Like many other people, Bernice Ty started baking during the quarantine. “It was a way to keep myself productive. I went from making batches of bread to trays of brownies and stacks of cookies. I would bake them in the afternoon, so my family could eat them for merienda.”

She was no stranger to the kitchen, having taken cooking classes. She liked experimenting in the kitchen so her mom enrolled her in culinary classes.

One day, Ty, a senior management student at the Ateneo de Manila University, decided to try baking ube cheese pan de sal because she was craving it.

“I sent some to my friend. After tasting it, he immediately encouraged me to start an online business. I was quite hesitant at first since I am shy, but my friend insisted that turning my baking hobby into a business was a great idea.”

To encourage her, her friend started creating posters and took photos of her pan de sal.

Soon, Kennedy Kitchen was born.

Nervous and excited

At first, Ty said, she only told her family and a few friends about her business. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to fly. I told myself not to expect too much and that this was just for fun. I was so nervous and excited.”

Ty looked for quality packaging and started promoting her offerings on Viber groups and Instagram.

She won’t forget handing the box of pan de sal to her first customer. “My mom was so excited for me that she wanted to capture the moment with a photo. But I didn’t because I wanted to look professional! Thankfully, I got positive feedback and it motivated me to continue.”

She added, “Seeing strangers believe in me genuinely motivates me to work harder. Until this day, my first customer keeps in touch with me and continues to order. Starting out as strangers, we developed a sisterhood that would not have begun at all had I not taken a leap of faith. Since then, the kitchen got busier each day!”

Ty grew up with parents who both run their own businesses. They instilled the value of hard work in her at a very young age. She’d go to the office with them and learn from watching them work and seeing them interact with their employees.

She was in grade school when her parents first let her experience what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. “They taught me the basics of putting up a business by encouraging me to sell my preloved clothes in our office. To this day, I can still remember the sweet feeling of earning my own money. From then on, I knew in my heart that I wanted to create a business of my own.”

Two kinds

Kennedy Kitchen is named after their street—also the pickup point of her pan de sal. Ty bakes two kinds of pan de sal: ube-cheese and Nutella, in half-dozen or one dozen boxes.

“Both are doing really well. I suppose this is because our customers have different preferences when it comes to their pan de sal. Customers who have a sweet tooth will definitely love the Nutella pan de sal, while those who crave the classic flavors of ube halaya and cheese will keep coming back for the ube-cheese pan de sal.”

Ty loves the fact that her pan de sal is bringing happiness to other people. “It’s that giddy feeling I get when moms tell me how much their families love my pan de sal and how their kids won’t stop eating them. It’s that message from someone in Dubai who wants to surprise his mom back home. These are the little moments that make me so happy and that inspire me to keep doing what I love. I think that this is the best thing about food: It can be shared with many, and it can bring immeasurable happiness to everyone involved. My heart is filled with joy knowing that I am able to do what I love and at the same time, spread happiness to the people around me.”

Families have ordered in bulk for the Christmas season, since boxes of Kennedy Kitchen’s pan de sal do make great gifts.

Repeat orders

“Even celebrities have expressed their delight through their positive feedback and repeat orders,” said Ty. “Our ube cheese pan de sal was the star in one of Marjorie Barretto’s vlogs. This flavor is well-loved by Julia Barretto and Moira de la Torre as well. Our Nutella pan de sal has become the favorite of Solenn Heussaff and Billy Crawford.“

Ty takes pride in the way she bakes her pan de sal. She doesn’t scrimp on ingredients, she said. “Each pillow-soft pan de sal is made with only the finest ingredients and handcrafted with 100 percent of my personal attention to detail.”

She allows customers to customize their orders depending on the amount of filling they want. Each pan de sal comes in three levels—with 1 having 50 percent of the usual filling, 2 having 75 percent and 3 having 100 percent, the standard amount of filling.

Kennedy Kitchen launched in April and when school started again, Ty juggled her business and school work. “I believe it’s all about balance! I really plan my day wisely because I was raised in a household where time is really valued.”

To other students who want to start their own business, she has this to say: “Find something you are passionate about and something that can bring value into people’s lives. Once you have an idea for your business, commit to executing it to the best of your abilities. This will take time and a lot of planning, so it’s important that you have the adequate skills and materials needed for your business to take off smoothly.

“Never be afraid to ask for help. Starting a business may seem like a daunting task at first, but if you involve your family and friends by asking for their feedback and support, you’ll have more fun and motivation to keep you going. Give your customers nothing but the best. Lastly, don’t let anyone or anything stop you from pursuing your dreams and reaching your full potential.”

Ty plans to add more products to Kennedy Kitchen’s lineup next year. “It has always been a dream of mine to open a store, so hopefully this is the stepping stone for the future.”

Tel. 0917-8713218; follow @kennedykitchenph on Instagram.