Antique's Tibiao Bakery: “Baking” it big, out of town!

For most Ilonggos, Tibiao is often associated with a bakery making good breads and treats for more than half a century earning its tagline “Symbol of all Foods”. Being the first bakeshop in Tibiao, Antique, it earned the right for the “namesake” and became among the proud “exports” of this town.

BREAD TOWN

“Tibiao Bakery started in 1953 with a capital of around 20 thousand pesos” shares owner Walden S. Lim who is also the mayor of the town of Tibiao. For generations, the Lim family has transformed what was just a neighborhood bakeshop into one of the biggest and most popular bread companies in the whole island of Panay.

Mayor Lim being interviewed by Arangkada, GMA TV 6 Iloilo's morning show

It was under the sole proprietorship of Manuel B. Lim Sr. when it started in the fifties and in 1982 his sons, Vicente and Stephen, started the business operations in Iloilo City. Eventually in 1989, the business was converted from sole proprietorship to a corporation.

It has numerous products ranging from breads, biscuits and cookies to cakes and sweets even sio pao and puto. It also spawned numerous branches, mainly in Iloilo City, selling not only these baked goods but also having short orders like pancit Molo, spaghetti, sio pao and hamburgers among others.

TEACH ME HOW TO “DOUGH”-IE

“We use around 15 bags of flour every day that translates to around thirty thousand pesos worth of flour and other ingredients” says Mayor Lim. And it starts with the dough – mixed and machine-kneaded before it is shaped and flavoured into the bread they are making that day.

“Tibiao Bakery really got no secrets in making our breads that are of high quality” shares mayor Lim. “It’s just the correct amount and ratios of ingredients – no more, no less.” He says that if the recipe calls for this amount of flour and sugar, it is measured until the smallest gram to maintain the quality and taste.

Mayor Lim and his wife reveal that this (mother) branch uses the same methods and equipment in baking bread eversince. Unlike their Iloilo factory along Avancena Street in Molo, which uses modern ovens, the Tibiao branch still uses the old pugon constructed in1955, June 5 to be exact.

“Everything is still traditional, our pugon is fired with wood and it doesn’t only save us on our bills but gives our baked products a distinct aroma and taste” he said. “One can really taste and smell the difference of our products – the ones traditionally made and those using modern equipment.”

BISCOCHO, OTAP AND MORE

And we were just in time to see how biscochos were made. Before it was just left over breads made into such but seeing the popularity, breads are purposely baked and then made into biscocho. They are quartered and each cut side is smothered with a mixture of butter/margarine and sugar. Then it is off to the oven once again as the name biscocho means “twice baked” bread.

After baking, biscocho are ready to be packed by hands. Each piece is chosen carefully so that only the good quality biscocho are packed and goes out o the factory. This was also an opportunity for us then to savor biscocho almost right of the oven and they were right – it had that rather smoky taste and aroma. The crunch was there and the taste – so tempting, that I stayed in the area for such a long while that I think I almost ate a whole pack of biscocho.

And did I mention that they were also packing some otap that time? It was just a few steps to the otap packaging area side that I find my way in a few seconds and changed my menu that time. They were crisp, flavour and also had the same taste and aroma of the wood-fed pugon.

MAKING IT BIG AND GIVING BACK

Tibiao Bakery is one of the few success stories in the in bread making industry worth emulating. From a simple bakeshop out in the rustic scene, it has conquered the odds and made it big “out of town”.

In Iloilo City alone, it almost has around 10 branches as it gained a loyal following from the Ilonggos. And it also supplies breads and baked goods to a lot of fast food chains like Jollibee, Pizza Hut, KFC, to name a few plus it’s a main locator in side SM Groceries around Iloilo.

Giving back, Tibiao Bakery shared its blessing through its Corporate Social Responsibility programs. In 2009, it conducted community-related works like feeding programs in different baranggays in Calumpang and Baluarte in Molo, Iloilo with the help of Molo police station. They gave out breads, spaghetti, pancit Molo, palabok, and a lot more to nourish the children in some of the baranggays in these areas.

Going “behind the scene” writing a story is always a one of a kind experience for me. It’s more than getting to know the business - its history, the ways of preparation of my favorite goodies and the unlimited treats you can eat! But most of all, sharing these success stories is a form of inspiration for other businesses and even ourselves to emulate in whichever way we can. Who knows, making it big can also just be with flour, sugar and eggs!

This blogpost appeared on The News Today dated Oct. 7, 2011

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