Dr. Rolando B. Hortaleza, SHI chairman and chief executive officer, said SHI is now in an intensive study of putting up a multi-product manufacturing plant.

"We have our own research institution that is studying it, and we (already) have a product line," Hortaleza said in an interview.

SHI is eyeing varied products— coconut oil, on top of its existing branded virgin coconut oil, dessicated coconut, 100 percent biodiesel from coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut juice, and products that make use of the coconut tree — perhaps coconut fiber and coconut coir.

The company really looks at the export market for its P800 million expected coconut product earnings this year which will be over a P4 billion sales from its other consumer goods that have their own niche in the local market.

"The market is really in Europe and North America. The local sales is just a launching pad. For the European market, the association of coconut with the Philippines holds a lot of credibility. When you hear of coconut from the Philippines, the impact is different compared to coconut from Indonesia," he said.

Virgin coconut oil is being positioned as a health product with its anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal effects with its lauric acid content.

"It’s for health and wealth. Europeans are so interested in it, they’re (even) defending our product," he said.

With its unique niche in the consumer goods market that harnesses indigenous materials — papaya for the whitening soap "Likas" papaya, green papaya for skin whitening "Biolink" products," Splash boasts of having become Philippines’ sixth biggest personal health care manufacturer in an industry dominated by multinational companies.

The first four companies are Unilever Philippines, Colgate-Palmolive Philippines, Procter and Gamble, and Johnson and Johnson.

From a minuscule P100,000 sales in 1985, the company’s sales grew to P1 million in 1987, multiplying to P1 billion in 1989 and then to P2 billion in 1998, growing further to P3 billion in 2002, and then to P4 billion 2004. It has also begun to eat up into the foreign market with an export sales as of 2004 of P400 million.

SHI is now coordinating with the Bureau of Food and Drug (BFAD) and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) for its product clearance for its coconut products’ export while its "Theraherb" virgin coconut oil already has a BFAD registration.

Hortaleza said certain business groups have asked SHI to locate in China and Vietnam, recognizing its products’ prospects. But SHI’s thrust is to empower the local labor and make excellent Filipino products.

"We believe in the local talent. Labor cost in China and Vietnam is very cheap, but the Filipinos can be more productive than anyone. We can be globallycompetitive without leaving the country," he said.

Driven by faith, Splash has been growing by 60 percent annually and yet explores other expansion prospects.

"The peril is not in the environment. The trouble is not in the competitor. The real threat resides in us. We can’t allow success to get into our heads," said Hortaleza.

Entrepreneurship, he said, is the key to helping improve the economy.

"Taking the path of entrepreneurship is its own reward. We shall help uplift the pride and the economic well-being of Filipinos. Entrepreneurs are not exactly larger than life. They are just the ones who patiently master their craft and who have the tenacity to do the best. It’s a whole lot of perspective. If everything will easily go right, it probably wouldn’t be worth doing," he said.