Friendchips (That's What Friends Are For) [Sweet Potato; Salted Garlic & Chili Garlic]

This is another one of the social enterprises at the Social Business Summit in the GK Enchanted Farm that impressed me.

Named "Friendchips", (yup you guessed it) they sell chips. But unlike the ones out in the market right now, these are healthier (made from sweet potato; they also have banana chip variants too) and have a fun "attitude" (brand) about them. They come in 50g and 100g packaging, and like the the name suggests are meant to be shared!

What I like most about this brand, is that the people (kids/students) behind it understand that they needed to stand out and be have a unique value proposition. So how did they stand out in  the over saturated market of chips.? They created "personalities" for their chips (I only got their 2 most popular flavours, but from the 2, I think you can understand what I mean).

Gary for garlic

Each flavour is given more than just a "taste" to them. They each get their own unique personality, which I do think match the flavours each personality represents. Plus the fun thing about these personalities is that the names they get are sound anagrams (words that are spells differently, but sound the same) of the flavours and taste they are attached to (smart thinking guys!!!!).

This idea of literally giving names to their product is absolutely brilliant! It makes them memorable and gets the message to stick.

Charli for chili

In terms of branding, I would say that they are not just selling chips, but they are selling the "Barkada" (Filipino: [street slang] friends/friendship) experience, something that everyone can relate to.

And like I said earlier, they are the healthier option in terms of chips. Using only sweet potato (at least for the 2 flavours I got) and 2 other ingredients. It's simple, tasty and fin for the "barkada".

The chips are, as I said, tasty, crisp and crunchy and pack a lot of flavour. I had left the packs I bought out in the kitchen counter and next thing I know, my dad had finished not 1, but 3 packs!!!! And that says a lot on how good the chips are (my dad is picky about his snack food and likes to stay with things he already knows are good).

Just like the kids behind "Puto ni Papa", these kids are also part of the SEED (School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development) programme of the GK Enchanted Farm. And yet again, I am proud of these group of kids! They know what and how to deliver a good product and understand the importance of setting themselves apart from the other players in the market. They also know the importance of thinking creatively. Another thing is that these kids understand the importance of teamwork and working together (not only with themselves) with the community.

Image Source (Photo Credit): Angel Ouano
Left to Right: Rodiline, Gelai, Geralyn, Mice
Center/Back: JC

These kids are heroes in my book! Keep it up guys!

Friendchips (sweet potato chips) costs:

PHP 40.00 per 50g

PHP 70.00 per 100g

Friendchips (banana chips) costs:

PHP 50.00 per 100g

PHP 100.00 per 200g