Snack enthusiasts build viral sensation

For life partners Denise Caranto and Tricia Epilepsia, foods have always been an integral part of travel.

Regardless of whether you are researching local flavors or international snacks, you found joy to discover unique treats – something that you were missing in the local market.

This insight triggered the creation of Konu in 2021 in the middle of pandemic.

Both enthusiastic snackers, Denise and Tricia spent hours to search for a grocery walk for hours abroad, especially in Japan and amazed about the variety of options. In the meantime, the local market remained limited to cookies, wafers and cookies.

“We wanted to bring the same excitement here, but the import was too expensive for a small company like ours,” said Caranto.

At that time, both founders were still working in corporate jobs. Therefore, importing products with a high minimum order was not feasible. Instead, they were looking for a snack format that they could produce from their own kitchen.

A fresh view of snacking

Inspired by international finds, both co -owners agreed to start a bowling snack filled with chocolate. The goal was to introduce something different and confidential – and that seem enough to arouse curiosity and be accessible at the same time. Over time, they expanded into a muesli snack with chocolate glazed, which became online viral.

The pandemic offered the perfect opportunity to experiment. While others turned into the garden, Epilepisa and Caranto were busy perfecting chocolate recipes.

Konus breakthrough came through Tiktok. The platform's affiliate -seller system enabled users to advertise and sell their products, which generates a massive organic range without costly notes.

“We launched during the Mukbang trend, and the people were striving to present our snacks,” they recalled. Viral videos have collected millions of views and exceeded brand awareness.

But virality came with challenges. “Our demand rose by 1,000 timwes overnight. We quickly had to scale from a team of five on 20 in days and then to 80 employees, ”said Epilepsia.

In order to stay up to date, they expanded to a 600 square meter production facility in Pasig and invested in machines to automate their production for improved efficiency.

Stay in the front in a fast -moving market

During the expansion, the couple realized that it is important to stay relevant to keep pace with trends.

“Tikok trends are moving quickly. If you become viral today, you could be forgotten tomorrow. You always have to be two steps ahead – whether with new campaigns, fresh content or innovative products. I think it is only out of the Tikok platform alone. However, there is a constant struggle in companies in general to remain relevant, ”remarked Caranto.

Live sales became another crucial strategy. At first she quickly hesitated her effects. “In the past we made recorded videos. Now live sale is running around the clock and keeps us with customers, ”said Epilepsia.

Look ahead: innovation and growth

While Konu continues to expand, the team focuses on starting new snack formats that are both longing and visually exciting.

“We have several products in the pipeline for Q1 and Q2 this year. We would like to reproduce our success and make sure that customers really enjoy our snacks, ”said both.

Her persistent story is full of milestones, but a moment is noticeable. A viral TIKTOK video was launched by a simple customer comment:

“A buyer said: 'It's so good. If you have invented this product, I hope you live a long life! 'That was our first virus clip. Since then, people have been telling us again and again how much they love our snacks and how Konu has changed their lives, ”Caranto recalled.

“We recently found that some of our resellers, partly from conu and other products, to complete the college. Knowing that our business makes a difference – it is incredibly heartwarming, ”said Epilepsia.

To see how their products affect people's lives, inspires Epilepsia and Caranto, motivated and innovative.