Since the imposition of community lockdowns in many areas of the country, many new business ideas have actually been introduced to cater to the continuing needs of the consuming public. In some cases, existing business ideas were innovated and promoted using social media.

Among the most patronized services are food delivery services. Pioneered by Grab Food and followed by Lalamove, food delivery is one business that is making a kill during these pandemic times.

Every rider either uses their app to get clients but the more enterprising goes out of their way to affiliate themselves personally with established food provider. People now are so accustomed to these new normal so that even breakfasts, snacks and the usual lunch and dinner needs can easily be accessed.

The second business innovation that we see is – “On line Wet Markets and Fruits/Vegetables Stands.”

So many creative entrepreneurs have actually taken advantage of this by connecting with “Palengke” based sellers for fresh seafood . Or buying whole sale from the provinces where these produce originate taking them as far as Davao for Duco (lanzones ) and Pomelo, to Zambalas and Camiguin for fresh mangoes.

Next to flourish is the transporter business – Angkas, Grab, Mr. Speedy and similar outfits are making a kill from delivering ordered food to transporting people to their places of work or other destination.

Home services comes in fourth– home repairs, home cleaning services , small carpentry needs, and even plumbing services.

Next new business that flourished during this pandemic is home cooking . Now you don’t need to crave for your favorite Dinuguan, Lumpiang Ubod or Vietnamese rolls, local Kakanin like bilo-bilo, guinataang halo-halo and the like, they have all become available thru home cooking. Housewives who have the talent to do this have actually taken advantage of the continuous need tor food by locked customers.

One interviewed home cook says “it is easy to make P8k-10k on weekends where bulk orders come from as far as Cavite and Bulacan. Of course this is facilitated with the delivery system contracted individually for each order.

The sixth business that flourished during these times is home viewing, from existing TV stations that shows old blockbusters. For those who can afford, a subscription to Netflix has become popular to the adult populace. For the young at heart – TikTok apps have attracted new customers.

The seventh business that flourished during the period is online shopping represented locally by Lazada and Shoppee, while foreign providers includes E Bay, Amazon and other big publications.

Next business that is starting to flourish are – Webinars, Podcast, or distance learning with the use of Zoom or Google meet, or Google duo.

Ninth, of course, is production and importation  of health supplies ( masks and face shield ) and personal protection (local production of PPEs), retailing of alcohol, hand sanitizers and the like

While there are many unheard before businesses that are now active during these times, we can just be thankful they are now available on the internet to alleviate us from the strict requirements of IATF.

by Ted Estacio
Source: Manila Bulletin