If you are to ask me what comes to mind when I hear the word Goya, I'll say it reminds me of my childhood and the dream of being trapped inside the Goya factory. Imagine being able to eat as much chocolates as I can!
While most Filipinos know Goya to be a brand that they grew up with, little is known about the struggles that the brand had gone through. From the time that it was established to produce confectionery and coffee in 1956, it had gone through five decades of tumultuous ownership changes that left the brand a little worse for wear. None of the entrepreneurial families nor the foreign and local investors that took ownership of the brand would give it the direction it needed to make a mark in the local chocolate industry.
It wasn’t until Goya was acquired by Delfi in 2006 (then a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petrafoods, and one of the top global players in the cocoa industry), that it began to find its rightful place in the Philippine chocolate market. With a chocolate expert like Delfi at the helm, Goya went on its long but steady journey of reinvention and innovation while maintaining its equity as a Filipino heritage brand.
While more popularly known for its bite-size chocolates, Goya would have to compete in the bars category if it was to be considered a serious contender in the minds and hearts of chocolate lovers and connoisseurs. Beyond the challenge of venturing into a new format, is the more daunting task of having to compete within a category long-dominated by well-established, imported giants. Despite these odds, Goya was determined to be the best chocolate in its class.
With Delfi’s focus on innovation, Goya was able to come up with a high quality chocolate bar that suited the taste of the Filipino chocolate lover: Goya Dark Chocolate. Taking the sweetness of the good old chocolate that Filipinos love and rounding it off with the right amount of bitterness, Goya defined for Filipinos what good chocolate should taste like. It is with that distinct taste that Goya Dark Chocolate would dominate the molded non-bite size category, besting even popular foreign brands to make it the No. 1 chocolate bar in the country and making it a truly World-Class brand.
To further solidify its place among confectionery brands, Delfi beefed up the Goya range, expanding the portfolio beyond bars to include chocolate coated dragees, enrobed chocolates, novelty chocolates, and even other segments such as biscuits, wafers, spreads, ready-to-drink beverages, and culinary chocolates. To-date, Goya has over a hundred SKUs to offer each and every Filipino – all home-grown, all world-class.
As Goya sets its sights on bigger conquests, it sought a personality who can embody what it stands for as a brand – a world-class Filipino icon who has withstood adversity and persevered to emerge triumphant. Goya found its personification in none other than Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach.
But more than the similar paths of these two Filipino icons, Pia’s love for Goya despite having tasted the best chocolates in the world – the Universe rather – is further testament that Goya truly is world-class.