The Parallel Rise Between Health Trends and Product Brands

Have you ever noticed this pattern? When hype for a product begins, a trend immediately follows, and a few weeks later, brands emerge one after another and launch a similar product. Think about Stanley tumblers, Dubai chewy chocolate cookies, coffee—they have all either gone through their time or are probably still part of the current trends with just a different version created by other brands. What has been significantly popular recently are wellness and personal care products, including health supplements, brightening soaps, healthy chips, tongue scrapers, magnesium gummies, and more. In all aspects, health consciousness has brought massive purchase intention to today’s consumers.

2026 reports by Precedence Research show that the surge in wellness trends among Gen Z & Millennials is focused on their spending habits, health concerns, and a diverse, personalized approach to overall well-being. They are dominating in wellness spending, accounting for 41% of their annual budget.

In addition, the 2026 Octa “Tugon ng Masa” survey shows that staying healthy and avoiding illness ranked as the top personal concern, cited by 67 percent of 1,200 Filipino adults.

With these numbers being observable in real life and on social media, businesses are leveraging the growth of health-conscious consumers.

Just after the COVID-19 pandemic, when public concern for overall health was at its peak, multiple health brands in the Philippines launched consecutively. Some of the brands founded in 2020 and after are GoRocky, newmoon, and mWell. Observations by Kestria, the world's largest executive search alliance, support this as well, listing three shifts in consumer behavior during the 2020 pandemic: growing focus on health and wellness, preference for products benefiting both personal health and the environment, and the rapid growth of online shopping.

Healthy Snacks as a Top Choice for Business

The strength of the product is already heavily reliant on the health benefits of pili nuts supporting steady energy, easier digestion, and sustained satiety. But due to smart innovation, Pili Poppers was able to cater to health enthusiasts in both the Philippines and Singapore.

Launching an innovative product during a time when the target market is consistently increasing in volume is key to succeeding in this industry. This prevents the product from short-term popularity and gradual sales decline because it possesses something that makes people turn it into a staple regardless of trends.

Tips to Leverage Health-Conscious Consumer Behavior

Despite the world’s rapidly growing interest in health and wellness products, health-conscious consumers remain vigilant about the credibility of the products they use, not only relying on the benefits plastered on the packaging but also going as far as looking into the nutrition facts and ingredients. This is why coming up with a healthy snack business idea is more complicated than it seems.

To build a successful business in the health food industry, consider the following tips:

Use clean ingredients and clean labels

Consumers frequently view highly processed foods as less healthy. The more natural the product is, the better. The cleaner the packaging, the more it attracts customers. Multiple studies have shown that consumers perceive products with simpler packaging—in terms of material, color, and design—to be healthier (ScienceDirect, MDPI, Springer)

Research on food labels has also repeatedly shown that simpler front-of-pack systems help consumers judge healthfulness more accurately than information-dense formats. Even the WHO has advocated clear, easy-to-interpret front-of-package labeling because consumers struggle with complex nutritional information.(Springer)

Emphasize long-term holistic wellness

Instead of promising to cure specific ailments, which most people would view as sketchy, promote how your product boosts immunity, improves sleep, or supports daily energy. These are far more believable and likely to convince consumers to purchase.

It is also ideal to integrate with modern consumer habits by syncing product benefits with health-tracking apps or wellness platforms.

 

Amplify with scientific validation & endorsements

Health enthusiasts are often skeptical and double-check claims, rightfully so. Backing it up with clinical studies, third-party certifications, or expert endorsements, such as from nutritionists or dermatologists, can significantly increase the chances of customers purchasing.

Two possibilities may result from the absence of such data: potential customers do research on their own, or they walk away. Save them from the trouble and make a good impression.

 

Seek Business Advice

Depending on the details of your business, including product/service and branding, several combinations of business strategies and approaches may apply. This also requires thorough market research and acquisition of business insights based on real-life situations.

When entering any kind of business industry as a new entrepreneur, seeking advice from professionals is always more beneficial than going in blindly. In the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is actively extending support to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through the Kapatid Mentor ME (KMME) program, a nationwide mentoring initiative. DTI reports that many graduates expanded operations, entered new markets, and generated additional jobs after completing the mentoring program.

One of its certified mentors is Willy Arcilla, serving as well under Go Negosyo and ASEAN as an advisor. Due to excellence in marketing, he has earned the nickname “The Brand Doctor” and continues to help businesses in and out of the Philippines to improve and survive challenges.

You may seek advice from business professionals you personally know, find business tips online, or book a personal business consultation with Willy Arcilla.

For more tips on business, lifestyle, food, and culture, subscribe to Our Market.

5 Best Side Hustle Ideas for Students

In a 2022 survey by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), it was discovered that about 216,000 students, or 8% of the total college population in the country, are working students. The decision to work alongside studies and personal responsibilities stems from the intention of gaining financial freedom.

In addition, 2025 Rappler reports say that many Filipinos drop out before they can finish their studies due to financial struggles, time constraints, and the need to prioritize earning income. These force them to face a difficult choice between education and survival.

Two main considerations of working students are high profitability and time flexibility (flex time). Achieving both is ideal for students not only to achieve desired income but also to avoid conflicts with their school schedules and risk flunking.

The list of side hustle jobs below is recommended for students with those considerations in mind:

Online Selling

Online selling is one of the safest ways to earn money for students. You can sell practically anything, and regardless of what it is, there will always be buyers as long as introduced to the right market.

The easiest products to sell are pre-loved items such as clothes, accessories, toys, gadgets, and even appliances and furniture—anything that has not been used for a while and is good for other people’s use. That way, you are earning money while getting rid of unnecessary items. You can sell them on Facebook Marketplace or buy-and-sell platforms like Carousell.

Another way is by selling digital products, where you create, own, and sell your own intangible assets directly to customers. Some of the most profitable digital products to sell are ebooks, online courses, digital printables and templates, and AI prompt packs. It might need a little bit of research, but most of these can be created with pure knowledge, sourcing skills, and editing software. After creation, you can sell your products on online platforms such as RaketPH, Shopify, HitPay, Etsy, and more.

If you’re a TikTok user, you might have heard of TikTok affiliate marketing, where you market someone else’s products and earn a commission for every sale you generate through your unique referral link. This does not exactly count as “online selling,” but they are similar in certain aspects. You do not have to make your own products, but you do have to be a good marketer.

Freelancing

As of 2026, over 1.5 million Filipinos are actively working as freelancers. This number continues to grow due to high productivity, preference for remote working, and decent pay.

Freelance jobs for students offer flexible, project-based work that can easily fit in between class schedules. It allows students to work remotely from anywhere, and the best part is that it helps build real-world experience. It’s like an early ticket to corporate employment.

If you have ANY type of skill, you can definitely go into freelancing. Language skills at a certain level can land you writing jobs like proofreading, data entry, and content writing. Staying updated about trends and understanding audience behavior can eventually make you a social media manager. Even simply booking flights and scheduling meetings can earn you thousands as a virtual assistant. All of these at the comfort of your own home with only a phone or a laptop.

There are many other freelancing jobs for students depending on their skills, including Graphic Design and Illustration, Translation Services, and more. You can easily find them on online freelance platforms for beginners, such as Upwork, Fiverr, and OnlineJobs.ph. Relative to your niche, client, and payout schedules, earnings can reach up to six figures.

Cooking and Baking

Online businesses can be exhausting to manage. Some students prefer to earn through physical means, or maybe even hobbies.

Selling meals, snacks, baked goods, or any other type of food is one of the most common businesses for students. Despite the market saturation, it remains a highly profitable business due to demand, especially with college students as consumers—even more with those who live in dorms because they are consistently seeking convenient food options.

The products you sell do not even have to be complex. Spam Musubi, for example, is gaining popularity among students because it is ulam and rice conveniently packed, a meal that can be eaten by hand.

Brownies are also a classic favorite. They are dense and sweet, great as either a snack or a dessert, and they can be stored inside your backpack and peddled around the campus. Of course, it could also be home-based or sold online.

Ingredients are cheap, and they sell at a good price. If you are looking for tutorials on how to make a brownie, there is a free online baking course at The Bailiwick Academy that teaches a fudgy brownie recipe by Chef Jimbo De Panadero.

Tutoring or ESL

Tutoring is an incredibly common side hustle in the Philippines. The demand is high due to the competitive education system and a large market for English as a Second Language (ESL).

One category in the tutoring market is Academic Tutoring, which can be either face-to-face or online. Many college students, fresh graduates, and licensed teachers supplement their income by offering one-on-one sessions for Math, Science, and English to primary and secondary students.

If you speak another foreign language, you can also go into ESL (English as a Second Language) Teaching. This is the most popular online side gig, where you teach English to foreign students, often Japanese, Korean, and Chinese clients.

There is also specialized skill tutoring where tutors teach music, coding, and other specific skills.

In the Philippines, tutoring and ESL pay usually range from ₱100 to ₱350 per hour for local beginners. It can reach up to ₱400 to ₱800+ per hour for private international students or specialized academic subjects.

Online Surveys

Taking online surveys is one of the less aggressive side hustles for students. It does not make as much money as the others, and it demands much less time. More than paying tuition fees or intentionally covering school costs, taking online surveys as a side hustle is more about making money during free time instead of spending it on leisure activities.

Moreover, paid online surveys require minimal setup, no specialized skills, and can be completed between lectures or while commuting. A few minutes spent completing surveys during breaks can gradually add up to extra earnings each month.

Paid online surveys in the Philippines typically pay between ₱3.50 and ₱100 per completed survey, though highly specific studies can occasionally pay up to ₱250 to ₱500. Earnings depend heavily on the length and complexity of the questionnaire, as well as the demographic profile.

Paid surveys are unlikely to replace a full-time income, but they can help cover daily expenses, school supplies, transportation costs, or savings goals. This is a great, low-commitment way to earn money online. Some of the legit paid survey websites in the Philippines are Triaba, Prime Opinion, Mobrog, Swagbucks, and PrizeRebel.

Of course, these side hustle ideas are not only for students to use. If you have the time, skills, and the need for extra income, these work great for anyone.

For more tips on business, lifestyle, food, and culture, subscribe to Our Market.

Fathers as Entrepreneurs: Why dads are built for business

In the Philippines, where many small and medium enterprises are family-operated, such as sari-sari stores, food stalls, trucking services, hardware businesses, repair shops, and neighborhood retail operations, fathers function simultaneously as financial providers, operations managers, negotiators, and personnel supervisors. Their business behavior is a result of years of fatherhood experience rather than formal entrepreneurial training alone.

Fathers are natural disciplinarians

In Filipino culture, fathers are nicknamed “Haligi ng Tahanan” (Pillar of the Home) due to an instinct and shared need to keep the household orderly and functional. Proven by studies, father-child relationships have been more described along the themes of authority, restriction, obedience, and control. Even though these themes are slowly diminishing in the modern era and shifting into emotional and mental development, such paternal behavior is still observed as innate among fathers.

In practice, business discipline refers to operational consistency. It involves maintaining standards, regulating spending, monitoring systems, and sustaining routines even during periods of exhaustion or low morale.

The father-entrepreneur analogy applies because a father can set rules for his business the way he would for his own home.

Moreover, a father understands that children cannot simply be commanded to improve overnight. Children often require reminders, routine-building, monitoring, and adjusted communication styles before their habits can improve. This process develops patience and consistency, both of which are important in leadership and workforce management.

In this regard, nurturing a child becomes a similar task to teaching subordinates or dealing with customers.

Entrepreneur.com lists 10 markers of discipline that lead to success, some of which are hard work, controlled mindset, patience, willingness, punctuality, and accountability.

One cannot be an effective disciplinarian without being disciplined themself. This is a top execution skill needed to be a capable entrepreneur, and fathers possess them naturally.

Fathers are adaptable

Young children disrupt schedules without warning. Medical concerns show up all of a sudden. Financial priorities suddenly change alongside the family's needs. Sleep interruptions, educational concerns, transportation issues, and household emergencies are typical problems that create environments where rigid planning becomes difficult to maintain.

This constant exposure to unpredictable events improves responsiveness under pressure.

Adaptability is one of the most discussed traits in modern entrepreneurship. Businesses constantly face changing customer behavior, technological shifts, staffing issues, supply chain disruptions, and financial uncertainty. An entrepreneur who fails to adjust quickly will most likely struggle to maintain operational stability.

Fathers also regularly adjust communication styles depending on context. Conversations with children, spouses, teachers, relatives, and co-workers all require different approaches. This communication management is a required skill for entrepreneurs because situations arise when they need to shift between customer service, employee supervision, supplier negotiations, and financial discussions.

A dad entrepreneur managing a construction supply business, for example, may negotiate assertively with suppliers in the morning, explain budgeting limitations calmly to family members in the afternoon, then train employees patiently later in the day. This requires situational adjustment.

Business adaptability is about maintaining functionality while conditions continue to change. Parenting places fathers in similar situations where this adjustment becomes inevitable.

Do you ever wonder why it’s the fathers that children turn to when seeking playtime? Part of this may be attributed to their adaptability.

Fathers generally adapt to a child's developmental needs by utilizing energetic, "rough-and-tumble" play. This style helps children develop problem-solving skills, emotional regulation, independence, and an understanding of physical boundaries.

Penn State doctoral candidate in sociology and demography, Cadhla McDonnell, said, “There are many types of activities that can be considered childcare, but some are more strenuous or less enjoyable than others.” She adds, “A family trip to the playground is going to affect someone differently than changing diapers in the middle of the night, for example. In our study, we tried to capture those variations and see if they’re related to the differences we see between mothers’ and fathers’ moods.”

Switching to a playful personality in seconds after being disciplinary, and vice versa, shows just how quick fathers are to adapt to situations when the need arises.

Adaptable fathers bring this habit of moving in tune with their environment and creating a space where everyone thrives due to receiving selfless support, and knowing their individual purpose at the same time.

Fathers are trained to think long-term

As the household’s financial provider, delayed gratification is a father’s mastery.

He knows how much he makes, he knows how much is spent, and he knows what is and is not enough.

The financial planning it requires to raise children has to focus on the future: tuition expenses, healthcare costs, housing maintenance, emergency savings, transportation needs, and family security all involve decisions extending years ahead. Parents cannot focus entirely on immediate comfort because delayed consequences affect the household directly.

In business, this is a lot similar to sustainable business management.

Many startup businesses fail because owners prioritize short-term expansion over long-term operational stability. This is often caused by rapid scaling, excessive spending, poor cash reserves, and unrealistic projections.

2025 data acquired by Medium shows that 20% of new businesses fail within their first year, 50% by their fifth year, and a staggering 80% don’t make it past their tenth year.

These numbers prove that entrepreneurship needs persistence more than excitement. Fathers spend years building security for their families. In business, that is a competitive advantage.

Even evaluating household expenses is already a form of financial forecasting. He estimates recurring obligations, anticipates emergencies, calculates affordability, and evaluates how much instability the household can realistically absorb. These same behaviors appear in business management through inventory planning, staffing decisions, equipment purchases, and expansion strategies.

For example, a dadpreneur operating a small food business may avoid opening a second branch immediately despite strong early sales because he knows the importance of maintaining emergency capital first, and what that money could potentially do in the future.

Fatherhood trains people to think in timelines measured through years rather than months. That mindset can translate effectively into business environments where survival frequently matters more than rapid visibility.

Fathers are skilled crisis solvers

Business owners are constantly forced to solve problems while keeping their surroundings functioning.

Fathers, on the other hand, regularly have to make immediate decisions despite incomplete information. A child suddenly gets sick before an important workday. Household expenses exceed the monthly budget after an emergency. Transportation problems disrupt schedules.

Despite exhaustion or stress, family conflicts require emotional control. In this situation, fathers are socially expected to stabilize situations quickly instead of escalating panic.

Of course, fathers are not naturally fearless, but they are familiar with responsibility-heavy environments where someone must continue functioning despite pressure. Fathers who repeatedly manage household problems over time become more solution-oriented because hesitation carries consequences that affect the entire family.

The Harvard Business Review emphasizes that resilient leaders perform better during uncertainty because they maintain clarity, emotional regulation, and problem-solving capacity while others become reactive. Fathers leading the house are likely to effectively lead an enterprise as well.

In entrepreneurship, this matters because businesses rarely fail due to a single dramatic mistake alone, but more because owners struggle to sustain operations during prolonged instability.

Understandably, building a business in the middle of fatherhood seems like entering a new venture recklessly. But it does not have to be done alone. Seek guidance from experts and learn how to build a brand from scratch while keeping risks minimal.

Brand Doctor Willy Arcilla is one of the most prominent marketing experts in the Philippines who helps businesses around the world manage challenges.

With proper guidance, dadpreneurship is less risky and more fulfilling.

Read more business tips on Our Market.

Is it wise to build a burger business in the Philippines in 2026?

Unlike niche food concepts that require market education, burgers already have an established demand in schools, office districts, transport hubs, malls, food parks, and delivery applications.

This already reduces one major business risk: uncertainty in consumer behavior.

This means that the challenge is no longer convincing Filipinos to eat burgers. The challenge is competing inside a mature and crowded category. That distinction matters from an investment perspective because mature categories usually carry more predictable demand patterns than trend-driven food businesses.

Short answer: Yes. Building a burger business in the Philippines in 2026 is still wise. BUT, it can be risky. Having the right business model and learning how to counter risks is crucial.

It is not obvious-wise as in starting an online business in an era where every single thing takes place in the digital world, but in the sense that the food and beverage industry never dies, especially with a food item as fast as burgers.

Here’s why a burger business is both a yes and a but:

Delivery Compatibility

The continued expansion of the food delivery industry already puts a burger business at a high advantage.

2025 IMARC Group statistics show that the Philippine online food delivery market reached USD 4.8 billion and may reach USD 11.3 billion by 2034. Filipinos are increasingly eating inside cars, offices, dorms, condos, classrooms, and homes while juggling traffic, work schedules, and rising transportation costs.

Not to mention the increasing mobile usage, digital payments, and cloud kitchen businesses; the way the world moves as of the moment is built for convenience to be constantly sought after, which is effortlessly fulfilled by the delivery industry.

Looking at an operational perspective, burgers benefit well in delivery systems because they:

• travel relatively well
• require simpler packaging
• maintain structure better than heavily plated meals
• work best for cloud kitchens


These advantages take away a huge lot of operational pressure compared to restaurant concepts that are dependent on dine-in traffic and expensive physical spaces.

If you want to enter the market with lower capital requirements, while still offering something that even premium restaurants serve, burgers are the way to go. Instead of spending everything on interiors and rent, you can focus resources on branding, recipe development, marketing, and consistency first—which all food businesses do anyway. That means hitting two birds with one stone:

• Lower cost of physical space
• Taking advantage of fast food and delivery culture

This is the greatest strength of a burger business in 2026.

Pricing Segmentation

Burger businesses survive decades because burgers can exist at almost every price point imaginable.

Burgers outside school? Buy 1 Take 1 for ₱50. Gourmet smash burgers inside lifestyle districts? Easy ₱500.

You can build delivery-only concepts targeting office workers. You can create premium burgers built entirely around aesthetics and social media marketing. Few food categories stretch across income groups this smoothly. It’s all up to you.

Sounds good. What’s the problem?

Not knowing the problem is the exact point where many businesses fail.

They set up the shop not knowing who they are actually selling to.

PwC consumer reports found that 45% of Filipino consumers actively prioritize budget brands, while 56% spend more carefully to maximize value. Consumers are becoming more price-sensitive, especially after years of inflation pressure affecting food, transportation, utilities, and daily expenses.

So before opening a burger business, answer this first: Are you targeting mass-market volume, or those willing to spend more for experience, branding, ingredients, or presentation?

Beginner food businesses try to be iconic and do them all. When you do, you sit vaguely in the middle and end up being too expensive for budget buyers but not premium enough to justify higher pricing. As a result, you mostly attract one-time buyers.

Your pricing, serving size, store design, marketing style, and even your burger photography should match the exact market you are targeting.

Competitive Saturation

You cannot launch straight into the burger industry without understanding the market saturation. The good thing about market saturation is that it is neither inherently an advantage nor a disadvantage—it depends on perspective.

Burger franchises and kiosks already exist throughout urban areas in the Philippines. Because the market has low entry barriers, many businesses enter the category recklessly, forgetting to come up with strong differentiation.

But a business is mostly all about differentiation. Your burgers are no different from thousands of other burgers out there? Then why should people buy from you? You’ll only end up as another burger stall on the street.

This is how a business fails to survive market saturation.

However, saturation does not automatically indicate market decline. It usually equates to stable consumer demand alongside increased competitive pressure. The question is really not whether burgers are still selling; they obviously do. The question is: What makes your burger business distinguishable from others? Any business without an identity tends to struggle long-term, especially in 2026.

Find a way to be different. Make healthy burgers, formulate your own signature sauce, follow trendy concepts—as long as you know how to be at least a little different, your burger business will grow slowly but surely.

Margin Pressure

Despite strong demand, burger businesses still face margin-related pressures.

Price increase in 2026 is no joke. Rising meat prices, delivery commissions, utilities, labor expenses, and rental costs continue to affect food entrepreneurs in the Philippines, especially with its long-standing financial crisis.

Market reports on the local delivery industry repeatedly mention operational sustainability as a growing challenge for small food businesses. (6Wresearch)

• This partly explains why many businesses aggressively pursue:

• Smaller serving sizes
• Simplified ingredients
• Combo promotions
• Value meals
• Limited-time products

Unfortunately, this strategy has stopped being purely about attracting customers. It has also become a means of preserving margins.

If you are constantly facing financial challenges or just have “enough” to start the business, the risk might be too much, realistically. Overnight success is rarer than most people like to romanticize.

Businesses entering the burger industry in 2026 therefore need stronger financial planning, especially when consumers expect affordability and quality simultaneously.

How to build a successful burger business

A good business background and meticulous planning are no-brainer requirements in starting a business. But at the end of the day, those should co-exist with high-quality products and services.

An important thing to know about purchasing behavior is that customers forgive simple menus, but they rarely forgive inconsistency.

No matter how small, an inconsistent preparation can immediately affect repeat purchases, especially now that consumers constantly post food online and compare brands publicly. This is why being more careful and intentional is important as a food entrepreneur.

Offer unique types of burgers to cater to different taste preferences and bring higher chances of sales. Good burger is not reliant on patty or buns alone, but in the combination of ingredients in between.

Attempting this could result in failure, and failure is not very advisable for startup businesses with limited capital—the only choice is to do it right.

Online workshops like The Bailiwick Academy’s Burger Obsession are made for this particular reason: to help businesses offer products that exceed standards. In this class are chicken burgers and smash burgers, two of the most popular burgers in the Philippines. It also includes longga burger made from longganisa patties, a Filipino-style burger that the masses would love.

Because this burger online course is business-centric, it also teaches concepts and insights that influence customer recall, beyond tested-and-proven burger recipes.

Read more business insights on Our Market.