This celebrity stylist gives birth to Manila’s best kimchi

@reginealdaba | Instagram

Filipinos—without a doubt—love Korean culture. Our obsession with K-Dramas, Korean fashion and cosmetics, and their food are some of the proofs that we have welcomed this foreign lifestyle with open arms.

Of course, when we think of Korean food, one of the first things that come to our mind is the classic Korean side dish, kimchi. Usually, it is made with napa cabbage that is salted, seasoned, and allowed to ferment. Filipinos surely love its pungent smell and spicy taste, plus, it is definitely healthy as it is filled with probiotics and fiber good for your digestive system!

During this quarantine season, we all crave certain food like kimchi. However, due to our fear of going out and being exposed to the virus, some have to find little distractions that can help them ride out of their kimchi cravings. Heartbreaking, I know.

Worry no more, sweethearts. There are several homemade brands that offer kimchi and deliver it straight to our doorsteps—one of them is Regine’s Kimchi, owned by celebrity stylist Regine Chong Aldaba.

We have tried her kimchi, and it is safe to claim that Regine’s Kimchi is one of the best kimchi brands we ever tasted.

Regine on putting up her kimchi business

In an exclusive interview, Regine shared the story behind her brand and her struggles in putting up her own business.

“I grew up eating Korean food because my mother is a pure Korean. Her name is HYE SUK C. ALDABA. We eat kimchi in our daily living TBH. Actually, all of my friends who were able to try it were the ones who actually pushed me to start selling my omma’s specialty,” she shared.

“So last July 20, 2019 we made it happen! Honestly, I’m really grateful for it,” she added.

Barely a year old business, Regine acknowledged the struggles and risks of putting up this food venture.

“At first, we were a bit hesitant about it since not all Filipinos are huge fan of Korean food. It was really challenging doing it at first since my mom is really old, she easily gets tired easily. The ratio every batch we make is 2 people : 20kg of kimchi,” she further shared.

A businesswoman’s support system

During their launch last year, it was surprisingly a hit among her customers. However, just like any other business, sales aren’t always good— but thanks to her friends who helped her since day one.

“But I’ll never forget that from the very first day we launched it, we sold out 20 tubs in just 3 hours! There are times our sales went down which is a normal thing in any kind of business. During this pandemic, the worst problem we encountered is that we ran out of capital and supplies so we really struggled to overcome it (special thanks to TRIBE, my highschool friends who sponsored all the goods and helped my biz to get back on track),” she said.

At the latter part of the interview, Regine left a message to people who also want to start their online business especially this quarantine caused by the pandemic.

“We are all struggling now, I can’t even imagine how long can we survive this pandemic nevertheless don’t give up in just a snap. Start building your own online business! There are a lot of ways to do it and your just have to take the leap of faith. One step at a time, you’ll see in the long run that everything will be worth it.
“Make sure that you know how to manage your time, effort, money and resources so that it’ll be easy for you to run your business smoothly as possible.Let’s all be practical, small/big income would really help each one of us especially our family. Always be passionate and put all your creative juices and abilities into something good that would benefit our society. I strongly believe that we are the most resourceful and hardworking people in the planet. Hang in there everyone! Keep fighting! Together, we can.”

Here’s how to order:

You can pre-order via 09154737010 SMS/ CALL/Facebook and Instagram: Regine’s Kimchi

Settle your payment to secure your order. Our selling price is 230.00 per tub = 800-900g of kimchi

Send proof of payment and kindly wait for our confirmation.

Book and pay for your own courier ( Grab, LalaMove, Angkas, Mr. Speedy)

***enjoy our freebies***