Lucio Cochanco Sr. and Ederlina Cochanco started a small family business—retailing agricultural products in Binondo, Manila in 1972. Little did they know that the venture would turn into a legacy.
The Jolly General Merchandise set up by the Cochancos led to the establishment of Fly Ace Corp. in 1993, which is now one of the leading food and beverage consumer goods companies in the Philippines.
Fly Ace, under the leadership of the Cochanco siblings, launched their first owned brand—the Jolly Food line in 1997. Now in its 20th year anniversary, the Jolly canned vegetables and fruits have become staple products used by many Filipinos in their cooking.
As Jolly continues its high-quality service in serving the public and setting the expectations of their consumers, the secret has been revealed by the company itself.
“We make sure that each of Jolly products that comes out in the market has consistent high quality,” said Fly Ace assistant vice president for marketing Abigail Ng Reyes.
“What we mean by consistent is that each and every products, we make sure the quality, we don’t compromise,” she said.
Reyes said Jolly products are very affordable yet they are of high quality. Many stores teamed up with Jolly to make the products accessible to everyone. That’s one of the three strongest point of the company, according to Reyes.
She said while there are a lot of hurdles in the business, Jolly has been very blessed to overcome them. “We are very blessed that Jolly has enjoyed a continuous growth over the past years,” said Reyes.
Jolly started a nationwide cooking caravan in 2000. In 2007, it aired its first television commercial.
Jolly products continued to evolve through the years and became more readily available across the nation, with Jolly mushrooms being used in a lot of restaurants nationwide and Jolly corn, the country’s no. 1 corn brand, being used in the preparation of mais con yelo and halo halo during the summer season.
Jolly also developed and spearheaded an interactive live cooking demo called The Jolly Show, with one of their chef masters, Chef Casison, to expand and share culinary tips and experiences nationwide.
As part of its success, Jolly shares its skills through the Jolly University where culinary students are given the opportunity to take a leap on their aspirations. They are encouraged by Jolly to adopt significant industry skills, establish career milestones and share inspiring values with others.
Jolly University in its fifth year has provided over a thousand students with culinary tips.
“This is the backbone of how we managed our brands and Fly Ace Corp. As we move on, we know there will be more challenges, competition will be deeper, but standing in front of all of you now, our dear trading partners, our friends from media, and all our customers, we are very grateful for your support,” said Fly Ace general manager Ramon Daez.
To further promote the brand, Fly Ace chose celebrity Maine Mendoza as its latest endorser. “Who has the jolliest personality among all the celebrities we have these days?” asked Reyes.
She said Maine Mendoza reflects the values that the Fly Ace Corp. treasures—discipline, integrity, resourcefulness and passion.
“Even more, she is also very close to her family, like how Fly Ace family treats one another. We are all very jolly as there is no one who could compare to her jolly personality which shines especially on a noontime show,” Reyes said.