Snack Supplier is Grand W.I.N.N.E.Rs’ Champ

Hazel del Castillo, a 35-year old mother of five, was crowned as grand winner in the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (MCCI) Search for W.I.N.N.E.Rs (Women In Need Now Entrepreneurs and Rolemodels) during the grand finals held last August 21 at the JCentre Mall Convention Center.

Hailing from Barangay Cambaro, Mandaue City, this mom is industrious enough to be the full time mother of her kids, all vying for scholarships in their respective schools, at the same time doing it with her snack business, which she distributes in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), schools where her kids report to, and other school-based canteens that she has long established business relationships with.

Hazel has learned her skills in culinary from her mother, whom she describes as “superb”. She (Hazel) makes masi (peanut-filled pastry), maja blanca (dessert made from coconut milk, cornstarch and sugar), biko (lutinous rice cooked in coco cream with lots of sugar), and empanada (Spanish meat patty with raisins and eggs, among others, as stuffing). She also has two units of piso-piso computer surfing machines.

Married to Felix III, a jail guard officer, her husband’s career somehow helped opened opportunities for her to expand the business she was starting at home. Thus, blessing came pouring. Asked what is the toughest challenge that she had to face, she said that it is that when former friends and classmates would learn from Facebook with ‘brows raised’, that she is making such a living and got contented by ‘just being a homemaker’. “I know they expected so much from me knowing my past job stints, but I really owe them no explanation as to how a peso on top of 1,600 pieces of ice candies–everyday–is something I can’t earn as an ordinary employee,” she remarked in her background story.

Hazel studied Computer Science in University of San Carlos. She is the only child so life made it a bit easier for her to study, however, since her parents suffered from ailments in their aging days, she had to stop schooling and eventually got hitched then. Being smart and endowing a strong personality, it wasn’t hard for Hazel to land immediately in people-oriented job positions–from being a promo specialist of a children’s wear to customer care service staff to being a call center worker.

Hazel tutors her kids. She is also honest to admit that she is “ambitious in terms of learning”, and that with the help of social media, she is able to expand connections and learn more shared information. She would Google not only about her kids’ assignments, but is delightful in how-tos and tips provided online regarding her food-related business.

When queried what other flavors she has successfully formulated for a captive market, Hazel quipped: Mango float. And oh! Cookies and cream too! (With Information from Background Story)