 1980

When it launched in 1980, the new ice cream introduced 7 flavors—Crème de Luxe, Cappuccino Parfait, Chocolate Fudge Supreme, Harvest Gold Glacé, Nutcracker Choclair, Almond Toffee Classic, and Rum Cherry Cordial.

CELEBRATION Luxury Ice Cream could not maintain the momentum of its launch, overshadowed by the successes of proven brands with iconic names as Selecta and Magnolia, as 2 years or so later, it was out of supermarket freezers. 

168. Jack 'n Jill CHIZ CURLS, Print Ads, 1969-1975

CHIZ CURLS, "The Irresistibles!", early print ad, 1969.

The company that introduced us to the world of munchy, crunchy snacking began with Mr. John Gokongwei in 1954, when he thought of going into the business of glucose and cornstarch production. Thus, he had a corn milling plant built that would lay the foundation for his fledgling company—Universal Corn Products, that ould become Universal Robina Corporation (URC)  in 1966.

URC would go on to bring to the Philippines the concept of ‘salty snacks’  that have now become a staple part of Filipino snacking culture. There have been attempts to do this in limited forms—like Carol Ann’s, which gave us our first shoestring potato chips in 1964, and Maya’s short-lived Wheat Crunch. Only the cheap, ubiquitous “kropek” could be had readily from sari-sari stores.

A new line of salty snack treats was conceived by URC and was named “Jack ‘n Jill” by founder Gokongwei. He thought it had easy recall and recognition owing to the popular nursery rhyme, and he was right.

JACK 'N JILL CHIZ-CURLS, "You can hear how great they taste!', 1975.

Jack ‘n Jill CHIZ CURLS was one of the very first products to roll out of the URC production plant, along with Chippy and Potato Chips. But the CHIZ CURLS had novel forms and taste---crunchy, puffy corn curls, generously powdered with rich, cheddar cheese that burst into more cheesy flavor when eaten.

 CHIZ CURLS were attractively sold in foil packs to preserve the freshness and crunchiness of the novel curly, yummy, corn ‘n cheese snacks. The front panel showed a bowl-ful of CHIZ CURLS with, curiously, a cow by the side—an image that one would associate with cereals.

Nonetheless, Jack ‘n Jill CHIZ CURLS were an instant hit, and found favor among kids and the younger set.  Together with Chippy and Potato Chips, Students loved them to bits, and CHIZ CURLS became a national sensation, and outlets like school and office canteens, groceries and sari-sari storesbegan clamoring for them.

CHIPPY AD, with New Munchees blurb. Today, Jack
'n Jill has about 11 snack varieties. ca. 1980.

Advertising propelled the brand even further, and the first campaign in 1969 used the slogan,”The irresistibles!”. The most-remembered campaign broke in 1975, with a slogan that capitalized on the crunchiness of the snack treats:   “You can hear how they great they taste!”

Forty years after, Jack ‘n Jill continue to be the dominant name in the snack culture of the country, considered a megabrand with 11  different lip-smacking snack varieties—Chiz Curls, Chippy, Potato Chips, V-Cut, Taquitos, Mr. Chips, Tostillas, Roller Coaster, Piattos, Spuds, and Sea Crunch-- to suit the taste of snack-loving Pinoys.

 The name that popularized the culture of snacking in the country, Jack ‘n Jill presently has an expansive line of snack varieties totaling to 11 different brands: Chippy, Taquitos, Mr. Chips, Tostillas, Roller Coaster, Piattos, Spuds, Potato Chips, V-Cut, Chiz Curls and Sea Crunch.