Philippines Nutri-Rich Sweeteners

It is hard to imagine your favorite sweet food and drinks without SUGAR. While others enjoy their food or drinks like coffee without sugar, it's just impossible for a number of people. With the increasing number of cases of diabetes and heart disease, sugar has been pointed as the culprit. However, there is an alternative to this. While it is good to totally avoid sugar, it is not bad to still have it in your diet in a regulated way and with the proper product. This is where PHILIA highlights the importance of naturally processed sweeteners where we get the dose of sweetness we need and still get nutritional value out of it. 


Our Artisanal Musvocado and Coco Sugar are both hand-processed, keeping a tradition of making sugar that has been passed down for generations. This minimal processing allows you to retain the nutrients you can get from cane sugar and coconut. With that, these two Sugar forms will be a good option for you to sweeten your food and drinks. 

PANAY SWEETNESS - MUSCOVADO

Sugarcane farming in the Philippines was already extensive prior to Spanish colonization particularly in the VISAYAS.  For hundreds of years, the Philippines have been producing unrefined dark brown sugar or MUSCOVADO. With the advent of refineries for brown and white sugar, this has become obsolete though not in the island of PANAY (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Ilo-ilo).

To many of us, PANAY island may remind us of a sweet holiday at its white sand beaches like Boracay or its colorful festivities (Dinagyang, Ati-atihan, Halaran) and the gentle speaking Ilonggos (local people). All these are sweet but there is something sweeter to Panay than these and quite literally, its muscovado sugar. Up until today, muscovado continues to thrive in the island and produce the majority of the country's muscovado production.


Muscovado is a specialty sugar, unrefined and characterized by a deep brown color, soft sticky texture, and rich molasses flavor. Too often confused with brown sugar but is much more interesting than the average sweetener. Since the molasses contains vitamins and minerals, the "crude" process by which muscovado is produced ensures its higher nutritive value compared to refined sugar. 


Finest muscovado product can ONLY come from locations and local communities who have a deep tradition of growing sugarcane and producing muscovado. PHILIA’s Muscovado is naturally processed using a traditional methodology.


However, most producers of muscovado are smallholder farmers, who produce muscovado sugar manually, mainly by HANDS. From the bamboo-fed furnace below the mill, to the stirring of the cane juice. Even the pouring and drying stages are manual. A traditional process passed down through generations.  PHILIA chose to partner with them to ensure these smallholder farmers and producers get the fair price and steady market flow of their products.

We give premium importance to keeping our environment protected. We bring you ONLY “organic” sugar.


QUALITY MUSCOVADO starts from where it was grown and how it is being prepared. Responsibly sourced and traded fairly. 

Unrefined and naturally good!

 

 

 

SULTAN KUDARAT ORGANIC COCO SUGAR 

 

Coconut is one of the major crops that the Philippines produces, after rice and corn. It also occupies a large part of our agricultural landscape and the majority of our coconut farmers are smallholders. Perceived as the “Tree of Life” Coconut has many uses and many valuable products have been produced out of it, including food, furniture and even biodiesel.

Coco Sugar (coconut sugar) is one of the high value products of Coconut. It comes from the coconut sap where harvesters collect the nectar from the tree’s flower-bud stem which are then processed minimally in a small processing facility by our community partners at the province of Sultan Kudarat.  

It is 100% plant-based, a natural sweetener with almost the same nutrients and calories of regular (brown) cane sugar. Many nutrients that can be derived from Coconut were retained in the coco sugar, so it is also rich in iron, zinc, calcium and potassium.  Coco sugar also contains the soluble fiber “inulin” which helps reduce the risk of blood sugar spikes which is a healthy choice for people with diabetes.

Naturally sweet, naturally good!