This executive manages to seamlessly blend a performing career and involvement in the bakery enterprise founded by her parents in 1976. She is grateful for their support in Shiela Valderrama Martinez nurturing her passion for the arts and business.
Head for Export
Marby Food Ventures
“Marby is proudly
Filipino-made and -owned. After 44 years in the industry, we would like to say that we know how cater to the Filipino taste.”
Not often does it happen that one can pursue their childhood ambition and, at the same time, dip a serious hand in the family business and make a mark in the community. Fortune smiled on Shiela Valderrama Martinez, who began acting in theater at eight years old while simultaneously being exposed to Marby Food Ventures, the enterprise set up by her folks in 1976.
“My parents, Marby and Baby, then newlyweds, decided to try their luck in Manila, away from the clan in Iloilo,” Shiela explains. “They started their business when they met a baker, who prompted them to open a small bakery. What started out as the humblest mom-and-pop endeavor slowly, but surely, grew into the pioneering bread manufacturer it is today.”
Quality products
Growing up, Shiela and her three siblings — of which she is the eldest — were trained to be familiar with the operations. “We were always required to participate in running the office,” she says. “We were asked to check records and receipts [among other tasks]. When I returned from working abroad, I was asked to audit at our accounting department for a year before being assigned to take over the export division in 2010.
“As soon as I hopped onboard, I reorganized and participated in trade fairs. With clients mostly based abroad, I was able to work online.”
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
At the Marby factory in Bulacan, which operates on a 24-hour basis, over 300 varieties of breads and pastries are produced and distributed to over 2,000 stores across the country.
“Marby is proudly Filipino-made and -owned,” Shiela beams. “After 44 years in the industry, we would like to say that we know how cater to the Filipino taste. We launched the #pambansangtinapay #gawangpinoy campaign as a way of encouraging people and customers to support Filipino-owned businesses like ours.”
Marby’s “Para sa Bayan (For the country)” policy continuously innovates and pushes itself for the benefit of Filipino consumers, Shiela says. “We strive to produce only quality products for all our customers. An example is our flagship bread, the Superloaf, because of its ‘siksik [compact], pino [refined] and tasty’ quality.”
Like most food companies, Marby took aggressive steps to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its operations. “Marby was quite involved in reaching out to our community during the ECQ/MECQ (enhanced community quarantine/modified enhanced community quarantine) periods,” Shiela says. “We started a donation drive and delivered daily per district in our barangay in Bulakan, Bulacan during that period. We also reached out to other municipalities in the metro and some provinces to help the frontliners.”
As expected, the company adapted to the new normal by laying down important safety measures at work to ensure the well-being of its employees and staff. “Following the rules and guidelines mandated by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force), strict anti Covid-safety protocols in our factory to supply only the safest quality products were implemented,” Shiela says. “Not only safety for our employees, but our consumers as well, of course. There were a lot of telecon and videocon shifts, too.”
Marby focused on strengthening its service nationwide. “We were able to launch three new products this year: Butter Cream Loaf, Soft White Bread and Chocolate Crinkle,” Shiela adds. “We are also set to launch our online platform, and an international tie up are also in the works to serve our clients better.
“I am proud to be working for a company with a really strong set of values. The goal is always to do our best and serve well.”
At a very young age, Shiela was already a confident stage performer. She credits her family for having encouraged her artistic goals, as well as her business acumen. “I’m lucky I got to do both,” she says. Not only is she a known professional theater thespian, she is also a TV actress, singer, commercial model and product endorser
Sheila holds a degree in human resource management from De La Salle University. “I started professional theater in high school, then took an eight-year hiatus from performing to go to college and work for the family business,” she says. “I found my way back to the stage that led me to work abroad for four years. When I came back, that’s when I started to juggle both [acting and working for Marby].”
Her husband of 12 years, Lorenz Martinez, is also a singer and theater actor. The couple has a 10-year-old daughter, Simone.
“I’m a planner and an organization freak, so I think with proper time management and scheduling, I can find the time for work, family and myself,” Shiela says. “I enjoy reading, watching movies with my family and my husband, and I love to host intimate dinner parties. Traveling, either abroad or around the Philippines, is also our favorite thing to do as a family.”
She may be a highly independent professional, parents continue to play influence in her life. “My mom is a super woman,” Shiela stresses. “She’s very dynamic and ahead of her time. She supported my artistic endeavors as a child, saying it was important that I learned to be well rounded.
“My father is a brilliant and generous man. From him, I learned to persevere, help and think of others, not be selfish and to plan for the future. Because of them, I learned the value of working hard. My wish is to be as good a parent to my daughter the way they are to me and my siblings.”
ABOUT ME
ROLE MODELS
My parents, Marby and Baby
GOAL
To live a long, happy and healthy life with my family
FIRST PAYING JOB
Appearing in a theater show, where I was paid P500
MORNING RITUAL
Check my phone, brush my teeth and have coffee
BEST SKILL
Singing and planning
TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
A lot!