Gavin Oils: Greasing His Way to a Bright Future

A graduate of human resource management from DLSU-College of St. Benilde from the big city came back to his hometown in the province and decided to pursue farming and the making of virgin coconut oil.

Having spent several years in the country's capital, Gavin Lopez longed for life in the province and decided to return to Bacolod City. So his father Gerry let him handle the family's 24,000-head poultry business in Valladolid, Negros Occidental. Several months ago, they acquired virgin coconut oil processing equipment from Coconut Haven Inc. and have put up shop near their home. They are employing the cold press technology of Coconut Haven. Absolutely no heat is applied at whatever point of the production. They derive virgin coconut oil only from the milk of matured coconuts, those that are 13 months old and above. Their new facility, which is manned by seven people, has the capacity to produce a ton of oil in one month.

Gavin said that they have registered their company under the catchy name Gavin Oils but they are now marketing their products under the brand Purity Virgin Coconut Oil. It is now available in 250-ml glass bottles in Bacolod City and is gaining wide acceptance among a wide range of market. "We are trying to exhaust our local market here in the province of Negros first before helping augment the demands in the export scene eventually," Lopez adds, citing the fact that the Philippines is shipping thousands of liters of virgin coconut oil per month to China alone. In the near future, they also intend to put out by-products of virgin coconut oil, such as lotions, facial creams, and soaps after they have solidly established their market base.

But one problem that Gavin Oils is lamenting is the shortage of mature coconut supply in the entire province. "Farmers who have been financially pressed have turned to coco lumber production, hence the reduction of coconut trees in the island," the younger Lopez says, adding that they have to buy de-husked coconuts between P5 to P8 apiece, depending on the proximity of their source to the city.

The people behind Gavin Oils though are confident that with the increasing awareness of Negros Occidental to virgin coconut oils, plus the coconut demand of Gavin Oils production, this new market situation will hopefully have snowball effect to the farm level. As more and more people clamor for this unique oil and consumption increases, the company itself will need more coconut suppliers. And hopefully not only the consumers will reap the health benefits but farmers would also earn more from the virgin coconut oil production in the long haul.