Malasakit. For Filipinos, malasakit is a time-honored value. It is the ultimate demonstration of one’s concern for others, and the ability to transcend one’s needs to help those who need it most. It is something that few companies are able to show, but which Mega Global has consistently demonstrated in the past 45 years of its existence.
Nothing has captured Mega Global’s pagmamalasakit more vividly than their efforts during the nationwide lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Without hesitation, Mega Global quickly sprang into action, providing goods and PPEs to various LGUs and private organizations and hospitals. It also opened the Mega Malasakit Kitchen to provide home-cooked meals to frontliners, including policemen, barangay tanods, and security guards. It did not forget the merchandisers and distributor sales personnel, who valiantly man the frontlines in groceries and supermarkets, by providing them with care packs. Most importantly, it kept its operations running, knowing it still had to produce sardines to nourish thousands of Filipino families.
“Staying in operations and helping out during the lockdown was a decision that came naturally to us. Mega Global has always been committed to provide our community with affordable and quality products, and we knew that by taking the extra mile, we can be of help when we are most needed – our customers, our own people who depend on us for their living, and the Filipino community,” said Marvin Tiu Lim, VP for Sales and Marketing. “It was the best gift we could give back to the country as we marked our 45th anniversary.”
For Mega Global, helping out is a natural reaction. Malasakit, after all, is part of its DNA, and is evident throughout its history. In fact, it was the sacrifice and dedication of its people, leaders, and partners that transformed the fledgling company into the Philippine’s number one sardine brand, with the largest and most advanced fishing fleet in the country. The company also has earned multiple awards – a testament to the hard work of its people, and how the company has nurtured each one to give to the best of their abilities.
Through the years, Mega Global is driven by one goal, which is to provide excellent and quality products to Filipinos. It was this desire that prompted Mega Global to embark on its innovative 12-hour catching-to-canning method that brings the freshest and best-tasting sardines to people. Mega Global’s malasakit does not stop at the people they serve, but extends to the environment. It has also been an advocate of sustainable fishing practices, ensuring that it helps protect and preserve the ocean. To this end, the company only uses regulation-size nets and does not engage nor condone irresponsible and destructive practices. It has also invested in new technologies that are more environment-friendly, and regularly participates in ocean clean-ups in Zamboanga. Moreover, the company provides livelihood training to the wives of fishermen.
Another sustainability effort of Mega Global is its Zero-Waste manufacturing capability that uses the waste from fishes and turns these into fish meal that is sold into the agricultural market and is used as protein for animal feeds. Through the responsible management of resources, this allows the replenishment of fish in the ocean, which comprises 80% of the company’s business.
It was also this deep sense of malasakit that led Mega Global to partner with the Nutrition Center of the Philippines to embark on the Mega Sustansya Everyday Program, which provided two meals a day to undernourished children for 40 days, to teach mothers that nutrition can be accessible to everyone. Its community outreach efforts include medical missions, cooking lessons for mothers, donation drives during calamities, among others.
As the Philippines enters a new normal, Mega Global is confident that it can continue to be of service to the country—bringing affordable and excellent sardines that can nourish families. Demand for its products continues to be very strong, and the company expects to further embrace digitalization, automation, and operational transformation, to sustain its explosive growth over the past 5 years, and take it to the future.
In recent years, as part of the company’s diversification of products and expansion into the market, Mega Global has gone into more product categories such as Mega Tuna, Mega Prime, and Mega Creations, all of which were also included in different donations.
Mr. Tiu Lim is aware that there are many uncertainties down the road in the post-Covid world, but he assures that Mega Global will not waver in its commitment to the Filipino community. “We remain steadfast and committed, and will stand ready to help our country, especially in laying the foundation for a better future,” he concluded.
