Multi-awarded wine maker Lea Resa Perey-Panganiban has an intoxicating proposal to people with diabetes to help them manage the disease and enjoy a productive and healthy life.
Panganiban said that after nearly seven years of producing David’s Faith Insulin Wine, she still could not believe how her very simple concoction has helped thousands of people in their fight against diabetes.
“I started the business with a selfish motive—to help my family and relatives cope with diabetes. It continues to be a problem that spanned generations. This disease is genetic and the only way we can avoid complications is to observe a really strict diet,” she shared. Panganiban came from a long line of diabetics. Her grandparents and aunts passed due to complications from the disease.
While she did not actively seek out a cure, she chanced upon a window to create awareness when she joined an organic farming seminar organized by the University of the Philippines, Los Baños City (UPLB) in 2016, where entrepreneurs and professionals from various fields were introduced to a new plant—the insulin plant.
At the time, she had quit her 8 to 5 job as a purchasing manager for 13 years at a big property firm in Makati City to care for her sick brother who was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease while tending a family-owned fruit stall in Mahogany Market in Tagaytay. She said the yield from the fruit stall was even bigger from what she earned in Manila, and she did not have to dress up for meetings.
She said the insulin plant is not endemic to the Philippines, thus, it does not have a local name. “The plant has its origins in India and Australia. The plant bears different colors of flowers. The authentic insulin plant with the most beneficial faculties is the one bearing yellow flowers,” she said.
“The culminating activity was for all of us to come up with uses for the plant. Many have tried to incorporate the plant in food preparations such an added ingredient to pancit, since a few of the participants are food technologists. I, for one, tried infusing the plant into fruit juices, by pulverizing the plant and mixing the powdered insulin to the beverage. Results were good, but I was told that the short shelf life does not bode well for business if produced in commercial quantity,” Panganiban recalled, adding that the first challenge was only to have the participants propagate the plant.
She seriously took on the challenge. Her exposure from her undergraduate course as a biologist boosted her confidence to carry on the experiment. The fruit wine with insulin was the breakthrough she was searching for.
With only P5,000 left from her severance pay, Panganiban set out to create proof of her abstractions. Her efforts were not without assistance. She sought the help of an aunt who is a chemist and a niece who is a food technician to arrive at the proper proportions of ingredients for wine making.
Using guyabano as base for her first insulin wine, Panganiban has successfully brewed the wine using natural fermentation process that took about 45 days. She refused to use other fermenting agents as she is building a brand that is 100 percent organic.
After testing her first proof by UPLB, the university endorsed her product to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for product improvement and to link the brand to different marketing platforms as well as for financing support.
“Through innovation, even wines can transcend their purpose. With the right ingredients, alcoholic beverages can also have therapeutic properties which is why our insulin wine comes in 4 variants—Guyabano, Dragon Fruit, Bignay and Coffee. Drinking David’s Faith Insulin Wine does not leave a bad taste in your mouth, unlike other alcoholic beverages. It is guilt-free which makes is all the more pleasant to indulge in,” Panganiban said.
Based on product research, the Guyabano variant effectively lowers blood sugar. It is also a powerful source of antioxidants, helps boost the immune system, a good antidepressant and rejuvenates damaged skin, among other properties.
The Dragon Fruit variant, on the other hand, lowers blood sugar and blood cholesterol, helps with proper digestion as it also has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, and stimulates weight loss and metabolism while Bignay is a good source of iron with anti-aging properties and helps stimulate sexual male function and aids in weight loss. Coffee, which is a superfood, contains loads of anti-oxidants and boosts alertness.
In the pipeline right now are 2 more variants that are still in the product development phase. Product research usually takes at least 6 months and it may take a year to finalize researches for the mulberry and strawberry variants for commercial production.
All David’s faith products are Food and Drug Authority (FDA)-certified, complete with product registration and nutrition facts labels. These are the basic requirement for a product to
Panganiban assured that all the raw materials used in the production process as well as the packaging materials are sourced sustainably in keeping with the organic labeling of the David’s Faith brand.
Panganiban made sure that the sourcing of raw materials is sustainable and within reach. Her family propagates insulin plant in a 1,000 square meter lot in Mendez, Cavite where the wine making facility is also located. From another 1-hectare farm in Tagaytay City, fruit trees like Guyabano and Bignay are intercropped with insulin plant.
The business sources certified organic dragon fruit from the Remulla’s of Cavite who owns a certified organic farm and barako coffee from Cafe Amadeo in Amadeo, Cavite.
Since, Panganiban is the only insulin wine manufacturer in the Philippine, David’s Faith Insulin Wine is protected under a 20-year patent by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) since 2016.
From selling 2 boxes a month in 2016, David’s Faith produces up to 100 boxes of wine daily. Manned by family members, the facility is home-based, housed in about 40 sqm of space which is an adjunct to the main residence. Armed with a new blueprint to expand operations, the enterprise is looking at modernizing the facility by introducing mechanized equipment for wine production.
The enterprise is working out a P1.4 million financial assistance from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It has previously tapped funds from the DTI through the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-Asenso (P3) program before the pandemic struck.
Adding to the current wine line-up, David’s Faith has recently introduced the David’s Faith Insulin Tea which is a combination of therapeutic herbs—Moringa, Turmeric, Ginger, Tarragon and Insulin plant. The combined properties of the herbs helps detoxify the body and lowers blood sugar. The brand also plans to introduce insulin coffee by end-March 2023 or towards the 2nd quarter, pending FDA approval.
At present, David’s Faith has a network of 28 distributors spread across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The brand has also tried indirect export through resellers in Canada and Australia but has kept shipments at token volume.
Just recently, the brand engaged in productive talks with 2 third party exporters to Canada and Morocco. Panganiban said she is excited at how the new engagements will unfold to bring more blessings to the company.
She emphasized that while she draw inspiration from her family, her faith in God inspires her the most. She named the business David’s Faith because she believes that “a micro business as small as hers can only face and outsmart the Goliaths in the industry through faith in God and determination to succeed.” Othel V. Campos
She also attributed her numerous recognition to the unending graces of the Good Lord which provided her family a means to sustain livelihood that has also become a blessing to other people.
Just recently, David’s Faith receive another recognition from RealTalk Philippines as one of the Torch Excellence awardees for 2023. The brand was also the recipient of the 2022 Global Excellence Award, a regional award giving body organized by the Asia-Pacific Awards Council, as the 2022 Top Choice Global Awardee. Panganiban also receive awards from the Netizens’ Best Choice Awards twice and a 3-times awardee of the the DTI for best promising product, best nutritious beverage and empowered women entrepreneur award.