Life Is Sweeter With Every Bite

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, the Philippine economy contracted by 9.5%. Businesses shut down, millions of livelihoods were disrupted, and entrepreneurs faced one of the most challenging periods in recent history.

For Chino San Diego and Chef Princess San Diego, founders of What's Your FLAN? International, the crisis became another opportunity to demonstrate a different approach to business ownership.

Established in 2016, their home-based franchising platform was built around a simple but compelling idea. People should have an opportunity to enter the food business without necessarily investing in a physical store, expensive renovations, and the overhead associated with traditional retail operations.

During the pandemic, this model provided an alternative for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to rebuild their income and establish businesses despite widespread uncertainty.

Six years after the height of the pandemic, the business environment presents another challenge.

In August 2026, Philippine inflation reached 6.1%, compared with 1.5% during the same month in 2025. The country's economic growth also slowed to 2.3% in the second quarter of 2026, its slowest quarterly expansion since 2021.

While the circumstances differ from the pandemic, the pressure is felt across households, employees, entrepreneurs, and established businesses. Rising costs and cautious consumer spending are forcing business owners to reconsider their operating models.

And this is precisely where the story of What's Your FLAN? International becomes relevant once again.

Now approaching its tenth year, the company has grown to more than 1,000 franchise and licensing partners across 14 countries, supported by thousands of resellers.

Its continued growth highlights the relevance of a business model built around accessibility, flexibility, and reduced dependence on physical establishments.

For Chino and Chef Princess, the objective has always extended beyond selling food products. Their vision has been to build an entrepreneurship platform where people can participate in the food industry without necessarily taking on the financial commitments of a traditional storefront.

Of course, no business model eliminates risk. Success still depends on execution, market demand, discipline, and sound financial management. But in an economy where operating costs continue to challenge business owners, the structure of a business matters more than ever.

Perhaps the most interesting lesson from their journey is this. A business does not always need a commercial address to build an international presence.

Ten years, more than 1,000 partners, and 14 countries later, What's Your FLAN? International continues to make a case for a different kind of entrepreneurship.

And for those looking to enter the business world, the next opportunity might not be behind a storefront.

It might be right at home.

Featured Chef at CCA MANIla.

Chef Princess San Diego finished an IT degree, worked a corporate job, and went through 14 business ideas before a Facebook post about matcha flan got people asking where to buy it.

She learned the food business at CCA Manila. Ten years on, that flan is a franchise run by partners who mostly know her from watching her build it online.

Check the feature here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1522839486535639&set=pcb.1522839879868933

Sometimes, failure isn't the end of a dream. Sometimes, it's the beginning of a much bigger one.

Before Chef Princess San Diego built a business platform that reached 14 countries, she experienced something many aspiring entrepreneurs fear most: failure.

Fourteen business attempts did not turn out as she had hoped. For some, that might have been enough reason to give up. But for Princess, every setback became another lesson, bringing her closer to discovering what she was truly meant to build.

In 2016, with just ₱1,000 to start, she began working on an idea that would eventually become What’s Your FLAN? International. Starting from her home kitchen, she turned her passion for creating innovative leche flans into more than a food business. She began building a platform that would allow other people to pursue entrepreneurship, too.

But the bigger vision was never just about selling flan.

It was about making business ownership more accessible to ordinary Filipinos, including stay-at-home parents, overseas Filipino workers, students, and people who dream of earning an income but may not have the resources to open a traditional business.

Through home-based business programs, licensing, distribution, and educational opportunities, Chef Princess helped transform a simple product into a gateway for entrepreneurship. Her journey also grew to include UBE Story, extending the vision through Filipino-inspired ube products and additional business opportunities.

From a home kitchen to a business network spanning 14 countries, her story challenges the idea that an entrepreneur's success should be measured only by sales, branches, or profits.

Perhaps the more meaningful measure is the number of people who discover that they, too, can start something of their own.

Today, Chef Princess's journey carries a message that reaches far beyond food: you don't need a perfect beginning to build something meaningful. 

Sometimes, you need the courage to try again, the willingness to learn from failure, and a vision that grows bigger than yourself.

Fourteen failed businesses did not define her. What she chose to build afterward did.

And perhaps the most important chapter of her story is still being written, not just through the businesses she creates, but through the lives she hopes to help change, one FLAN and one HOME entrepreneur at a time.

WE MADE THE LIST! 

UBE STORY has been recognized by Discover MNL as one of the BEST UBE HALAYA in the Philippines! 

And honestly, this one hits differently.

For 5 years, we have been building Ube Story from home.

No fancy storefront. No huge retail network. No massive factory.

Just a kitchen, a product we believed in, a lot of hard work, and thousands of people who chose to support, resell, partner with, recommend, and share our products.

From a home-based business to being recognized among so many ube brands across the country, this is something we will always be grateful for.

To Discover MNL, THANK YOU for seeing Ube Story and giving our homegrown brand a place among some of the best. 

But most of all, THANK YOU to YOU.

To every customer who ordered a jar.
To every reseller who started with us.
To every franchisee and partner who believed in the business.
To everyone who recommended Ube Story to family and friends.
To everyone who posted, shared, tagged us, and told someone, “Try this ube!”

YOU are a huge part of this story.

And for those who still believe that a business needs a physical store, a big capital, or a huge company behind the name before it gets noticed...

Here’s a little reminder.

Sometimes, the roadmap starts right at home. 

Ube Story started as a home-based business.

Five years later, our little homegrown brand is being recognized on a national stage.

So to every aspiring entrepreneur building from home, keep going. Start where you are. Build what you believe in. Serve your customers well. Let your product speak.

Because you never know how far a business that started at home can go.

Thank you, Discover MNL. Thank you to every customer, reseller, franchisee, partner, family member, and supporter who helped bring Ube Story here.

This recognition belongs to all of you because every spoon tells a story... 

Clink this links to follow Discover MNL:
https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverMNL
https://www.instagram.com/discovermnl/

Discover the newest innovation from Ube Story, the White Ube × Matcha Premium Halaya, a signature creation by Chef Princess. 

This luxurious blend brings together the delicate sweetness of white ube and the rich, earthy character of premium matcha, creating a smooth, creamy indulgence unlike any other.

Proudly crafted in the Philippines, this pioneering flavor combination is among the first of its kind in the country and one of the first known White Ube × Matcha Halaya creations in the world. 

Made with real ingredients and no preservatives, it's a modern take on a beloved Filipino classic that's perfect for sharing, gifting, or enjoying by the spoonful.

Experience a new chapter in ubeonly from Ube Story.

This recognition celebrates founders who are not only building successful companies and communities but also inspiring others through leadership, values, and purpose.

Highlighting Filipino Founder: Chino San Diego

𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗼, Co-owner of 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗻? 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹, is recognized as one of the Top 40 Filipino Founders on LinkedIn 2025 for his vision to transform a simple Filipino dessert into a global entrepreneurial platform.

His journey is rooted in a belief in the power of a simple product done right, which led him and his wife to establish What's Your Flan? with only P1,000 capital in 2016, pre-pandemic. This successful venture followed his previous achievement of building one of Manila's biggest custom car shops, TMC, with zero capital, operating for 14 years.

Chino's primary mission is to build a platform for everyday people, especially first-time entrepreneurs, to succeed. His company champions a home-based franchise system, offering a low overhead, low-risk business model that can be managed easily and requires an initial capital of only 30k pesos.

This approach has created real transformation, helping nearly 900 partners in 14 countries, including OFWs, stay-at-home parents, PWDs, and senior citizens. A defining success story is that of an OFW who returned home with barely any savings, started franchising with What's Your Flan?, and now owns a commissary and mentors new franchisees. This impact shows the business is about giving others "a shot at business, growth, and financial freedom".

His biggest challenge has been overcoming public trust and social media presence, a hurdle he addresses by ensuring he and his wife personally talk to and mentor franchisees, emphasizing that real leadership comes from connection.

Chino's commitment to empowering Filipinos and collaborating to "create more jobs, empower more entrepreneurs, and build something greater together" solidifies his position as a founder dedicated to real, sustainable change. He demonstrates that a humble Filipino idea can become a global brand and a vehicle for pulling many Filipinos out of poverty. 

DTI 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐀. 𝐑𝐨𝐪𝐮𝐞 met with Chef Princess San Diego and Chino San Diego of What’s Your Flan? International (WYFI) during a closed door/private session to explore new opportunities for Filipino food entrepreneurs, particularly in food franchising licensing for home-based businesses aimed at maximizing profit. 

The team shared plans for training programs and nationwide production while seeking DTI’s support to align these efforts with the MSME roadmap. Secretary Roque welcomed the initiative as a meaningful step to strengthen local enterprises and bring more Filipino flavors to the global market.

Find out more here: https://www.facebook.com/DTI.Philippines/posts/pfbid02mDyyoc3uCfCzwqzFh59o3qMos8HR5UCcGaLKY5zrqTtkbgmGY1XCToqkpvB7NjCZl

#DTIBagongPilipinas #whatsyourflan

Being awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Grand Winner at the ASIA CEO AWARDS 2024 is a tremendous honor. The Asia CEO Awards is the largest business awards event in the Philippines and recognized as the biggest event of its kind in Southeast Asia, often referred to as the Oscars for corporate and business leaders in the country. Still in disbelief, I acknowledge that I deserve this accolade; I have worked tirelessly to build my food franchising licensing business, demonstrating that hard work truly pays off. I am excited about future opportunities, including collaborations and expansions in the food industry, which will help create more jobs for Filipinos. Mabuhay kayong lahat. -Mr. Chino San Diego, Co-owner

We are proud to announce that our very own Co-owner and founder, Mr. Chino San Diego, is being recognized as one of the entrepreneurs of the year at the 2024 ASIA CEO AWARDS, which will take place this October 8, 2024, at the Manila Marriott Grand Ballroom. This event highlights innovations in the food franchising licensing business, showcasing opportunities for home-based profit. 

See you all there!

Mr. Chino San Diego and Chef Princess attended the ASIA CEO AWARDS 2023, where Mr. Chino San Diego received an award for his SME company of the year, highlighting his success in the food franchising licensing business. This year will also mark an individual recognition for Mr. San Diego, celebrating his entrepreneurial journey and the achievements of What's Your Flan? International, a home-based profit venture.